Archives

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africans must work together to ensure a rapid rebound in employment following the release of the latest employment figures.

“Now is the time for all South Africans to pull together and grow South Africa,” he said.

Statistics South Africa released the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) on Tuesday, which revealed that 2.2 million people lost their jobs in the second quarter of 2020.

“Our success in responding to this unprecedented crisis will be measured by the speed of our labour market recovery.

“In addition to the relief measures we have already implemented, we must ensure that every job lost during the crisis is replaced and that more jobs are created so that we can meaningfully reduce unemployment,” said the President.

Following broad agreement among social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on the key actions required for economic recovery, Cabinet is in the process of finalising a programme for a return to growth and a rebound in employment.

Structural reforms, investment in infrastructure and other measures to grow the economy, the President said, will play a crucial role in supporting the recovery of the labour market in the medium term.

While the labour market recovers, government will continue to expand its programmes aimed at keeping people in work and sustaining livelihoods.

“Implementation of the Presidential Employment Stimulus will soon commence to rapidly scale up public and social employment and support job protection in vulnerable sectors.

“Government’s historic economic and social relief package has been vital in shielding companies, workers and households from the worst effects of the pandemic,” said the President.

To cushion the blow, the Unemployment Insurance Fund has provided over R43 billion in temporary relief to more than four million workers, preventing further job losses and keeping many businesses alive.

Additional social protection has been provided to over 16 million South Africans – more than a quarter of the population – to extend support during the lockdown and alleviate hunger.

Most countries have experienced both a sharp increase in unemployment and an increase in economic inactivity as a result of the measures necessary to contain the pandemic.

In South Africa’s case, this decline highlights a decreasing labour force participation rate and adds to an unacceptably high level of unemployment before the pandemic.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura has placed the provincial Health Department head, Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, on immediate precautionary suspension for allegedly failing to exercise responsibility in the COVID-19 related procurement.

The development comes after the Special Investigating Unit, in a report dated 22 September 2020, made the recommendation.

“The Special Investigating Unit found that the Head of Department failed to exercise his responsibility in the awarding of contracts to certain companies for the procurement of goods and services, in relation to government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Premier’s Office in a statement on Wednesday.

“The actions or omission by the HoD may have resulted in the department incurring fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” said the Premier’s Office.

Lukhele will remain on precautionary suspension pending the completion of the investigations by the SIU and disciplinary proceedings for misconduct.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has urged people to send through their appeals after experiencing an increased number of rejected applications for the R350 COVID-19 grant.

According to the agency, this is attributed to several factors such as discrepancies in details provided by beneficiaries and information derived from institutions such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund and South African Revenue Service databases.

Meanwhile, SASSA said it saw another spike in declined applications in August after it introduced an additional step in the form of a means test.

“This was done to ensure that the requirement for applicants to have no income was met,” SASSA explained.

However, following engagement with the Department of Social Development, parties agreed to reconsider the use of the means test through the banks as a criterion to determine eligibility.

“This will affect the approximately 1.9 million people, who have been receiving the grant to date but who were declined in August,” SASSA said.

The agency said the legal framework that supports the reconsideration of the use of a means test is being amended by the department and will be published soon.

“These amendments will clarify the qualifying criteria and support SASSA in ensuring that deserving citizens do receive the support they are entitled to for the duration of this grant.”

An Auditor-General (AG) report recently identified about 30 000 undeserving applicants, who received the grant while not meeting the qualifying criteria.

“In response to this finding, SASSA reviewed and strengthened its controls with regard to the evaluation of applications,” the agency said.

SASSA said applications are now considered on their merits on a month-to-month basis, meaning that an application can be approved for one month and rejected the following month if, for instance, their financial situation changed.

“This has become more prevalent with the lockdown levels easing, allowing for some sectors of the economy to return to work, and thus reducing the number of severely distressed citizens.”

However, despite the reduced levels of lockdown, SASSA said it was cognisant that the pandemic has taken its toll and many people are still without an income.

“All applicants whose applications are declined have the right to appeal against the decision,” SASSA said, adding that it is currently dealing with about 60 000 appeals.

SASSA is encouraging people to send their appeals to covid19srdappeals@sassa.gov.za.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will from Thursday begin processing COVID-19 TERS applications for the period covering 16 August to 15 September 2020.

The payments are part of government’s basket of services aimed at acting as a safety net for workers detrimentally affected by the pandemic’s halting of the economy during the lockdown.

In a statement, the Department of Employment and Labour said the disbursements have shielded many families from falling into the poverty trap.

“To apply for the September period, employers are required to upload similar documentation which includes signed approval or acceptance letter, bank confirmation letter, proof of payment to employees, and refund to the UIF – if applicable,” said the Acting UIF Commissioner, Marsha Bronkhorst.

The department said applications will be subjected to a stringent vetting process with external partners to ascertain the validity of claims before the funds are paid and to ensure that the new controls weed out fraudulent claims.

“Early signs of the new vetting process with external partners show that we are on the right track, as we have been able to pick up potentially fraudulent claims,” she said.

Payments of claims was last month stopped and referred to the UIF’s Risk Management Unit for further investigation.

“We are also subjecting claims applications by foreign nationals to the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that we pay to authentic and deserving beneficiaries, and we shall immediately start paying these claims upon the completion of the vetting process by Home Affairs,” Bronkhorst said.

COVID-19 TERS claim applications from April to May closed on 25 September 2020.

Claims for the June period will close on 15 October 2020, while claims for July and August will close on 30 October 2020.

The extension of the payments widened the net of the scheme until the end of the National State of Disaster.

The Direction allows employers or employees to claim the COVID-19 TERS benefits for the extension period starting from 16 August until 15 September 2020. The new directives cover the following categories of employees whose employers are:

(a)       not permitted to commence operations under the Disaster Management Regulations;

(b)       unable to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable workers, such as working from home or taking special measures under the OHS Direction to protect them;

(c)        unable to make use of their services because of operational requirements caused by compliance with the Regulations and Directions such as rostering, staggering working hours, short time and the introduction of shift systems.

The application process remains the same for the extension period and all claims must be lodged via the online portal (https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19/ OR www.labour.gov.za).

The police have urged the public to exercise caution when sharing unconfirmed crime-related information on social media.

This comes after a video of a bogus kidnapping in Klerksdorp went viral on social media platforms, particularly on WhatsApp.

“A preliminary investigation was conducted after police management in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District became aware of the video. It showed that no such incident was reported in Klerksdorp,” the provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, said.

The police believe that the video was staged to spark fear among members of the public.

“In the same breath, voice notes with false and unsubstantiated information were over the weekend shared on social media platforms about alleged kidnapping incidents for human trafficking purposes.

“However, it turned out that no cases were reported to the police either in Mmabatho or Mahikeng, where the purported incidents took place,” said Mokgwabone.

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, has appealed for the responsible use of social media platforms.

He has since requested users to verify the legitimacy of crime-related videos and voice notes with the police before forwarding them, as some may be false and contribute towards the spread of fake information.

Kwena encouraged the public to report any suspected criminal activity to the police for investigation.

The police in Gauteng recently cautioned against the peddling of fake stories about human trafficking or the kidnapping of women and children.

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has launched the South African Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement, which commits food manufacturers and retailers to reduce food waste.

Launched on Tuesday, the Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement was developed by CGCSA in partnership with the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF). It was co-funded by the European Union (EU) through the SA-EU Dialogue Facility.

Government’s partnership with CGCSA and co-operation with the SA-EU Dialogue Facility have been instrumental in the development of the Voluntary Agreement, which will assist South Africa to reduce food waste, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

It will also showcase the value of public-private partnerships in developing innovative strategies to bolster the circular economy.

The agreement commits CGCSA food manufacturing and retail members to implement measures to minimise and reduce food waste in the country.

Speaking at a virtual launch, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy welcomed the initiative and its potential to ensure more sustainable consumption patterns in the country.

Creecy noted that water scarcity, land degradation and burgeoning food and packaging waste are some of the major environmental problems of our time.

“Organic waste is a major component in any landfill and all efforts to divert this waste through ensuring better use of food products is a significant contribution to our joint efforts to promote resource efficiency,” Creecy said.

10 million tonnes of agricultural produce wasted each year

CGCSA Food Safety Initiative Executive Matlou Setati said the current estimates show that about 10 million tonnes of local agricultural produce in South Africa is wasted each year.

“This is equivalent to an estimated R60 billion a year. In a country where an estimated 14 million people go to bed hungry every night, this is a monumental unnecessary waste, which cannot be allowed to continue,” Setati said.

CGCSA co-chairperson Gareth Ackerman said that by developing the Voluntary Agreement, CGCSA is making a bold call to South African food manufacturers, distributors and retailers to commit themselves to prevent and reduce food waste.

“Given that South Africa’s retailers sell approximately 80% of the food consumed in the country, they sit at a critical point in the value chain to influence changes to reduce some of the food waste South Africa generates each year,” Ackerman said.

Ackerman acknowledged support from CGCSA members, including Massmart, Danone, Tiger Brands, Pick ‘n Pay, Woolworths and Shoprite, which have already pledged to support the initiative.

“Many more members are signing up because they believe it is the right thing to do. Let today’s launch be the start of an irreversible commitment to ensure that our members become the catalyst for action to address food waste and food insecurity in South Africa.

“Ultimately, the CGCSA is advocating for legislation to make it possible for surplus food, which is still safe for human consumption, is donated to the needy as part of national goals to avert food insecurity in South Africa,” Ackerman said.

Director of Agroprocessing at DTIC, Thembelihle Ndukwana, commended the willingness of both manufacturers and retailers companies to partner with government in ensuring that food waste is reduced with the aim to eliminate food waste in the near future.

“This is one of the efforts by South Africa to transition to a sustainable consumption and production and achieve healthy sustainable food systems,” Ndukwana said.

Minister Counsellor and Head of Co-operation at the EU delegation, Dr Bernard Rey, said that through international insights and expertise, collaborative dialogue and grassroots research, “this dialogue series has evolved into the successful launch of a multi-sectoral voluntary agreement on managing food waste in South Africa from farm to fork”.

The Gauteng Department of Health is concerned about the 6% increase in the number of COVID-19 active cases since the country moved to level 1 of the lockdown.

South Africa moved to level 1 of the lockdown on 21 September 2020.

Gauteng remains the epicentre of the virus with 219 373 cases to date followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 118 889, the Western Cape 110 541 and Eastern Cape 89 076.

“The rise in infections has been attributed to among other factors to non-adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions by some members of the public,” the provincial department said.

The areas of concerns include Johannesburg’s Inner City, Soweto, Sedibeng and Tshwane.

“It is important that we emphasise to the public that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over. We want to caution communities that we need to continue adhering to non-pharmaceutical interventions,” said Gauteng acting MEC of Health, Jacob Mamabolo.

The MEC called on everyone to play their part by wearing facemasks, social distancing, sanitising and washing hands.

According to the provincial department, 1 200 people are currently hospitalised in public and private health facilities.

Meanwhile, South Africa recorded 903 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of detected infections to 672 572.

In addition, 81 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease pushing the death toll to 16 667.

Of the latest deaths, 28 are from Gauteng, 11 from KwaZulu-Natal, 10 from the Northern Cape, eight from the Eastern Cape and the North West, six from the Western Cape, and five from Limpopo and Free State.

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

Meanwhile, recoveries now stand at 605 520 which translates to 90%.

The data is based on the 4 164 491 tests conducted of which 12 011 were performed since the last report.

Globally, there have been 33 249 563 confirmed cases of COVID-19, while the death toll has now surpassed 1 million, the World Health Organization reported.

African Union (AU) Chair President Cyril Ramaphosa says financing for Africa remains crucial if the continent is to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.

President Ramaphosa made these remarks during a virtual high-level meeting on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the era of COVID-19.

The meeting took place on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly.

“As we begin the task of reconstruction in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, financing for development becomes all the more critical. The overarching principle of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals is that we leave no country behind, and that those furthest behind receive our full support,” said the President.

With the SDG process set back by the pandemic, President Ramaphosa said Africa now requires additional financial resources to enable developing economies to respond effectively, not just to the pandemic, but to recover and rebuild.

“The challenges facing developing economies have been compounded by weak public health systems, limited social safety nets, high levels of inequality, high debt burdens, reduced tax revenues, capital outflows and lack of adequate and sufficient access to financial markets,” said President Ramaphosa.

On 19 March 2020, African Finance Ministers met and agreed that Africa needs immediate emergency financing to the tune of US$100 billion, which would provide fiscal space and liquidity to governments.

“Our view is that the Debt Service Suspension Initiative in its current form does not go far enough.

“South Africa supports extending the initiative and, in certain instances, considering the cancellation of debt,” said the President.

President Ramaphosa further welcomed the focused attention that is being given to illicit financial flows, which pose a serious threat to the development trajectory and economic stability of many African countries.

He urged developed economies not to renege on their commitments to support developing economies in the climate change adaptation and mitigation effort.

“Means of implementation support must be dramatically scaled-up to countries in need to enable them to meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement,” said President Ramaphosa.

While the pandemic has vastly reduced the fiscal space of countries to meet their commitments to support development, President Ramaphosa said policy options going forward should not replace agreed multilateral outcomes as reflected in, among others, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development.

“It is our hope that this platform will be used to accelerate the financing of the SDGs by the international community while recognising the different levels of development of countries.

“Working together, it is within our means to eradicate poverty and inequality, achieve greater economic and social justice and conserve our natural world for future generations,” he said.

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, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has revealed.

This finding is contained in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), which reveals that the number of employed persons decreased by 2.2 million to 14.1 million, compared to the first quarter of 2020.

“Contrary to what one might expect in the face of such a large decline in employment, unemployment declined substantially as well – decreasing by 2.8 million to 4.3 million, compared to quarter 1 of 2020, and resulting in a decrease of 5 million (down by 21.4%) in the number of people in the labour force,” Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said on Tuesday.

Stats SA said despite the massive decline in employment, the number of discouraged work-seekers, like the number of unemployed, decreased by 447 000.

During this period, the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 5.6 million between the two quarters, resulting in a net increase of 5.2 million in the not economically active population.

“These changes resulted in a significant decrease of 6.8 percentage points in the official unemployment rate from 30.1% in quarter 1 of 2020, to 23.3% in quarter 2 2020,” the report found.

This is the lowest rate recorded since Quarter 3 2009.

The statistics service said the sharp fall in the unemployment rate in quarter 2 is not a reflection of an improvement in the labour market but rather an effect of the national lockdown, since the official definition of unemployment requires that people look for work and are available for work.

“In essence, the national lockdown hindered people from looking for work, so this significant decline in unemployment while employment is declining is inherent in the official definition of unemployment.

“The unemployment rate, according to the expanded definition of unemployment, increased by 2.3 percentage points to 42.0% in quarter 2 2020 compared to quarter 1 2020, reflective of the fact that people were available for work but did not actively look for work.

“Almost all of the 5.2 million people who did not look for work for reasons other than discouragement indicated ‘national lockdown’ as the main reason for not looking for work. This phenomenon of a greater increase in inactivity than in unemployment is not unique to South Africa.

“It has been observed in most countries across the world, with the exception of Canada and the United States, as highlighted in the recent ‘ILO monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work’ report.

“So, the picture observed in South Africa is in line with the rest of the world,” Stats SA said.

During this period, employment decreased in all sectors in quarter 2 2020.

Formal sector employment decreased by 1.2 million (10.8%); the Informal sector shed 640 000 (21.9%) jobs; Private households shed 311 000 (23.6%) jobs, and employment in Agriculture declined by 66 000 (7.6%).

All industries experienced job losses in quarter 2 2020 compared to quarter 1 2020. The industries which recorded the highest job losses were Community and social services (515 000), Trade (373 000), Private households (311 000), Finance (283 000), Construction (278 000) and Manufacturing (250 000).

Employment also contracted in all industries year-on-year. The highest job losses were observed in Trade (482 000), Community and social services (379 000), Manufacturing (334 000) and Construction (297 000).

To capture changes brought about by the national lockdown, some additional questions were included in the quarter 2:2020 questionnaire.

Stats SA said respondents were asked if they were working from their usual place of work or working from home; whether they continued to receive salaries during lockdown; whether they received full or reduced salaries; whether they would be returning to the same job/business after the lockdown, and whether they thought they might lose their jobs or their businesses would close in the foreseeable future due to COVID-19.

Of the 14.2 million persons who were employed in the second quarter of 2020, more than half (58.1%) were expected to work during the national lockdown by the companies/organisations they work for.

Stats SA said although most of those who worked during the national lockdown did so from their usual place of work, and about 17.0% indicated that they worked from home.

The proportion of those who worked from home was higher in Gauteng and Western Cape than in the other provinces.

The share of those who worked from home was higher among professionals (44.7%) and managers (40.6%), indicating access to tools of the trade to facilitate work from home.

The majority of employed persons continued to receive pay during the lockdown. However, about one in five of them had a reduction in their pay/salary.

“There seems to be some relationship between level of education and reduction in pay/salary. Almost 9 in every 10 employed graduates (89.7%) continued to receive a full salary, compared to 75.2% of those with less than matric as their highest level of education,” said Stats SA.

Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC, Jacob Mamabolo, has instructed the taxi associations operating at Bosman taxi rank to abide by the law and stop the intimidation that has resulted in some operators being barred from the rank.

This follows tensions which have been simmering between three minibus taxi associations, including Pretoria Mabopane Pietersburg Taxi Association (PMTA), the Pretoria Long Distance Taxi Association (PLDTA) and the Great North Taxi Association (GRENTA) – all operating the route from the capital city to Polokwane.

This prompted Mamabolo to bring all organisations into negotiations as part of efforts to keep the tension at Bosman rank from exploding into violence.

Mamabolo said he has met the associations and made it very clear that violence has no place in the taxi industry.

“As the provincial government, we will spare no effort in ensuring that violence becomes a thing of the past in Gauteng,” Mamabolo said.

The MEC has also instructed the associations to implement the findings of the 2009 arbitration process, which instructed all parties to “operate the Bosman to and from Polokwane route on an equal basis”.

This is while the office of the Gauteng Transport Registrar consults with the associations to find a workable solution.

“I have asked GRENTA, PLDTA and PMPTA to allow the department three months to re-evaluate the matter and come with a new proposal that will resolve their issues once and for all,” Mamabolo said.

The North Gauteng High Court recently ratified an agreement between Gauteng’s major taxi structures, the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance (GNTA) and the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO-Gauteng), giving the MEC powers to dissolve taxi associations involved in acts of violence.