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The North Gauteng High Court has ordered that an amount of R10 billion be added to Eskom’s allowable revenue to be recovered from tariff customers in the 2021/22 financial year.

“This consent order follows Eskom’s application in terms of section 18(3) of the Superior Courts Act, 2013, that Eskom should be permitted to recover R23billion in the financial year 2021/22 as per the 28 July 2020 Court judgement,” the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) said on Tuesday.

The above consent court order follows discussions and an agreement between NERSA and Eskom.

“The agreement was informed by the fact that NERSA has already taken decisions on other Eskom applications that will be implemented in the 2021/22 financial year, which had a direct impact on the application Eskom has made to the court.

“However, this order does not stop NERSA from proceeding with the appeal that has commenced at the Supreme Court of Appeal against the High Court’s judgement of 28 July 2020, which substituted the Energy Regulator’s decision on Eskom’s fourth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD4) with its own,” NERSA said.

The energy regulator has also approved that Eskom’s Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) applications for year 2 (2014/15), year 3 (2015/16) and year 4 (2016/17) of the third Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD3) period and Eskom’s supplementary tariff application for the 2018/19 financial year of R4 749m and R1 288m respectively, be recovered in the 2021/22 financial year.

This will result in an average tariff percentage increase of 15.63% in the 2021/22 financial year.

Recovering costs

Meanwhile, Eskom has taken note of the court order.

“This order will result in an average price increase of approximately 15% in the electricity tariff for standard tariff customers starting on 1 April 2021. This court decision allows Eskom to recover efficiently incurred costs for the production of electricity,” said the power utility in a statement on Tuesday.

The power utility said the order contributes to the “user pay” principle and is likely to lessen the financial burden of “supporting Eskom on the government, releasing the government to focus on other priorities.”

Eskom said the implementation of the order will allow it to move towards addressing some of the revenue shortfalls and enable it to recover prudently incurred costs for the production of electricity, which will help to improve Eskom’s financial sustainability.”

The utility’s Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim welcomed the decision, and stressed that poor residential customers will continue to be supported through the free basic electricity programme, as well as affordability subsidies provided for in the NERSA tariff decision.

Identified vulnerable industrial sectors will be considered by NERSA in terms of the short-term and long-term negotiated pricing agreements promulgated recently by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The court order is in response to Eskom requesting the execution of a High Court decision that allowed the recovery of incorrectly deducted Government equity support for the financial year 2021/22.

“Since Eskom made this urgent application to the High Court, the NERSA had made additional decisions related to recovery of efficient costs from previous years. The high court order allows a further 5.44c/kWh increase,” said Eskom.

South Africa has recorded 1 103 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which represents a 7% positivity rate.

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said on Monday that the country now has 1 492 909 cumulative cases since the outbreak.

According to the Minister, 195 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease, pushing the death toll to 48 094.

Of the latest deaths, 62 are from the Western Cape, 58 are from Gauteng, 30 from the North West, 25 from the Eastern Cape and 11 from Free State. Meanwhile, six are from the Northern Cape and three from KwaZulu-Natal.

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

The Minister also reported that there are now 1 391 155 who beat COVID-19, representing a recovery rate of 93%.

The information is based on the 8 712 844 tests, of which 15 778 were recorded since the last report.

Globally, there are 108 579 352 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 396 408 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

The Department of Employment and Labour has begun the process of reviewing the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) Main Collective Agreement for consideration by the Minister before it is extended to non-parties before it is gazetted.

This was revealed by the department after an agreement on wages expired on 31 August 2019.

Since then, the MIBCO has concluded a wage settlement agreement between the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA), the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) and the National Union of Metalworkers Trade Union of South Africa (NUMSA), signed on 13 December 2019.

The conclusion of a collective agreement is a process determined by parties to that collective agreement in the bargaining council.

“The only thing that the law allows is for the Minister to extend the concluded collective agreement to the non-parties if such an agreement meets the requirements of the law,” said the department in a statement on Monday.

MIBCO submitted a request to the Minister of Employment and Labour to extend its Main Collective to non-parties on 4 March 2020.

The department said the resolution submitted by the Council to request the Minister to extend the collective agreement was that of the Adhoc Advisory Committee which is contrary to the Council’s constitution.

“The Council was informed that the decision to request the Minister to extend the Main Collective Agreement to non-parties should be a decision of the Council and be taken at the meeting of the Council,” read the statement.

At the time of submission of the request to the Minister, there was no Council since the Annual General Meeting did not proceed on 29 November 2019. This was due to a dispute between the parties on the allocation of seats.

It was suggested to the Council to rectify the problem and thereafter submit a fresh request to the Minister to extend the collective agreement to non-parties.

The collective agreement was concluded by three parties to the Council which binds the same parties in terms of section 23(1).

“It must be noted that issues relating to the reasons why the agreement could not [be] processed for extension to non-parties were raised with the Council by the office and a meeting was scheduled between the Council and the officials of the department on 31 March 2020 and was subsequently postponed due to [the] national lockdown.

“There were subsequently several meetings between the Council and Department of Employment and Labour in which this office tried to mediate between parties so that the running of the Council is not affected by internal squabbles between the parties,” said the department.

Parties were advised that even if they do not agree on some or all issues, that should not impede the running and governance of the bargaining council as an entity.

In this case, the department said parties’ squabbles were allowed to impede the day to day running of the bargaining council, which resulted to the Council not being able to hold Council meetings in terms of its constitution, which will enable them to take resolutions which will be lawful for the Minister to extend the Main Collective Agreement to non-parties.

The bargaining council was only able to hold its Annual General Meeting in terms of its constitution on 26 November 2020 after their dispute was resolved by arbitration and they were able to adopt a resolution to request the Minister to extend its collective agreement to non-parties.

The collective agreement was submitted to the department on 5 January 2021 for comments.

The collective agreement was scrutinised and found not to be complying with the law since it contained retrospective clauses which the Minister cannot extend to non-parties.

The corrected and signed collective agreement was finally submitted on 9 February 2021 of which it is still in progress and it has not reached the Minister’s desks for his decision to extend it to non-parties before it can be published in the Government Gazette.

The brutal attack on Lesedi FM presenter, Dimakatso Ratselane, allegedly by her husband, has spurred the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) to reiterate its call for South Africans to take a definitive stand against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

CGE spokesperson, Javu Baloyi, on Monday said Ratselane’s stabbing forces society to confront GBV, particularly intimate partner violence (IPV).

Ratselane was allegedly attacked, stabbed multiple times and left for dead on 11 February. Police are now regarding her husband as a suspect on the run, as preliminary investigations show that he was the last person with Ratselane before she sustained these stab wounds. A warrant of arrest has been obtained for him.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact Captain Mojaki on 082 553 7639.

Baloyi said during the 365 Days of Activism this year, the Commission for Gender Equality will continue to use various platforms to highlight the worrying and increasing numbers of intimate partner violence and killings.

The commission has also noted media reports that the alleged perpetrator has fled the country to Lesotho.

“If this is true, we call upon the South African government to use all the diplomatic channels and various Southern African Development Corporation (SADC) treaties and protocols to ensure that he is arrested and extradited back to South Africa,” Baloyi said.

Baloyi assured that the commission will monitor this case.

“The commission’s court monitoring processes of various GBV and intimate partner violence cases has convinced us that a speedy conclusion of cases of gender-based violence can be realised. It is for this reason that we hope that the same occurs in the Ratselane case.

“We encourage the public and family of Ratselane to stay put and allow the law to take its course.

“The commission condemns any kind of gender-based violence committed, regardless of the gender of the person who commits it. We hope that people will start learning alternative ways of resolving conflicts without resorting to violence,” Baloyi said.

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, has congratulated South African filmmakers for the short film “Address Unknown” being selected to participate in the 2021 Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) taking place in Los Angeles in the United States.

This is America’s largest and most prestigious black film festival. It was co-founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover, the late Ja’Net DuBois and Executive Director Ayuko Babu.

“It is with the utmost honour [we] receive the news of this significant milestone in South African Film. Congratulations to the producers at Green Leaf Films as well as the directors, scriptwriters, actors and production crew who feature a strong line-up of female creatives in most departments,” the Minister said on Monday.

The film, which is dedicated to the people of District Six, was funded by among others the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. They began the production process in 2019 and completed filming in July 2020.

“We celebrate your contribution in taking our stories to the world, as the custodians of our history and our heritage. It is equally significant that the announcement of the PAFF Official Selection of “Address Unknown” comes just days after the 55th anniversary of District Six being declared a white group area on 11 February 1966.

“In the absence of such stories, our children and the generations to follow would never know the truth. Lest we forget,” Mthethwa said.

The PAFF is scheduled to be held from 28 February to 14 March 2021.

As a result of the COVID-19 restrictions in place across the world, the PAFF screening of “Address Unknown” will be an online event for viewers in South Africa and abroad.

The Gauteng Legislature Roads and Transport Portfolio Committee has welcomed the conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry probing taxi industry related violence in the province.

The Commission was appointed by Premier David Makhura in September 2019 to investigate, report, make findings and recommendations on issues plaguing the sector. These included the underlying reasons for the recurring conflict, violence, fatalities and instability within the minibus taxi-type service industry in the province.

According to the committee, the report is detailed in its findings and has clear recommendations for implementation.

“The committee would further like to urge the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport and Community Safety to swiftly implement the recommendations made in the inquiry in order to curb the continued violence and other challenges experienced in the taxi industry,” the committee said in a statement.

Acting committee chairperson, Petrus Mabunda, said: “The success and efforts made this far – from setting up the commission of inquiry to its conclusion – now rest on the departments concern and their implementation plan. The commission’s recommendations have a profound effect on behaviours and attitudes.”

He said the provincial Department of Roads and Transport should give itself the best possible chance of making changes on the basis of the findings of the inquiry, and it must be held to account for doing so.

The committee said it will on a regular basis play a significant scrutiny and oversight role in holding the department to account on its implementation progress derived from the inquiry report’s findings and recommendations.

The Basic Education Department says it ready to welcome learners to school under safety protocols although over 20 000 are still not placed.

The academic year 2021 officially commences today for millions of learners as public schools stalled to return to classes due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Speaking during the state of readiness on Sunday, Minister Angie Motshekga emphasised the health and safety of teachers, staff and learners, which she said remains at the top of the priority list.

“We emphasise the critical importance of vigilance and strict adherence to the health and safety protocols, in order to save lives,” she explained.

The Minister said the impact of the Coronavirus continues to affect the department, with at least 1 169 educators having passed away as a direct result of COVID-19.

This year alone, up until 12 February, the department lost 159 teachers and 63 non-teaching staff.

“This is really heartbreaking and we convey our sincere condolences to the affected families,” she said, before observing a moment of silence for the deceased.

The Minister said her department would continue to maintain the “delicate” balance between health and safety while paying great attention to curriculum gaps identified last year.

“Senior managers in the sector, under the leadership of the Director-General, have been working very hard to strengthen the already existing plans for 2021.”

School admission

Meanwhile, the Minister said the demand for space in schools, especially in Grades 1 and 8 remains a challenge.

“All provinces are experiencing a high demand in particular areas,” she told the media.

While progress has been made, the department stated that 8 982 Grade 1s are still not placed as their peers start school today, while 16 117 are those meant to start Grade 8.

“The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) met yesterday [Saturday] and agreed the matter of school admission was identified as critical because the system cannot afford to see any learners being left behind.”

The Council is said to be looking into the matter and working around the clock ensure that all learners are placed in the next coming week.

“CEM appeals to parents and guardians to cooperate with officials at the district level, to accelerate the placement process.”

Several schools closed

Meanwhile, several schools in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga were affected by the Eloise Tropical Cyclone and could not open on 25 January when principals went back to work.

Also, 1 724 schools have been vandalised since lockdown, the department added.

The Minister has since thanked the social partners, business and the community for supporting the sector as it continues to operate under difficult conditions.

“These COVID-19 circumstances require the entire nation to support its children and indeed cooperate and support schools on a sustainable basis.”

He called on people to continue to adhere to the health and safety protocols by wearing masks, sanitising, washing hands with water and soap, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.

“I urge every one of us, to play our part in keeping our communities safe and healthy.”

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has rejected with contempt allegations that it is selective in the cases it chooses to investigate.

This comes as the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in Limpopo last week accused the SIU of being selective in its investigation of state entities in the province, political selectivity in its operations, contravening its Constitutional mandate and the terms of reference of the Presidential Proclamation R23 of 2020.

The allegations followed revelations contained in the Unit’s report into finalised investigations and outcomes on the COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment procurement by State institutions.

Rejecting the allegations in a statement issued at the weekend, the SIU described the claims as baseless, misleading and aimed at tarnishing its work.

The SIU’s COVID-19 report contained finalised investigations and outcomes.

“[We] made it very clear to South Africans that the Unit is investigating a total of 2556 contracts, of which 164 contracts valued at R3.5 billion are completed; investigations into 1541 contracts worth more than R6.8 billion is currently underway; and investigations into 851 contracts to the value of R2.9 billion are yet to commence,” reads the state statement. The SIU reiterates that it has not submitted a final report yet.

“The report released on the 5th February 2021 only accounts to 26% and it is only for investigations that are finalised,” it adds.

The Unit said it was clear that SANCO did not read the report released by its head, Advocate Andy Mothibi. The document is available on the SIU website for public consumption.

“The SIU would like to bring it to the attention of SANCO that the SIU investigations are allegations based and its findings evidence based. The SIU will never investigate allegations selectively,” the unit said.

Assertions of the SIU being “political selectivity in its operations” were also rejected, with the unit vowing to continue with the execution of its mandate, investigate, make findings based on evidence and pursue all those responsible to hold them to account without fear, favour or prejudice.

“The SIU further rejects the assertion that ‘political pressure played a role in determining which corrupt cases moved forward and which were set aside’. The SIU views this statement as baseless and as an attempt to divert us from the work at hand. We will not be deterred from serving this country with integrity,” the Unit said.

Reads the statement: “We will never be swayed by any form of pressure and SIU places premium on the value of integrity with which all its work is performed. The SIU Limpopo Team is led capably and has worked hard to ensure that the allegations reported are investigated with integrity. The SIU calls on the people of Limpopo to report all acts of corruption so that all those responsible are identified and caused to account for their wrong doing. SANCO should also report allegations that they are aware of and the SIU will investigate without fear, favour or prejudice”.

“No amount of misinformation or any kind of undue pressure will deter the SIU from doing its work. The SIU COVID-19 corruption and maladministration allegations investigations are ongoing and we call on all members of the public to report the allegations to the SIU.”

South Africa’s 20 land borders, which have only been partially operational for the past month, will now be fully open from today, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has announced.

However, the 30 land borders which were closed, will remain so. The closure of the land border posts was introduced last month as the country was seized by a rise in COVID-19 infections.

The list of the borders scheduled to reopen can be accessed on: http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/corona-virus-information.

The Department on Monday said travelling to and from South Africa was allowed subject to regulations.

“Daily commuters from neighbouring countries who attend or teach at schools in the Republic, and who are allowed entry into and exit from the Republic are subject to compliance with health protocols relating to screening for COVID-19. This includes quarantine or isolation where necessary; wearing of masks; transportation, sanitation and social distancing and all relevant health protocols on safety and prevention of Covid-19,” reads the statement.

Turning its attention to air travel, the department said this was restricted to the OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town international airports.

“All international travellers arriving at the airports listed above must provide a valid certificate of negative COVID-19 test recognised by the World Health Organisation obtained not more than 72 hours before travel,” reads the statement.

Dlamini-Zuma in the statement called on citizens to observe all COVID-19 health protocols and remaining restrictions to avert possible resurgence.

The 2020 combined matric examination was not compromised, while the leaks were only limited to a small group.

This is according to the Department of Basic Education’s National Investigations Task Team (NITT) Chairperson, Hugh Amoore, who was leading the probe into the leaks of the 2020 matric Mathematics and Physical Science Papers 2, last year.

Speaking on Sunday, Amoore said while the full extent of the leak may never be known, the investigation found that widespread access to the question papers did not occur.

This was based on the investigative marking, interviews and statistical analysis, he said in his presentation.

“There has been no compromise to the integrity of the 2020 combined examination as a whole and the integrity of the Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2 has not compromised the overall results.”

He said establishing the source of the leak was critical which involved the audit of the distribution chain, the investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and a forensic private investigator.

The purpose of the investigation was to establish the extent of the leaks, determine the source of a security breach, identify candidates who had prior access to the leaked question papers and make recommendations on the credibility of the examinations.

Amoore confirmed that an employee from a printing company contracted by one province has been arrested and appeared in court and will return in March.

However, the second source of the leaked paper showed that the paper was printed at the Government’s Printing Works, of which the matter is in the hands of the Hawks.

“It is of the utmost importance that the case against the person accused of stealing from one of the province’s processes be pursued to the conclusion and the investigation into the leak related to the Government Printing Works be finalised and the process be purposed to conclude.”

Meanwhile, Amoore said it was comforting that there were no breaches during the storage and distribution of the papers in question by the department.

Candidates

According to the findings, 236 candidates, who are mostly top achievers, were allegedly involved in the Mathematics question paper sent via a WhatsApp group.

Of these, 135 learners belonged to a chat group where one of the candidates sent two sets of questions weighing five marks each asking for help in solving the problems.

“This was after 10 pm, Sunday, 15 November for the exam that would be written the following morning on Monday.”

Meanwhile, the other 101 learners were in other chat groups, where either the full paper was distributed or set questions were leaked.

However, according to Amoore, only 62 learners are believed to have had access to the Physical Science question paper.

“Further investigations show that the leaks were limited to very small numbers.”

Investigative and statistical marking

The investigative marking to identify unusual patterns to establish any collusion, revealed no evidence to suggest candidates benefited from prior access to the question paper or sub-questions, while some candidates need further investigation.

The department also embarked on statistical marking, done to indicate the pattern of usual performance in Mathematics or Physical Science Papers 1 compared to Paper 2.

The team compared the results dating back to 2016 to look at how years compared against each other.

He said there was no evidence of an unusual pattern, but only two candidates where upper “standardised residual” for Mathematics was identified.

Meanwhile, there was no distinction in Physical Science.

No evidence of collusion

The National Examinations Irregularities Committee (NEIC) that instituted the investigation, has concluded that the 2020-combined examination was not compromised based on the evidence collected through the investigation and recommendations.

NEIC Chairperson, Advocate Luvuyo Bono, said they have already studied the report and are satisfied.

“It appears that the candidates have shown they had done the work individually and that there was no evidence of collusion and that the leak had really come out or spread through a WhatsApp message.”

The Committee has since accepted the report and said it was happy with the findings.

Amoore had described the National Senior Certificate (NSC) as a flagship qualification.

“It’s critical at the exit from schooling in Grade 12 and it’s critical that its credibility and integrity is maintained.”

Meanwhile, he said it was worth noting that one million candidates sat down for the combined matric examination in the context of COVID-19.

“We had a very successful administration in the exams, but it needs to be accepted that the examination was marred by the leaks of Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Sciences Paper 2 question papers.”

The team has since divided the categories into sections and recommended that those in group C and D results will be locked, while results will be released in A and B, while E will be released pending the school investigation.

He said the report was presented to Umalusi on Friday and the Council will make its decision that will be announced on Monday.