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The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has released three executives from their responsibilities as their contracts have come to an end due to effluxion of time.

“PRASA board would like to thank Rasheeque Zaman, Group Executive: Internal Audit, Zwelakhe Mayaba, Group Executive: Strategic Projects and Tiro Holele, Group Executive: CEO’s office for having been of service to the company. We wish them well in their endeavors,” PRASA said on Tuesday.

This past weekend, the PRASA Board announced that it had embarked on the review of contracts of executives and other senior managers.

“Pursuant to the review process, it transpired upon analysis of employment contracts of executives that some of them (executives) ought to have left PRASA years ago. All executives at PRASA are employed for a period not exceeding 5 years with no expectation for extension of the employment contract,” the agency said.

On 29 January 2021, PRASA terminated the employment contracts of the following executives with immediate effect: Martha Ngoye, Group Executive: Legal, Risk and Compliance, Nkosinathi Khena, Chief Operations Office and Pearl Munthali, Chief Executive Officer of PRASA Foundation.

“Consistent with the recommendations from the Auditor General, this Board will ensure that systems are put in place at PRASA and the core business of running passenger rail is restored,” PRASA said.

The South African Police Services (SAPS) has dismissed a former senior union leader for contravening the SAPS Code of Conduct.

Mpho Kwinika, former South African Police Union chairperson, was this week dismissed following an internal disciplinary process.

The charges related to a March 2019 incident.

“When police officers [responded] to a complaint of public disturbance, [they] found him [Kwinika] with his friends outside a block of flats in Pretoria,” said SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, in a statement.

During the incident, Kwinika was allegedly abusive towards the police officers and assaulted of one of them.

Naidoo said the former unionist was subsequently arrested on multiple charges, among which were public disturbance, resisting arrest and assault of a police officer.

“A departmental investigation was conducted and the outcome thereof informed the process of a departmental trial. On 18 December 2020, Kwinika was found guilty of four counts of serious misconduct by an external independent presiding officer,” reads the statement.

On Monday, SAPS handed down to Kwinika a notice of dismissal with immediate effect.

National Police Commissioner, General Khehla John Sitole, welcomed the sanction and emphasised that police management will ensure that all members within its ranks conform to its Code of Conduct.

According to the Health Department, 547 people passed away due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, which brings the death toll to 44 946 since the outbreak.

Of the additional fatalities, 143 occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, 134 in Limpopo, 91 in Gauteng, 69 in the Western Cape, 68 in the Eastern Cape and 30 in Free State.

“In Limpopo, the province captured deaths from retrospective audits between 6 September and 29 January 2020,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, explained.

Meanwhile, nine were reported in Mpumalanga and three 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,” Mkhize said.

Also, 2 649 people who were confirmed to have contracted the virus, pushing the total number of cases to 1 458 958 since the last report.

Meanwhile, the country now has 95 508 active cases.

KwaZulu-Natal is the worst-hit province with 43 371 patients who are currently infected, while 14 333 are in the Western Cape, 8 974 in Free State and 8 614 in Gauteng.

“Our recoveries now stand at 1 318 504, representing a recovery rate of 90%.”

The information is based on 8 329 691 tests with 28 942 recorded since the last report.

According to the World Health Organisation, there have been 102 942 987 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 232 233 deaths, to date.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Jazz and Opera Musician, Dr Sibongile Khumalo, for advocating for the rights of performing arts, women, as well as human rights.

Khumalo, an esteemed member of the Order of Ikhamanga, passed away on Thursday, at the age of 63.

“This is a moment of great sadness for all of us who were mesmerised and moved by the power, sensuality and improvisation of Khumalo’s unique voice.

“Not only was she an unmistakable voice on concert stages around our country and the world, but she was a voice of advocacy for the performing arts, for the rights and place of women in our society, and for human rights at large.

“As a music academic, she was also a voice of instruction and inspiration to new generations of artists who had the privilege of learning from a performer who was at the pinnacle of her career. We will miss her greatly,” the President said.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, has expressed his deepest sympathies to the family, friends and fans of Khumalo.

“Khumalo was an ambassador of our heritage. A musical genius who enchanted diverse audiences all over South Africa and beyond. She will eternally be remembered for her repertory, which was similarly eclectic.

“She was a musical maestro who made it her life’s purpose to tell the story of our people through music. She left a legacy that will forever go down the annals of history,” Mthethwa said.

In 2009, Khumalo was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Rhodes University. She has also been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of South Africa (Doctor of Musicology), as well as the University of Zululand (Doctor of Philosophy).

“Most notably, she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in 2008, a South African honour that is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism and sport.

“Khumalo was so passionate about music and heritage that at the age of 14, she knew she wanted to be an Opera singer. Due to the lack of opportunities for people of colour at the time, she decided to teach music instead, going on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in music at the University of Zululand and obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of the Witwatersrand,” the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture said.

Furthermore, she concentrated on the musical heritage of the Zulu, Sotho and Tsonga people.

“The department would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the family, friends and fans of the late Dr Sibongile Khumalo. May her soul rest in peace.”

COVID-19 has now killed more than 43 000 people in South Africa after 555 more patients succumbed to the respiratory disease on Thursday.

According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 249 fatalities were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, 150 in the Eastern Cape, 70 in Gauteng, 45 in the Western Cape, 21 in Mpumalanga and 10 in Free State.

Seven were recorded in Limpopo and three in the Northern Cape, which pushes the death toll to 43 105.

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

Also, the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases have hit 1 437 798, with 7 151 new infections reported in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases represent a 15% positivity rate.

The country now has 122 496 active cases, with four provinces being the hardest hit.

KwaZulu-Natal currently has 45 736 patients who are currently infected, followed by the Western Cape with 18 866, 17 335 in Gauteng and 13 090 in the North West.

“Our recoveries now stand at 1 272 197, representing a recovery rate of 88.3%,” said the Minister.

The data is based on the 8 156 239 tests of which 48 406 were performed since the last report.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are now over 100 million confirmed global cases of COVID-19, including 2 166 440 deaths, to date.

Excess deaths

According to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) during December 2020 and January 2021, the numbers of excess deaths increased relentlessly as the second wave of the pandemic unfolded in each province.

“The cumulative number of excess deaths from natural causes since 3 May 2020 had reached more than 125 000 by the 23rd January 2021.”

However, in the most recent week, there has been an apparent decline in the surge.

The council regularly publishes the report on weekly deaths in South Africa, including both natural death caused by diseases and other medical conditions and unnatural deaths registered on the national population register.

“These are used to estimate the actual number of deaths that have occurred in the country and calculate the number of excess deaths over and above the numbers that would be expected had the historical mortality trends before the COVID-19 pandemic continued,” SAMRC explained.

According to SAMRC’s Chief Specialist Scientist, Professor Debbie Bradshaw, the timing and geographic pattern leave no room to question whether the spike in excess deaths is associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Unfortunately, it will probably be some years before we have the information about the medical cause of death and so we cannot distinguish between deaths directly associated with COVID-19 and those that may have resulted due to the health system being overburdened,” said Bradshaw.

“While we are cautiously optimistic that the decrease in week three represents a real change and indicates the turning of in excess mortality in the current wave of the pandemic, the trend will become clearer with the data for week four, to be released by the SAMRC on 3 February 2021.”

SAMRC President and CEO, Professor Glenda Gray, said tracking mortality enabled South Africa to be one of the few middle-income countries able to trace excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The team is collaborating with the Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases to set up a data linkage project to improve the reports of the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 deaths for the country,” Gray added.

The Department of Health has discouraged the use of Ivermectin vaccine for management of COVID-19, until the study on its efficacy and safety is concluded.

In a statement on Thursday, department spokesperson Popo Maja said that the National Essential Medicines List Committee (NEMLC) COVID-19 Sub-Committee has carefully considered all available evidence on the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 with Ivermectin.

“Currently, there is insufficient evidence to recommend Ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Some studies have suggested that Ivermectin may be of benefit of management of COVID-19, however the evidence that is currently available is preliminary and of low quality,” Maja said.

Maja noted that studies vary widely in terms of disease severity of participants, medicines, with which Ivermectin was compared and additional medicines that participants received.

“Several studies are currently underway exploring efficacy and safety of Ivermectin in the management of COVID-19. The outcomes of these studies will provide the department with more scientific data to make informed decisions on the usage of Ivermectin to manage the pandemic.

“As new data becomes available, the sub-committee will continuously review and amend the recommendations accordingly. In the meantime, we discourage the use of Ivermectin outside of well-conducted randomised controlled trials,” he said.

The sub-committee remains committed to an evidence-based approach to the selection of safe and effective medicines for management of COVID-19, Maja added.

African Union (AU) chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has endorsed the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa.

“We support and endorse this initiative to give practical support to the right of all Africans to freely receive information, and to express and disseminate their views,” the President said.

Addressing the virtual launch of the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa on Friday, the President urged all Africans, all institutions, and all heads of State and leaders of government to support this historic project.

The Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa will perform real-time monitoring, reporting and follow-up actions to secure the safety of journalists across the continent.

Alerts on the harassment, detention and murder of journalists will be published on the platform in order to hold the perpetrators of violence against journalists and media outlets accountable for such violations.

“The media has a crucial role to play in the historic and continent-wide movement by Africans to build a continent of their dreams.

“Our march towards the achievement of the aspirations of Agenda 2063 – of the Africa we want – requires that we nurture and protect a free and independent media.

“It requires that we vigorously defend the right of journalists to do their work – to write, publish and broadcast what they like, even if we disagree with some or all of it,” President Ramaphosa said.

He said the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa is an important tool in promoting the safety of journalists and other media workers across Africa.

“Africa is on the march to entrench a culture of human rights, democracy, gender equality, inclusion, peace, prosperity, security for all citizens and unfettered media freedom and independence.

“We look to this digital platform to contribute to an enabling environment for the media to operate in AU member states through respect for the rights of journalists and media workers and an end to impunity for crimes against journalists,” President Ramaphosa said.

The Digital Platform is expected to help improve awareness on the importance of media freedom and the safety of journalists in the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 aspirations.

“We congratulate the African Editors Forum, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), the International Federation of Journalists, the African Federation of Journalists, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Peer Review Mechanism and other AU partners on the launch of this worthy project.

“We pledge to provide support to the digital platform through the relevant structures and institutions of the African Union,” President Ramaphosa said.

The Limpopo Department of Social Development has started relief efforts to households that have been affected by the localised floods in the Vhembe and Mopani Districts.

Some families were displaced as a result of the continuing rain after the start of Tropical Cyclone Eloise in Mozambique at the weekend.

Thus far, an assessment conducted by social workers and community development practitioners and other government officials identified 78 families with the majority in the Vhembe District.

The affected families are in the Thulamela, Collins Chabane, Musina, Makhado and Greater Letaba local municipalities.

Relief being offered to households is in the form of food parcels, blankets and other basic amenities.

In a statement, the department said the number of affected people may increase as assessments are continuing in the affected areas.

“The teams of dedicated social workers and community development practitioners as well as disaster management officers from district and local municipalities are hard at work assisting the affected households.”

MEC Nkakareng Rakgoale said social workers are also providing services to residents.

“Our social workers are also providing psychosocial support to the affected individuals. We urge our communities to exercise extreme caution to ensure that we do not have casualties in areas that have been hit by the disaster and also ensure that children and other vulnerable groups don’t get anywhere near waterlocked areas,”Rakgoale said.

The Electoral Commission says it has begun its final phase of preparations to implement the Political Party Funding Act (Act 6 of 2018) from 1 April 2021.

This follows the announcement last week by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the coming into effect of the Act from that date.

The Electoral Commission welcomed the date of implementation, which coincides with the start of the new financial year within the public sector and for political parties.

The Electoral Commission has called on all political parties and other stakeholders to join hands over the coming months to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the legislation and regulations.

“The regulation of the funding of political parties is a key aspect of all modern multi-party democracies, and the imminent implementation of the new Act is one of the most important and far-reaching enhancements to our electoral democracy in 25 years.

“Transparency and information is the foundation for free and fair elections and this Act will go a long way in providing information to voters, the media, civil society and all other stakeholders on how political parties are privately funded,” said IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini at a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday.

While the Act provides for various sanctions and enforcement measures to ensure compliance, Mashinini said the establishment of enforcement capacity will take time.

“The Electoral Commission has repeatedly said that its focus during the early years will be on assisting political parties and others to comply.

“The successful implementation of the new party funding disclosure framework will rely heavily on self-regulation and compliance. We do not want to be the party funding transparency police.

“We want to be the party funding transparency facilitators,” said Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo.

The Electoral Commission called on the media, civil society and the public to play their part in ensuring full and accurate disclosure by parties.

“Civil society and the media have played a very central role in advocating for the new legislation. But their work is not finished. We ask that they continue to keep the pressure up on all of us to ensure we all meet our obligations.

“It is going to take a bit of time for all stakeholders to become familiar with the provisions of the legislation and the practicalities of meeting their obligations.

“This is a journey, but every journey starts with a first step. We are excited about taking our first step on this journey together on 1 April,” Mashinini said.

The Act is meant to increase transparency around party funding ahead of the Local Government Elections scheduled to be held between August and November this year.

The Act requires all political parties and their corporate donors to declare donations (including donations in kind) above the value of R100 000 per year to the Electoral Commission quarterly.  The Commission will then publish these declarations online.

Furthermore, the Commission will table an annual report in Parliament, with a record of all donations across the political spectrum.

With the Local Government Elections scheduled for this year, political parties will be required to disclose all donations received between April and June this year ahead of the elections.

The Act also prohibits donations to political parties by foreign governments, agencies or persons, and organs of State and State-owned entities.

It also sets an annual limit of R15 million as the maximum an individual or organisation may donate annually to an individual party.

One of the first actions in preparation for the implementation of the Act is the publication in the Government Gazette today of the regulations that were drafted over the past two years in consultation with political parties, civil society and other stakeholders.

Among others, the regulations provide guidelines on the procedures, deadlines and methods of declaration of donations, including templates of the various online forms and other forms of correspondence.

In order to help prepare political parties, donors and other stakeholders to begin meeting their obligations from 1 April, a comprehensive programme of stakeholder engagement will be rolled out over the next two months.

Deepening transparency

This week, the Electoral Commission met with the National Political Party Liaison Committee to update represented parties on the latest developments.

Other elements of the programme will include the publication of guides, pamphlets and notices in various media to explain aspects of the new law and regulations to the public and other interested parties.

This will be supplemented with the continuation of online education and training initiatives for users of the online system, which have been underway since November.

The 1 April promulgation will also signal the repeal of the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act. The new Act establishes a new Represented Political Party Fund, along with the introduction of a new Multiparty Democracy Fund.

Like the current Act, the new Represented Political Party Fund (RPPF) will distribute money quarterly from the National Revenue Fund to political parties represented in the national and provincial legislatures.

A key change is the ratio of distributions, with the current 10% equitable and 90% proportional ratio replaced with 1/3rd equitable and 2/3rds proportional.

The Multiparty Democracy Fund is a fund administered by the Electoral Commission into which contributions to support multiparty democracy can be made, providing a “hands-off” channel through which corporate entities, individuals and other organisations can contribute funds to parties without having to engage directly with them or needing to declare these separately.

The Electoral Commission will embark on a fund raising drive to encourage donations to the Fund.

The funds collected by the Multiparty Democracy Fund will also be distributed quarterly to represented political parties according to the same new ratio (1/3 equitable and 2/3 proportional) established for the Represented Political Party Fund.

The new Act obliges political parties and their donors to reveal all private donations to political parties of more than R100 000 (including donations in kind) individually or cumulatively per year.

Such declarations must be made by the recipient political party each quarter and donors are required to declare donations within 30 days of payment.

To facilitate these declarations, the Electoral Commission has developed an Online Party Funding System, which has been availed to represented political parties for testing and piloting since late 2020.

A third aspect of the Electoral Commission’s preparations is the continued capacity building internally to enable it to monitor, evaluate and cross-check the declarations, and to publish the information to provide for greater transparency in electoral democracy.

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has place uMkhanyakude and Nquthu Municipalities under administration in a bid to prevent the collapse of governance and bring back stability and order.

The decision was taken during the first Provincial Executive Council (PEC) virtual meeting for this year, held this week.

Provincial government spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso, said that the drastic interventions by government had been taken in the best interest of the people of both municipalities.

“The two municipalities are in flagrant disregard of the Constitution and the law governing the functioning of municipalities. These interventions have been preceded by various efforts to support the municipalities in line with section 154 of the Constitution,” Mabaso said.

uMkhanyakude was placed under administration because it has been embroiled in internal strife which has severely compromised key areas of service delivery.

“The council has failed to hold three consecutive scheduled meetings to consider matters that affect the functioning of the municipality and service delivery. There is a serious challenge with performing executive functions and oversight. There are allegations and counter-allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption.

“The tensions have escalated to a point where the uMkhanyakude District Municipality could not pass the IDP (Integrated Development Plans) and budget. Forensic reports have not been acted on by the council of uMkhanyakude District Municipality,” Mabaso said.

The municipality currently operates on the budget that is unfunded in violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Fruitless, wasteful expenditure

Meanwhile, the Nquthu municipality has failed to investigate unauthorized, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) is also dysfunctional.

Nquthu is among the 12 municipalities which have been flagged as distressed, despite interventions implemented in line with the Municipal Support Plans

“There has been instability in the municipality since March 2020 when the municipal council purported to elect the mayor, following resignation of the former mayor. As a result, the municipality failed to comply with the requirements of the Municipal Systems Act related to the development and approval of the IDP and Budget Process Plan which must be adopted on or before the 31st August annually.

“The mayor of the municipality has been unlawfully elected in violation of the lockdown regulations. The failure of the council meetings owing to instability resulted in the municipality’s failure to adopt its IDP and Budget Process Plan for the year 2021/22, hence compromising a key executive responsibility and prejudicing the people of Nquthu.”

Mabaso emphasised that the council took a decision as the sixth administration that service delivery, good governance, sound financial management and institutional stability are areas of no compromise.

He said the executive council has since requested Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC Sipho Hlomuka to present to the National CoGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, National Council of Provinces, and Parliament for their approval.

The PEC has also said it will “fearlessly confront, municipal instability and any threat to service delivery in the best interest of the people.”

Integrated law enforcement team

Meanwhile, in response to public violence, which included the torching of shops in the Durban city centre on Monday, the PEC has approved the establishment of an integrated law enforcement team to focus on the enforcement of immigration, employment and trade laws in the Durban city centre.

The provincial government appealed for engagement and peaceful resolution of any areas of challenges.

“Violence has never solved any problem in fact, it is breaking the law,” Mabaso said.