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A total of 544 beneficiaries affected by the construction of Nandoni Dam in the Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo, have been compensated.

The compensation of beneficiaries follows a visit by Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister, David Mahlobo, to the area in March 2020, where he met with various community representatives in an effort to understand some of their grievances, and come up with solutions to the delayed compensation process.

During his visit, the Deputy Minister recommended that the department should bring the required services to the people in a bid to fast-track the compensation process by setting up help desks in affected villages.

As a result, 10 villages were subsequently assisted and a total of 764 documents from claimants were verified and submitted for processing.

However, the process was halted due to announcement of the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown.

With the country on alert level one, the help desks have since been resuscitated and are in full operation.

“I thank the officials of the department for the hard work they put into this process to find a speedy resolution, and for government to be able to pay the deserving beneficiaries that were affected. The report that I received today is satisfactory and we are indeed pleased that we are implementing the Public Protector’s remedial actions on the matter of payment,” Mahlobo said during his recent visit to Thohoyandou.

The Public Protector recommended that the department revisit the amounts payable for compensation and a review of the rate of payment for fruit farmers, or consider making separate payments for the loss of land rights, fruit trees and loss of production, agricultural equipment and fences.

Mahlobo also heard that there could have been more recipients, had it not been for the fact that some deserving beneficiaries have since passed on due the prolonged process it has taken to pay.

The change of beneficiaries on the claim forms has then resulted in the department’s payment system rejecting the claims, as the names are different from those initially submitted. Another factor is that some beneficiaries’ bank accounts are no longer active and payments were thus rejected in some instances.

The Deputy Minister has ordered that all outstanding verification documents and account confirmations should be collected and delivered to the head office no later than 17 November 2020 for processing.

He appealed to the Nandoni community representatives to once again work speedily with the department officials in making sure that the 305 outstanding payments are concluded before Christmas Day.

“Our objective is to have all payments finalised by Christmas Day but our attitude is such that all beneficiaries are paid out by the end of November this year. The matter of 22 beneficiaries that were overpaid by the department, according to the Public Protector’s report, and should refund some of the money will be handled discreetly and should be concluded by the New Year,” Mahlobo said.

Surveying of communal land completed

Regarding the Vho Thovhele Ramovha claim contained in the Public Protector’s report, the department has reported that the surveying of the communal land has been completed and the size of the land confirmed.

The department said that the process will continue to the office of the Valuer General to determine the actual value of the land.

Seventy-three more people have died from COVID-19 in South Africa, according to the new figures from the Health Department.

Of the new fatalities, 32 are from the Eastern Cape, 23 from Free State, 11 from the Western Cape and seven from Gauteng.

According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 15 lost their lives in the last 48 hours, which brings the death toll to 20 314.

Meanwhile, 1 245 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours, down from 1 842 on Sunday, pushing the number of detected COVID-19 cases to 752 269.

The Eastern Cape has the highest number of active actives at 8 607, followed by Free State 8 540, Western Cape 5 884, KwaZulu-Natal 5 174 and Northern Cape 3 711.

Gauteng has 2 004 active cases, North West 1 724, Mpumalanga 429 and Limpopo 386.

“Our recoveries now stand at 695 496, which translates to a recovery rate of 92.5%,” said Mkhize.

The information is based on the 5 142 947 tests performed since the outbreak, of which 12 755 were done since the last report.

Speaking during an interview on 702, Mkhize warned that there is going to be a lot of complacency going into the festive season.

“Right now, our biggest concern is the festive season. People want to go out and enjoy themselves without adhering to containment measures.”

He sent a strong message that the country is not out of the woods yet, as government works around the clock to avoid resurgence.

He once again told the people that the major weapon against the deadly virus is the ability to prevent the spread and cluster outbreaks.

“Therefore, washing of hands, use of sanitisers and social distancing become very important.

“For now, we have no vaccine. So we need to adhere to containment measures.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 54 301 156 people contracted Coronavirus since the outbreak, while 1 316 994 deaths have been recorded globally.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the multiple agency anti-corruption task team, established after his announcement during the State of the Nation Address this year, is making headway and has prioritized 223 cases.

The President said this when he fielded oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.

“Much work has been done to ensure that these agencies have the necessary skills, the personnel and the resources that they need to undertake the demanding task of detecting, investigating and successfully prosecuting instances of corruption.

“In the main, it has also been the process of rebuilding these institutions. A crucial part of this work has been to improve a number of aspects of how they do their work. For instance, it has been to improve information sharing among them, coordination and cooperation and also doing so with other related institutions and not only law enforcement agencies.

“This is evident in the revitalization in the multi-agency anti-corruption task team which currently has 223 prioritized cases at different stages of investigation and prosecution,” he said.

The President said the fight against corruption and state capture has required quite extensive measures to stabilize and revitalize law enforcement agencies.

“We have had to do that with capable and ethical leadership that is able to restore the capability of these vital institutions,” he said.

He said much of the past two years has been focused on building up the capabilities of the institutions that the country relies on to combat corruption and state capture.

“… in recent months, there has been clear evidence of progress in bringing cases to court. Work is underway.”

He said, meanwhile, that government had dedicated resources to fight COVID-19 related corruption.

Since the beginning of the sixth administration, the elite crime fighting unit the Hawks has established task teams to fast-track corruption investigations in municipalities, government and the private sector, the President said.

“Together with the NPA, the Hawks prioritized 10 corruption related cases to fast track investigations and prosecutions.”

He said after he appointed the Investigative Directorate within the NPA to focus on serious corruption and state capture, personnel have been seconded from the SA Police Service, the Hawks and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), as well as forensic specialists and officials from SA Revenue Service, among others.

“Recent amendments to the state capture commission now allows the commission to share information records, documents, directly with the Investigative Directorate and any law enforcement agencies in South Africa.”

As part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is looking to recruit over 20 000 Education Assistants and General School Assistants for schools over the next few months.

The Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme, through the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) aims to create 200 000 employment opportunities for education assistants and 100 000 for general schools assistants.

“The WCED is looking to recruit 12 777 education assistants and 7 625 general school assistants under this programme,” WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said on Thursday.

Education assistants will:

• Support teachers with technical preparations of the classroom for teaching and learning and ensure that teaching materials are available and ready for use;
• Assist with the reading programme for the Foundation Phase;
• Support teachers in libraries, science laboratories, IT laboratories and technical workshops; and
• Provide after school support to learners where applicable.

General school assistants will:

• Assist in administration, data capturing, textbook issuance and record keeping;
• General maintenance;
• Care and support; and
• IT support.

The department said that the programme will run from 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.

The initiative is targeting youth between the ages of 18 and 35 years old.

Requirements include:

• For Education Assistants –  qualified unemployed graduates (NQF6/7) or an NQF 4 (Matric) qualification
• For School Assistants –  with or without an NQF 4 qualification (matric) or Year 4 School of Skills qualification or higher qualification.

Potential candidates can apply online on SA Youth https://sayouth.datafree.co/p/dbe.

They cannot apply at schools, nor through the WCED.

This is a zero-rated mobisite that can be accessed through a mobile phone. If experiencing trouble with this site, as demands are high, applicants can register on , but this site is not data-free.

Candidates without access to the internet can call a toll free number 0800 727272.

“Candidates will find out of their application is successful by 1 December 2020.  The stipend to be paid for all education assistants and school assistants will be R3 500 per month, as allocated to us by National Treasury,” Hammond said.

Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane is currently isolating at home after contracting the Coronavirus.

According to his office, Mabuyane took the test after showing flu-like symptoms.

“When his results came back positive, Premier Mabuyane started informing his family members, staff in his office, and some of the people he had met with recently about his test results,” the statement read today.

The Premier is encouraging everyone who has had contact with him in the past seven days to test for COVID-19.

The Premier will continue his official duties with his office, Members of the Executive Council, local leadership, national government and other stakeholders from home.

“The provincial government wishes Premier Mabuyane a speedy recovery as he isolates at home and we will support him through his recovery process,” the provincial government said.

All events and programmes that he was due to attend have since been postponed for now.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa said government was looking into the situation in the Eastern Cape, which is showing signs of resurgence after recording 50% more cases than the previous week.

The province’s total number of new cases in the last 14 days also peaked by 145% than the previous 14 days.

The President said the massive spikes have been reported in the Nelson Mandela Metro and the Sarah Baartman District, while the province has noted an upward increase in hospital admissions.

“With many people moving between the Eastern Cape and other provinces – particularly the Western Cape – it is a matter of time before this surge spreads to other parts of the country,” President Ramaphosa said during his address on Wednesday.

He has urged the public to adopt measures to contain the rise in infections.

The High Court in the Eastern Cape Division, Grahamstown, has granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA a final forfeiture order of about R19 million against assets that were the proceeds of tender fraud.

In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the order follows the arrest of two senior former government officials and a businessman. The trio in August appeared at the King William’s Town Magistrates Court facing allegations of fraud, theft, money laundering and contravening the Public Finance Management Act amounting to just over R29 million.

At the time of his arrest, Stanley Khanyile, the Sedibeng District Municipality municipal manager, was the head of the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (ECDSD) when the crime was allegedly committed.

Khanyile was joined in the dock by the former chief director in his office, Vuyokazi Sangoni, and businessman, Poovandaren Chetty.

They were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Task Team in Gauteng and in East London.

“They were granted bail of R50 000, R20 000 and R200 000, respectively. Khanyile had joined ECDSD after he left COGTA under a cloud of certain allegations levelled against him as a result of his involvement in certain unlawful contracts, including issues surrounding Umnotho,” said the NPA in the statement.

Last month, Khanyile was shot dead in Alberton, Gauteng, while out on bail.

He was charged with two counts of fraud and two counts of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

Sangoni, on the other hand, was charged with one count of fraud, while Chetty faces 16 counts of fraud, 18 counts of theft, and 15 counts of money laundering.

In 2015, the ECDSD was to establish a Provincial Women’s Development Resource Centre in Lusikisiki. The centre was intended to serve as a hub for socio-economic empowerment for women, with a focus on skills development programmes.

The NPA said the facility was intended to be a provincial hub for marketing the products produced by women co-operatives or groups that were funded by the department.

However, despite the department having identified existing government infrastructure in Lusikisiki as a suitable place to house the development resource centre, Khanyile flouted procurement processes to the benefit of Chetty for a R14.5 million contract.

In its statement, the NPA said Khanyile bypassed procurement processes and in July 2015, he signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Chetty.

“The agreement was purported to have commenced in April 2015 and was to endure for a period of nine months until December 2015. It is alleged that before the contract was signed, Chetty did not present any business plan on behalf of Umnotho to the ECDSD, which was a requirement for funding in terms of the department’s policy for financially awarding service providers.”

The NPA said between July and August 2015, the ECDSD paid just over R14 million to Umnotho, owned by Chetty, who was the only designated signatory to its bank account.

For the 2016/2017 financial year, a tender was advertised by the ECDSD for the training and capacitation of co-operatives.

Khanyile and Sangoni are accused of colluding to ensure that Umnotho won the tender through unfair advantage in the procurement process. They allegedly flouted the prescribed procurement policy, and did not follow normal departmental practices.

In May 2016, Khanyile and Chetty allegedly signed a second SLA. This agreement was deemed to have commenced in May 2016 and was to endure until end of March 2017. The ECDSD further paid just over R15 million to Umnotho.

Chetty allegedly misused approximately R14 million from the Umnotho account for his personal benefit. It is alleged that during August and September 2015 he bought a Rolex watch, a diamond ring, a Porsche, a Ferrari and gold coins valued at just over R1 million.

The criminal case was postponed to 20 November 2020 for the state to produce a new indictment and the matter to be referred to the East London High Court for trial.

Unemployment in South Africa has soared to 30.8% in the last three months, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 revealed.

The rise was a 7.5% increase from the second quarter. This comes after Stats SA in September reported that despite the South African economy shedding 2.2 million jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown, unemployment in the country dropped to 23.3% in the second quarter of 2020.

According to the report, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday, “The number of employed persons increased by 543 000 (3.8%) to 14.7 million compared to the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment increased substantially by 2.2 million (52.1%) to 6.5 million compared to quarter 2 of 2020 resulting in an increase of 2.8 million (15.1%) in the number of people in the labour force”.

The national statistics service in the report said the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 225 000 (9.1%), while the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 2.9 million (15.8%) between the two quarters. This, Stats SA said, resulted in a net decrease of 2.6 million (12.8%) in the not economically active population.

The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition of unemployment increased by 1.1 percentage points to 43.1% in quarter 3 of 2020 compared to quarter 2 of 2020.

However, the survey noted that employment increased in all sectors in the third quarter.

In this regard, formal sector employment increased by 242 000 (2.4%) while informal sector employment increased by 176 000 (7.7%).

“Private households increased by 116 000 (11.5%), [while] employment in Agriculture increased by 9 000 (1.1%),” reads the report.

The document also notes that employment increased in all industries, except utilities and transport. The industries which gained the more jobs were finance (200 000), community and social services (137 000) and private households (116 000).

Compared to quarter 3 of 2019, said the agency, employment contracted in all industries except mining where it remained unchanged in the quarter under review.

Stats SA added that most job losses were observed in trade (400 000), manufacturing (300 000), community and social services (298 000) and construction (259 000).

“To capture changes brought about by the national lockdown, the additional questions that were included in Q2: 2020 questionnaire were also included in Q3: 2020. The results indicate that, of the 14.7 million persons who were employed in Q3: 2020, more than seven out of ten people (73.2%) were expected to work during the national lockdown by the companies/organisations they work for,” reads the report.

Stats SA said those who actually worked were predominately men in most industries, except in the community and social services sector and private households, where the majority were women. “About nine out of ten people employed within the Construction industry who worked during the lockdown, were men,” reads the report.

Those who were expected to work in the reference week during the national lockdown but could not do any work during that period indicated the national lockdown as the main reason for not actually working (71.7%).

Compared to the second quarter of 2020 where 17.0% indicated that they worked from home, this proportion declined to 10.9% in the third quarter of 2020. Working from home was more prevalent in Gauteng and Western Cape and among Professionals and Managers.

The agency added that the majority of those in employment continued to receive pay during the lockdown. However, those with lower levels of education were more likely to receive reduced salaries than those with higher levels of education.

The Gauteng Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) will from Monday dedicate 70% of their capacity to driving licence renewals to address current backlogs.

“Working together with all the stakeholders, the province will ensure that 70% of all slots made available to the DLTCs will be dedicated exclusively to processing driving licence renewals on a daily basis.

“We have also taken a decision that available capacity in the DLTCs, such as equipment, machinery and staff will be dedicated to addressing the backlog in driving licences renewals,” said the Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC, Jacob Mamabolo.

Mamabolo on Wednesday said DLTCs managers who undermine this directive will face a possible suspension.

A Provincial Management Operations Centre will be established to monitor the activities of DLTCs daily to ensure that the decisions taken at the meeting are implemented.

“There will also be a dedicated team to maintain and service the equipment and machinery that is used to process the driving licenses renewals on a regular basis,” Mamabolo said.

Uprooting corruption

From next month, the department will commence with a forensic investigation into allegations of corruption, bribery and collusion reportedly taking place at DLTCs across the province.

“While the current COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the driving licence renewals backlog, it has also laid bare the fact that over the years, the DLTCs have not been functioning optimally,” said Mamabolo.

He said the centres’ capacity has not been increased to match the demand and the pressure brought by the growing population.

“However, we are confident that with the decisions we have taken, we will be able to address the backlogs.”

The department will be piloting the use of mobile units, in partnership with Road Traffic Management Corporation, to increase the capacity of the facilities and provide a better service to communities.

“We are aware of the frustration that driver’s licence holders, who want to renew their cards, have been experiencing. We are taking extraordinary measures to deal with the backlog,” said Mamabolo.

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Chairperson of the SAMA, Dr Angelique Coetzee, also echoed the President’s sentiments that everything must be done to prevent a resurgence of infections.

“The easing of restrictions is good news for the economy and we share the President’s view that the country is shifting from relief to recovery.

“As medical professionals we also want to reiterate the president’s message that the Coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, and that measures to prevent the spread of the disease must still be strictly adhered to,” said Dr Coetzee.

The association’s comments follow on President Cyril Rampahosa’s address to the nation on Wednesday night.

In the address on the country’s COVID-19 status, the President announced the amendment of alert level 1 regulations to restore the normal trading hours for the sale of alcohol at retail outlets.

Dr Coetzee said it is vital that citizens understand that attending gatherings or visiting places such as shebeens and taverns where people do not wear masks carries a risk and should be avoided.

She said the concession to allow for normal liquor sales is a good move and may ease the need for people to visit these outlets, specifically at weekends.

Dr Coetzee said that while the spread of the virus has declined over the past two months, this should not be seen as an eradication of the virus from society.

“Our numbers may look good and this is a promising development, but we must remain alert and continue to wear masks over our noses and mouths, practice regular hand washing and sanitising, and continue with physical distancing.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled into thinking everything has been dealt with and that we can go on as before March 26,” she said.

SAMA is of the view that South Africa is now better prepared to deal with the outbreak than before.

It said the easing of international travel restrictions can be managed successfully by utilising rapid tests at points of entry to the country and that, essentially, this too is a good move particularly as it will provide a much-needed financial shot in the arm for the local tourism sector.

“Ultimately the easing of the restrictions will benefit our economy and people negatively affected by the pandemic.

“Given that we have made significant progress from a medical point of view in dealing with infections we support the easing of the restrictions as we believe there is more to gain from doing this than from keeping them in place,” Dr Coetzee said.

This as the President also announced the relaxation of travel restrictions in line with rapid testing and strict monitoring intended to limit the spread of the infection through importation by those who will be travelling to South Africa.

The number of detected COVID-19 cases has now risen to 742 394 after 2 140 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Wednesday.

Sixty more people have passed away, bringing the death toll to 20 011 deaths.

Of the new deaths, 24 are from the Eastern Cape, 19 from the Free State, six from the Northern Cape, four from the Western Cape, and two each from Mpumalanga and the North West.

Addressing the nation on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the many lives lost to the deadly virus.

“Many of us have had to bid farewell to a loved one, a friend or a colleague.

“As we look back on a year of much pain and sorrow, it is important as a nation that we should honour and remember all those who have succumbed to this disease,” said the President.

According to the latest statistics, 686 458 patients have recuperated, which translates to a 92% recovery rate.

The President said the number of cluster outbreaks has been linked to indoor gatherings with poor ventilation and no social distancing, while the Eastern Cape has been noted as one of the problematic areas.

“With the festive season approaching, understandably, we will want to be with family and friends. It has been a stressful and traumatic year. We want to socialise and connect with each other.”

However, he has urged people not to let their guard down.

“We must remember that every additional person we come into contact with increases the chances of transmission.”

He called on people to avoid large gatherings, and opt for small group gatherings.

“If we must go out, we should limit contact with others. I have been increasingly getting concerned and alarmed by what I have been seeing on social media and even on television where people are holding big parties, gatherings and social events as though the virus does not exist.”

The President is also worried about the citizens who are not wearing masks.

“I have been seeing images of indoor venues crowded with people who are not wearing masks and with no evidence of social distancing.”

President Ramaphosa said super spreader events must be avoided.

“The same rules that applied in the early days of the lockdown should apply now.”

Meanwhile, to ensure all the necessary prevention measures in place, government has extended the National State of Disaster by another month to the 15th of December 2020.