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The State Security Agency has noted reports about an alleged plot to assassinate the United States (US) Ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Lana Marks.

“The agency has noted the rising public interest on the matter and would like to assure all South African citizens and interested parties that the matter is receiving the necessary attention,” the State Security Agency said on Monday.

The agency is interacting with all relevant partners, both in the country and abroad, to ensure that no harm will befall the US Ambassador, including any other diplomatic officials inside the borders of the country.

State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said South Africa has a duty to protect maximally all diplomatic officials who are on State duty in the country.

“It should be noted that the nature of the allegation and attendant threat doesn’t permit us to give any detailed updates on the investigations.

“Reports thereon shall be provided to all the relevant authorities, including the President of the Republic, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and relevant officials in the United States administration,” the agency said.

Limpopo MEC for Social Development, Nkakareng Rakgoale, has sent her condolences to the family of the mother and daughter, who were killed along the R37 road outside Polokwane.

According to the police, businesswoman Lizette Deacon, 55, and her 70-year-old mother, Hettie, were reported missing from their home in Welgelegen, next to Cycad, on Thursday.

Deacon is said to have been the owner of Ocean Basket franchises in the city.

“This latest attack on women comes on the very day we were discussing GBV as government during the virtual imbizo on gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF),” Rakgoale said on Friday.

The police have since launched a manhunt for the suspects.

It is alleged that the victims’ neighbour went to visit the Deacons just after 6pm on Thursday, police spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, said.

However, the neighbour was shocked when he found blood traces in the house and the occupants missing.

“The police were called and a search operation was immediately launched,” Mojapelo said.

The bodies were found with several stab wounds, tied inside their motor vehicle, which was abandoned along the R37 road next to Kushcke off-ramp.

Mojapelo said the motive for the killings is still unknown at this stage. But robbery cannot be ruled out, the police said.

“The violent manner in which the pair was attacked tells us that there is more that still needs to be done in protecting the rights of the vulnerable people of our society,” said Rakgoale.

She said her office has dispatched social workers to the family and two restaurants owned by Deacon to provide psychosocial support.

“We are confident that the police will arrest these senseless killers, who have a total disregard for the law,” Rakgoale said.

This week, the Limpopo COVID-19 Command Council urged law enforcement and social workers to play their part in helping to prevent the GBV in the province. This comes after a recent spate of killings of young women, reportedly by their lovers.

Two cases of murder and house robbery have been opened. Anyone with information is requested to contact Colonel Linkie Mathebula on 064 756 8218 or Crime Stop on 086 001 0111.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), working with the Department of Employment and Labour, has temporarily halted payments for the COVID-19 TERS relief benefits, until it addresses the system control concerns recently raised by the Auditor-General.

According to the UIF, this move will not only assist them in dealing with the gaps identified by the AG but also offers the opportunity to ensure that some of the improvements that had already been identified by the management are implemented.

The AG’s damning report earlier this month cast the spotlight on the payment of the temporary employer/employee relief scheme (TERS) and social grants introduced to provide economic relief to the vulnerable and assist employers to protect jobs.

The AG found that the new system implemented for TERS incorrectly calculated the benefits for the first lockdown period between 27 March and 30 April by not taking into account the actual period of inactivity and the portion of the salary paid by employers, resulting in significant overpayments.

“Whilst the AG has shown us a number of deficiencies in the payment of the COVID-19 TERS benefits, I must hasten to add that many of these deficiencies had been picked up already by management.

“Some had already been corrected in the June payments but we will continue to improve the systems so that it responds to needs of our beneficiaries and make the payments effective and efficient,” said Marsha Bronkhorst, the acting UIF Commissioner.

The Fund has also committed to taking several steps to address the systemic challenges concerning payments.

“We have entered into Memoranda of Understanding with a number of government institutions to make sure we get access into their updated databases,” said Bronkhorst.

The institutions include the South African Social Security Agency, National Students Financial Aid Scheme and the Department of Home Affairs, which is currently verifying the UIF database to ensure payments reach the correct beneficiaries.

“Secondly, we have updated our system to make sure that the bank verification happens quicker and these include verifications for schools and non-governmental organisations, etc.”

Meanwhile, the UIF is working around the clock to improve its COVID-19 TERS application portal to ensure it becomes a self-service portal to make it user friendly for employers and employees.

Bronkhorst is optimistic that the system should be up and ready to help workers as soon as possible to provide financial relief, especially to those who are still under lockdown conditions.

The acting Commissioner said despite the challenges they are working under, the UIF has delivered in the face of great need.

“To date, the UIF has received just over 1 104 000 applications for the payment of COVID-19 TERS benefits and we have paid 825 840 of these. These payments equate to the just under R42 billion, which has been disbursed in 9 501 865 payments to workers around the country.

“As soon as the improvements are finalised, we will be in a position to ensure that workers of this country are provided a cushion to make their lives easier,” she said.

Moreover, the UIF has issued a stern warning that those who defrauded the system will face the full might of the law.

“There are already some cases that we have brought to the SAPS for investigation and prosecution – 35 out of a total of 146,” Bronkhorst said.

She said this serves as a warning to those who may try to defraud the system.

“Not only will it be harder to do so, but even if they do succeed, the law will eventually get them and they will pay for stealing from the workers,” she said.

The Special Investigating Unit has started with its investigation into fraudulent claims and action will be taken against all found involved in fraudulent activities.

South Africa’s recovery rate has now jumped to 88.9% after 573 003 patients recuperated from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, novel Coronavirus cases have hit 644 438 after 2 007 infections were identified on Thursday, while the death toll stands at 15 265.

Of the latest 97 fatalities, 26 are from Mpumalanga, 21 from Gauteng, 17 from KwaZulu-Natal, 15 from the North West, seven from the Eastern Cape, six from the Western Cape, four from Free State and one from Limpopo.

According to Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, 3 863 453 tests have been conducted to date, 20 555 of which were performed in the last 24 hours.

A Johannesburg-based General Practitioner (GP), Dr Karin van der Merwe, said it was a great relief to them that the COVID-19 case numbers were decreasing.

“It is also comforting that lockdown restrictions are being eased. One of the toughest parts of lockdown has been the prohibition on visiting family members,” said van der Merwe.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has given citizens the green light to visit family and friends under lockdown level 2, although only 10 people may gather.

“The reality is that many South Africans have already been visiting their families and this will become more common as restrictions are rolled back. Keeping elderly parents completely isolated from their adult children could be perceived as cruel and could lead to mental health issues,” Van der Merwe said.

The GP took part in the Health Department’s #ListenToTheDoctor segment this week.

Van der Merwe said while it may be tempting to go back to completely relaxed socialising, she has urged people to remain cautious to avoid the second wave of infections.

“So when you see your family, it’s still not advised that you hug and kiss.

“If children are involved, warn them in advance that they will not be allowed to hug their grandparents. We are hopeful that this will eventually change but for now, we must keep our distance.”

Ideally, a distance of at least one metre should be maintained at all times.

“Make sanitising hands upon entering your house a routine for all visitors. Try to visit in a well-ventilated area – outside areas are ideal. A picnic is a fairly safe option, especially if each family stays on their own picnic blanket.”

She urged those preparing food to practice good hygiene and for everyone to wash their hands before a meal.

Van der Merwe said there should be a sanitiser on the table for spraying hands when using communal items such as condiments and serving utensils.

“Keep visits relatively short,” she said.

She encouraged people to not drop their guard and keep the number of guests to a minimum.

“This all seems rather extreme but the safer we can make our level 2 meetings, the less likely a second surge of COVID-19 will be.”

Globally, there have been 27 738 179 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 899 916 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has welcomed Cabinet’s approval of the long-awaited draft White Paper on Audio and Visual Content Services Policy Framework.

Cabinet approved the draft during a virtual meeting on Wednesday and the next step is for the department to go on provincial consultations before the bill is finalised, said the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies on Friday.

The paper proposes policy and regulatory changes and makes recommendations to reposition the audio-visual media sector for future growth and investment promotion.

It emphasises the review of sports broadcasting rights matters, promotion of foreign direct investment within the broadcasting sector, and the Licensing of the Over-the-Top Services (OTTS).

The paper also delves into competition issues about pay-TV and free-to-air markets, availability of spectrum for the transmission of audio-visual content, and skills development to fast track digital transformation within the sector.

“There is a growing need to level the playing field between traditional broadcasting, on-demand services providers – these include catch-up TV service, video-on-demand services as well as news portals – and video-sharing platforms.

“It has been quite a journey to get this draft White Paper to this stage. We are steadily moving towards the implementation stage now,” said the Minister

Ndabeni-Abrahams also welcomed the appointment of the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA), Trevor Rammitiwa.

NEMISA is a non-profit educational institution that trains previously disadvantaged individuals with a focus in TV, radio, broadcasting and digital content production.

The Minister said Rammitiwa’s appointment comes at a time when the entity is repositioning itself to be the national digital skills training institute.

While welcoming government interventions to place some dysfunctional municipalities under administration through Section 139, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has called for the capacitation of municipalities to avoid interventions.

“Generally, it is communities that suffer the most when municipalities are dysfunctional. Local government is a critical sphere of government that is located at the coal face of service delivery and community participation,” NCOP Chief Whip Seiso Mohai said.

Mohai was speaking on the last day of the virtual interactive NCOP Local Government Week (LGW2020) whose aim is to develop a shared understanding and perspective of the broad challenges facing local government, among other things.

The session on Thursday reflected on Section 139 interventions, with the South African Local Government Association, mayors and panelists from various academic institutions making inputs on the state of financial management of municipalities and the impact of municipal boundary re-determination on municipal governance.

NCOP Chairperson Amos Masondo thanked all the participants for “deepening the debate on how to ensure capable and financially sound municipalities”, in line with the theme of this year’s session.

“What remains now is to set up ‘a processing team’, as recommended by the President of SALGA Thembi Nkadimeng, to assist us with regard to implementation. The steering committee will finalise this matter soon,” Masondo said.

Masondo welcomed the interventions by National Treasury, through the Municipal Finance Improvement Programme to assist local government in improving its spending on conditional grants, and to assist municipalities to build sound revenue management systems.

“There has been general concern raised about the political interference in administrative matters which allegedly strains the relations between key political and administrative officials. A point has been made quite clearly that we must continue to interrogate the implementation of Section 139 interventions,” Masondo said.

The four-day first ever interactive Virtual LGW2020 session started on Tuesday and was attended by, amongst others, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma and her Deputy Parks Tau, Deputy Minister of Finance Dr David Masondo, SALGA President Thembi Nkadimeng, MECs, Member of the Provincial Legislatures, executive mayors, councillors and experts in the field of local governments.

The NCOP will today wrap-up its programme for the week by holding a virtual plenary sitting where a debate on 2020 Local Government Week is underway.

Pioneer Foods has confirmed that the substance in its Liqui Fruit 330ml red grape juice cans is not glass.

Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Foods/PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa, Tertius Carstensthat, said what was previously visually identified as shards of glass found in the 330ml cans is actually crystals of a naturally occurring substance in products of grapes called potassium bitartrate.

On Saturday 5 September, the company issued a national recall of a single batch of product, based on the likelihood that the substance found in the juice by three consumers were shards of glass.

In a statement on Thursday, Carstens said that an investigation was launched as to the root cause and extent of the issue.

“Following extensive elemental testing at separate specialist laboratories, we have since received confirmation that the glass-like crystals seen in the Liqui Fruit 330ml red grape juice is in fact the crystalline form of a substance that is commonly found in high concentrations in grapes and products of grapes.

“The initial visual assessment by a laboratory of the sample as provided by a consumer indicated the matter to be glass. We opted to trigger the recall whilst we awaited the outcome of the technical analysis of the matter given the health and safety risk associated with the potential presence of glass in the product,” Carstens explained.

An opinion provided by the Department of Health on the matter suggests that grape juice naturally contain tartrate salts that look like crystal and upon cooling these crystals should stabilize

Potassium Bitartrate is a natural occurring material and non-toxic. It is commonly known as cream of tartar when used as a cooking aid.

Recall continues

Given the presence of the crystals, Carstens said the recall is continuing and consumers are urged not to consume or dispose of the product but to return it for a full refund.

To date, Carstens said Pioneer Foods has approximately 70% of the product out of general circulation and under its control.

“We’d like to thank all our retail and distribution partners, the National Consumer Commission and most importantly our loyal consumers for their understanding and assistance with this recall. We also apologise for any anxiety caused whilst we awaited the outcome of the detailed analysis of the crystals,” Carstens said.

Acting National Consumer Commissioner Thezi Mabuza said the recall was important in ensuring that consumers are protected.

The commission also urged consumers who might still have the product to return the cans to retailers for a full refund.

“Our primary purpose with regard to product recalls is to ensure that any unsafe product is effectively removed from the marketplace and hands of the consumers. It is important to remind consumers to return the product back to the retailers of purchase for a full refund,” Mabuza said.

The description of the affected product is as follows:

• Pioneer Foods Product Code: 27327
• Outer case Barcode: 6001240225615
• Shrink pack Barcode: 6001240225608
• Single Unit Barcode: 6001240225592 – (printed on side of can)
• Specific date coding BB 01.04.2021 C TIME and BB 02.04.2021 C TIME.

Social Development Deputy Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, in partnership with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), will today virtually hand over eight Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres across the Eastern Cape province.

The Department of Social Development and NLC have committed to work together to invest and support initiatives directed at improving access and quality of ECD, with a specific focus on children in rural communities.

Hundreds of children from rural communities in the Eastern Cape stand to benefit from the opening of new state-of-the-art ECD centres.

Chapter 9 of the National Development Plan (Vision 2030) acknowledges the importance of education in dealing with poverty and inequality in South Africa.

In fulfilling the goals of the NDP, South Africa is making investments in its future, with specific focus on improving ECD.

ECD was declared a public good, thus prioritising its expansion to all children as part of government’s first 1 000 Days campaign.

The department said the purpose of ECD centres is to protect the rights of children to develop their full cognitive, emotional, social and physical potential.

“The department still continues with the registration, provision and administration of the ECD subsidy, and ECD centres are encouraged to register their programmes,” the department said.

International commercial trade of rhino horn and derivatives remains prohibited in terms of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the South Africa’s CITES regulations (2010).

“International commercial trade in rhino horn is and remains prohibited in terms of the CITES regulations and as such, could not be authorised in terms of any domestic legislation,” Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy said in a statement.

Creecy said any claims to the contrary are a misrepresentation of the facts regarding commercial international trade in rhino horn, and any planned commercial trade of rhino horn by private rhino owners could possibly be for domestic trade only.

“South Africa cannot, therefore, issue permits for international commercial trade of rhino horn or derivatives. Trying to sell rhino horn internationally for commercial purposes would be in violation of the CITES regulations and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA),” said the Minister on Thursday.

The Minister said the domestic trade in rhino horn is subject to the issuance of the relevant permits in terms of NEMBA, its regulations and applicable provincial legislation.

“Any other international activity involving rhino for non-commercial purposes is subject to the CITES provisions and relevant NEMBA regulations,” Creecy said.

In terms of NEMBA, a permit is required to among others possess, transport and trade in rhino horns and any derivatives or products of horn.

The Minister also emphasised that the High Level Panel is reviewing among others, policy and practice matters of trade, breeding, hunting and handling of rhinos in South Africa and the panel will make recommendations to her on such.

“The department maintains an electronic database that captures extensive details on all individual rhino horns in private and government owned and continues with its verification programme to ensure that DNA samples have been taken, and that all horns have been measured, weighed, marked, microchipped and captured on the national database.

“This supports our ongoing efforts to ensure that the department has full and accurate information on the number of horns in South Africa at any given time and the registered owner of each horn. This is vital to prevent the smuggling of horn out of the country,” the Minister said.