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South Africa recorded 2 488 new COVID-19 cases, official data showed on Thursday, down from the 3 163 infections a day earlier.

The Health Department said the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa is now 1 484 900 as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address last night.

Meanwhile, there are 237 more COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the overall deaths to 47 382 since the outbreak.

Of the latest deaths, 82 are from Gauteng, 46 from the Eastern Cape, 36 from KwaZulu-Natal, 25 from Free State, 19 from Mpumalanga, 17 from the Western Cape and 12 from Limpopo.

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

In addition, the country has 59 538 active cases, with KwaZulu-Natal being home to the most people who are currently infected.

According to Mkhize, the province has 20 542 active cases, followed by Western Cape with 9 250, while Free State has 7 673, 6 990 in Gauteng and 5 217 in the North West.

“Our recoveries now stand at 1 377 980, representing a recovery rate of 92.8%,” the Minister added.

A total of 32 265 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 8 605 729.

Globally, there are 106 991 090 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 347 015 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

During a hybrid joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces on Thursday, President Ramaphosa said beyond the statistics lies a human story of tragedy and pain.

“There is no family, no community, and no place of work that has not lost someone they knew, worked with, and loved.”

He also applauded the resilience of the hospital workers whose mission is to save lives, knowing that they themselves are at risk of infection.

“It is a wonderful account of the courage of the police officer, the soldier, the essential worker, the carer and all those on the frontline who have kept our country safe, our people fed and our economy going.”

He has called South Africa to continue with the spirit of resilience, which should drive everyone to build a new and equal economy and a better, more just society.

“The year ahead must be a time for change, for progress and for rebirth. It must be a year in which we rise.”

He also confirmed that the first batch of the in-demand Johnson & Johnson vaccines against COVID-19 will land in South Africa next week.

The President told Parliament that the first phase of the vaccination programme would go as planned and that healthcare workers would now get the Johnson & Johnson jab.

Government has secured nine million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, of which 80 000 doses will arrive in the country next week.

According to the President, about 500 000 vials of vaccines will follow in the next four weeks, while 12 million vaccine doses from the global COVAX facility and 20 million from Pfizer, will be delivered at the end of the first quarter.

Fifteen suspects are this morning expected to appear before the East London magistrates court in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds in the memorial and funeral service of late former President Nelson Mandela.

This was on Friday confirmed by the Hawks in a statement. Among the suspects are high profile Buffalo City employees, prominent political party members and businessmen as well as business entities. The 15 face charges of fraud, money laundering, contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and corruption.

“The suspects will be answering to allegations related to the procurement of service providers for the transportation and booking of venues during the memorial service and funeral preparations of the late Dr Nelson Mandela by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. This happened between the period of 2013 and 2014. The alleged fraudulent claims add up to a total of R10 million,” said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale.

She said the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime unit has conducted a thorough investigation which led to the arrest this morning.

Eastern Cape head Major General Obed Ngwenya lauded the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for “ultimately bringing the perpetrators to justice for squandering resources during a period when the country was mourning the death of an icon”.

Government will go ahead with its planned phase one of vaccination targeting healthcare workers – using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead of an AstraZeneca jab.

Updating the country on the latest developments, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been proven effective against 501Y.V2, while necessary approval processes for use locally are underway.

South Africa paused its rollout plan following the results that showed that the University of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against the COVID-19 infection from the 501Y.V2 Coronavirus variant, first identified in South Africa in November 2020.

Meanwhile, the Minister announced that the country has secured shots from Pfizer for phase one rollout, which will land on home soil earlier than was expected.

Mkhize said government is awaiting for the complete schedule of the distribution of the vaccines and hopes the negotiations will be wrapped up next week.

Also, local scientists are working around the clock to engage with other vaccines manufacturers.

“Engagements with Sinopharm are continuing with already an offer made by China of some vaccines which have been considered and a non-disclosure agreement has been signed and ratification processes in SAHPRA (South African Health Products Regulatory Authority) is in progress.”

Likewise, engagements with the United States’ drugmaker Moderna, which has entered a supply agreement for COVID-19 vaccine with Taiwan and Colombia, are ongoing.

On the other hand, scientists are continuing with deliberations on the AstraZeneca use in the country.

“Depending on the advice, the vaccine will be swopped before the expiry date to ensure they don’t become wasteful and fruitless expenditure.”

Mkhize said government does not intend to claim back the money, but was planning to utilise the AstraZeneca vaccine based on  expert advice, including from the World Health Organisation COVAX and United Kingdom’s Health Secretary.

“This is because in the rest of the world, this is a highly used vaccine, so there are already countries who are asking to sell it to them.”

He said other countries are lining up as they want to get hold of the AstraZeneca that is already in the country and government is considering selling it to them.

In addition, he urged citizens to prevent the spread of COVID-19 until the country reaches herd immunity by washing hands with soap or sanitising, wearing masks and social distancing.

Expiry date

Mkhize also addressed the issue of the expiry date of the vaccine batches, which is April 2021.

“The vaccines have not expired,” he stressed.

However, in keeping with the original vaccination plan, Mkhize said the department would have proceeded with the AstraZeneca rollout plan and the doses would have been used by the expiry date.

“The expiry date would have not been a factor at all because we would have started the vaccinations and we were targeting to have finished them long before that date.”

He also said the expiry date was not discovered by accident but through their quality assurance and control protocols.

“Sometimes when a matter is raised in the media and comes out as a leak, people don’t say it’s our information that they used which we already knew about. It’s not so much they discovered something they didn’t know about. Checking the expiring date is one of the basic things you do when you manage a medical product.”

Developing a local vaccine

Mkhize believes that South Africa has the capacity to create its own in-demand vaccines.

According to Mkhize, President Cyril Ramaphosa has since directed a team to start looking into this matter.

“In principle, it’s a good idea to build that capacity in South Africa.”

Mkhize said vaccination will be free for those who are not on medical aid.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ambitious drive to inject much-needed jobs into South Africa’s COVID-19 ravaged economy is beginning to bear fruit.

This much is evident in the second progress report on implementation of the Presidential Employment Stimulus released by the Presidency on Tuesday. The stimulus, which targets the employment of 600 000 youths, was announced by President Ramaphosa during his address to a joint sitting of Parliament in October.

As part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the Presidential Employment Stimulus is designed to respond to the rise in unemployment caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the past year, about R13 billion was allocated to the stimulus from President Ramaphosa’s R100 billion job protection and creation support package announced in April as part of the country’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic.  The remaining R87 billion will be allocated over the next three years.

The Presidential Employment Stimulus supports a range of opportunities through the expansion of public employment as well as job retention in vulnerable sectors.

In addition to employment opportunities, the stimulus provides crucial support for livelihoods in the creative sector, the agricultural sector and the early childhood development sector.

Eleven national departments and all nine provinces are responsible for implementation of programmes supported through the employment stimulus.

“Its aim is to support livelihoods while the labour market recovers – investing in public goods and services, enhancing skills and employability, and boosting demand in the economy at the same time,” reads the report.

The report said the Department of Basic Education has completed its recruitment of education and school assistants at schools in every province. About 94% of assistants had been placed, and received training in curriculum support, ICT, maintenance and other skills during the December/January period.

“Calls for proposals issued by the National Arts Council and the National Film and Video Foundation were oversubscribed, and awards are now being finalised. These funds will support new work, enable public and community art projects, and protect jobs at cultural institutions and businesses in the creative sector,” reads the report.

The Presidency said the Department of Social Development was providing crucial income support to the Early Childhood Development sector, which has faced severe challenges during the pandemic. This programme will provide support to 110 000 ECD practitioners, helping them to stay open or reopen.

Applications for this support can be submitted until 19 February 2021.

Shifting focus to the Subsistence Producer Relief Fund, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development was allocated R1 billion to provide production support vouchers to 74 626 subsistence farmers across the country. The Presidency said the department was currently on track to exceed this target.

The fund supports self-employed farmers back into production after the disruptions caused by COVID-19 as well as rebuild and strengthen local food value chains. This includes rural and peri-urban farmers as well as those engaged in urban agriculture.

Successful applicants receive a voucher for production inputs that can be redeemed from participating suppliers. Award sizes range between R1 000 and R9 000, depending on scale and commodity type.

“Over 178 000 people applied for support via the USSD platform set up in the period 10 December to 22 December 2020. The criteria included a points system for age, gender, military veteran status and for key forms of vulnerability, such as child-headed households. The vouchers are to support existing farmers, not start-up farmers,” reads the document.

On 23 December 2020, the approvals process began.

After applying the criteria, 131 595 applicants were pre-qualified, triggering visits for physical verification of the information provided.

The Presidency said the DALRRD had used the verification process to create jobs for youth, recruiting former National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) and unemployed agricultural graduates to support the department in this process. They are working with local extension officers in each Province. Thus far 1 464 jobs have been created with appointments continuing.

By 5 February, 33 241 applicants had been visited to collect proof of identity, geo-locate them and to verify their production status as per the advertised criteria. DALRRD is also using this process to build an online geo-spatial data-base of subsistence producers, which has not existed previously.

Meanwhile, in parallel, processes of issuing eVouchers and appointing approved suppliers are being finalised.

Eleven national departments are responsible for implementing the various programmes supported by the Presidential Employment Stimulus. The Project Management Office (PMO) in the Presidency is responsible for overall coordination of the stimulus.

Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has called on the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to support at least 15 000 start-ups by 2024.

“We must now support young people who are in businesses that we call ‘high-risk businesses’ such as the technology innovation, digital businesses and other avenues, where young people are moving barriers with little support because our support tends to be risk averse,” Ntshavheni said.

Addressing a webinar on Tuesday, the Minister said government needs to be bold in its support for start-ups to take more risks and allow people to experiment.

“By 2024 we should no longer be referring to a high unemployment rate of young people in this country.  We should be reporting back about the high economic participation of young people in the economy of this country

“We have a responsibility to train and support job creators because an inclusive economy is an economy where young people are no longer job seekers but job creators,” the Minister said.

Ntshavheni hosted Tuesday’s webinar alongside the NYDA, to provide an update on the commitments made to Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Businesses (SMMEs) and cooperatives in the 2020 State of the Nation address (SONA).

NYDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Waseem Carrim said the commitment made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the SONA to support 1000 businesses, has been met through the 1 000 businesses in the 100 days programme.

“In the programme we supported 58% female participants and 42% male participants across all nine provinces,” Carrim said.

The initiative was intended to provide financial support to micro enterprises particularly in townships and rural areas, provide government services in an effective and efficient manner, and allow young people to capitalise on opportunities in their local economies.

“This is the first steps in the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, the most comprehensive plan in South Africa’s democratic history to address youth unemployment. The initiative is aimed at reaching vulnerable and marginalised young people,” Carrim said.

Sectors that were supported in this programme include the following sectors: agriculture and agro processing (138); arts, education, health (18); automotive and manufacturing (142); construction and property (34); consulting and legal (10); hospitality (44); information, communication and technology (37); installation, maintenance and repair (20); logistics, tourism and recycling and waste (12); services (430); textiles (10); wholesale and retail (105).

“The programme was affected by COVID-19. We lost two calendar months during the hard lockdown but we were able to fulfil the commitments made by the President during SONA,” he said.

Data free platform

The NYDA, working together with the Department of Employment and Labour and the Presidency as well as other government departments and civil society, have developed a platform called SA Youth, which can be used to access different opportunities.

SA Youth.mobi is a data free platform that is zero rated by all the telecommunications service providers.

“The platform represents a single entry point for every young person into the economy, whether they are seeking labour market opportunities, entrepreneurship or to volunteer.

“We want to encourage young people to create a profile on the platform to access the opportunities that are available on that platform,” Carrim said.

The North West provincial government is working with all spheres of government to repair damaged roads in flood stricken areas of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati.

This follows heavy rainfall and floods.

Premier, Professor Tebogo Job Mokgoro, said information gathered following inspection and assessment of the damaged roads and other infrastructure in the Greater Taung Local Municipality, will be presented to National Government to consider declaring the area a State of Disaster.

Mokgoro visited the flood stricken areas of Matlapaneng, Mokgareng and Shaleng on Tuesday, in order to get first-hand information of the situation on the ground.

He said that despite the already dry provincial government purse, affected citizens and areas have to be assisted.

“National, provincial and internal roads, including those which were under construction, have been affected. We will be meeting once more as [the] three spheres of government to secure the budget and restore damaged roads. There’s no doubt that funds are limited because most funds were directed towards tackling [the] COVID-19 pandemic. However, we will ensure that we rescue our people,” Mokgoro said.

He added that the roads which were under construction will also be restored as soon as possible, through the Department of Public Works and Roads.

“Through the available financial prescripts we will negotiate with constructors on site and readjust their scope of work to accommodate the restoration of the affected portions of the roads.”

Meanwhile, a number of houses have been affected and those built with mud collapsed.

Social Development MEC Boitumelo Moiloa, who accompanied Mokgoro, visited several households in Madipelesa and Mmamutle.

“Over 150 households need urgent assistance. We are still on the ground with our social workers doing assessment. Food parcels will be given to affected families. We are also providing blankets and mattresses to some through the assistance of different institutions,” Moiloa said.

The Premier and his entourage also visited the bereaved family of Molebole in Mokgareng whose nine- year old child died after drowning in the flooded Mokgareng River.

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has noted the release of the report by the Public Protector into the department’s award of a lease contract to media company, Tiso Blackstar Group.

The lease was for the premises located at Hillside House, 17 Empire road, Parktown, in Johannesburg, which housed the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

On 12 November 2018, the Public Protector received a complaint regarding a procurement transaction by the department.

At that time, it was alleged that the department awarded a lease agreement to Tiso Blackstar, a privately owned company from England without following due processes and contrary to supply chain management processes as stipulated in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1  of 1999 (the PFMA).

It was also alleged that Tiso Blackstar is not a historically disadvantaged enterprise nor owned by historically disadvantaged individuals, thus not complying with the prescribed prescripts.

“The Department is pleased to note that the Public Protector found that the Department did not break any prescript or law in terms of the award to Tiso Blackstar.

“It has been cleared of any wrongdoing and non-compliance as the award was made in strict compliance with the regulations. National Treasury also sanctioned it,” the Department of Public and Infrastructure said in a statement.

The department made requests to National Treasury dated 08 March 2018 and 13 March 2018 for approval in order to deviate from the competitive bidding process to negotiated procedure in line with clause 8 of the National Treasury Regulation Instruction Note 3 of 2016/2017.

On 23 March 2018, the National Treasury issued the department with the Approval. The allegations that were made, are therefore factually incorrect.

“The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is committed to ensuring compliance with the regulatory and constitutional framework governing procurement,” the department said.

The Department of Employment and Labour has extended condolences to the family of a 63-year-old man, who collapsed and died at the Kempton Park Labour Centre on Monday.

In a statement, the department said the client had come to the labour centre for a follow-up on the Unemployment Insurance benefits.

“It is reported that while waiting, the 63-year-old client started complaining about shortness of breath before he collapsed,” the department said.

The department said the officials at the centre tried in vain to resuscitate the client, while the manager called an ambulance. On arrival, paramedics declared him dead at the scene. The department notified the family and South African Police Service (SAPS).

“The death of a client is tragic and as the department, we have conveyed our condolences to the family. Both his wife and daughter came to the scene after being notified of the events. The department will ensure that the remaining benefits are paid over as soon as possible,” said Tshepo Mokomatsidi, the Gauteng Provincial Head.

The department also extended thanks to its visibly traumatised labour centre officials for their speedy response and doing everything in their power to keep the deceased alive and helping the family to the extent possible in their hour of need.

“We would like to ask the public to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers and to give them the privacy and space to deal with his tragedy,” said Mokomatsidi.

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has kick-started compliance and monitoring visits to the Western Cape as part of the build up to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday.

Zulu is starting her three-day outreach programme today with a visit to the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children in Manenberg where she is expected to interact with the leadership of the local community.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) forms part of the Department of Social Development’s core function and given that the scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has increased, there is a public outcry for government to take decisive measures to end GBVF in all its forms.

Given the country’s GBVF challenge, the Minister will also interact with staff at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children as well as GBV survivors on issues impacting on their lives.

The Minister will also hand over a cheque for GBV survivor empowerment services.

Zulu will also revisit the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Bellville local office, where she will interact with social grant beneficiaries and applicants. She will also check on service delivery improvement, and progress on implementation of the Ten-Point Plan.

On Thursday, the Minister will conduct a site visit in the Mfuleni District to interact with staff members of Gwebsa – a National Development Agency (NDA) supported project and NDA volunteers.

To address measures of ensuring safety and protection of human rights for older persons who were evicted by the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged, the Minister and Western Cape MEC for Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, will on Friday engage with older persons on issues impact them directly, on their daily lives.

South Africa’s daily COVID-19 infections continue to drop amid the new variant concerns.

According to the latest statistics, the country recorded 1 744 new infections on Tuesday, which represents a 6% positivity rate.

A further 396 people lost their lives to the respiratory disease, bringing total fatalities to 46 869  to date.

Of the latest fatalities, 118 are from Limpopo, 85 from KwaZulu-Natal, 81 from Gauteng, 65 from the Western Cape, 20 from the Eastern Cape and 18 from Mpumalanga.

The Free State recorded six deaths, while three were recorded in the Northern Cape.

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

The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 is now 1 367 247, representing a recovery rate of 92%.

The information is based on the 8 538 269 tests conducted, 26 859 of which were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Global view

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are now 106 125 682 global confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 320 497 deaths.

WHO’s weekly epidemiological update states that the number of global new cases reported fell for the fourth week in a row, with 3.1 million new cases last week, a 17% decline compared to the previous week.

“This is the lowest figure since the week of 26 October 2020 (15 weeks ago). Although there are still many countries with increasing numbers of cases, at the global level, this is encouraging,” said WHO.

The number of additional deaths reported also fell for a second week in a row, with 88 000 new fatalities reported last week, a 10% decline compared to the previous week.

WHO has reported a dip in new cases in all regions, with five out of six regions reporting more than 10% decreases.

“Europe and the region of the Americas saw the greatest drops in absolute numbers, with together nearly 500 000 fewer new cases reported last week, 153 000 and 320 000 fewer new cases reported, respectively.”

Meanwhile, new deaths also declined in all regions except the Western Pacific, where mortality rates remained similar to the previous week.

In the past week, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases continue to be the United States (871 365 cases, a 19% decrease), Brazil (328 652 cases, a 10% decrease), France (136 154 cases, a 4% decrease), the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (133 747 cases, a 25% decrease), and Russia (116 842 cases, an 11% decrease).