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President Cyril Ramaphosa says over and above the regulations aimed at ensuring public servants don’t do business with the State, government is strengthening financial and HR processes as a deterrent to the practice.

He said this when he fielded questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.

“In the last month, the Ministers for the Public Service and Administration, Police, and Justice and Correctional Services have drafted a memorandum of understanding to better coordinate efforts that will lead to the investigation and prosecution of employees found to be conducting business with the State.

“While all wrongdoers must face the full might of the law, our priority is to ensure that corruption does not occur in the first place. We are therefore strengthening financial, human resource and other management systems to reduce the risk of unlawful conduct by any person in the public service,” he said.

This comes after media reports revealed that several public servants in the Eastern Cape were found to have been engaged in COVID-19 tenders in the Eastern Cape.

On Thursday, the President said one of the greatest challenges that the country is confronted with is the theft of public resources by those given the responsibility to manage and safeguard them.

“A priority at this moment is to address the concern that has been raised by our people about the involvement of political office bearers and public servants in the unlawful awarding of tenders and contracts to relatives and acquaintances.

“While most public servants are dedicated, diligent and law abiding, we nevertheless find that such practices are found in all spheres of government and in many public entities.

“A critical part of our efforts to root out all corruption – both in the public and private sectors – has been to rebuild our law enforcement agencies, to restore their integrity and credibility and provide them with the means to act against corruption.

“Over the last two years, significant progress has been made in strengthening institutions like the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority], the Hawks, SARS [South African Revenue Service], the SIU [Special Investigating Unit] and others so that they are able to detect, investigate and prosecute all acts of corruption.

“At the same time, we have worked to strengthen the measures inside government to minimise the potential for corrupt activities,” he said.

In 2016, government reviewed the Code of Conduct for Public Service employees to, among other things, prohibit public service employees from conducting business with the State, be it in a personal capacity or as a director in a company that conducts business with the State.

In 2019, the President extended this provision to the whole of the public administration, when Section 8 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 was brought into effect by means of a proclamation. This criminalised the act of public administration employees conducting business with the State.

“To ensure action against those who transgress these laws, systems have been put in place through the Personnel Salary System – PERSAL – and the Central Supplier Database to identify public servants who tender for contracts with the State,” said President Ramaphosa.

If you’re thinking of hitting the treadmill after contracting COVID-19, you might need to take a bit of a break before you can sweat it out.

Gyms are now open under alert level 2 with only 50 people who can exercise at a time.

However, according to General Practitioner and Sports Physician, Dr Etti Barsky, getting back into training is not clear-cut as it is after other viral infections.

“For the past 30 years, we have relied on the ‘neck check’ to decide when an athlete – elite or recreational – can return to sport after a respiratory infection,” she explained.

“This rule would extend to anything from the common cold to complicated pneumonia and if your symptoms are confined to your head and neck, for example, a runny nose, sinus pain or a scratchy throat and you don’t have a fever or muscle aches, then you are most likely clear to train.”

However, Barsky said the criteria does not apply in the COVID-19 scenario.

“There are many reasons for this, but the two that are the most worrying,” she said this week.

According to the physician, someone with mild novel Coronavirus symptoms can deteriorate around day seven of infection.

Also, cardiologists are seeing a higher incidence of heart issues in people infected with the virus.

According to the doctor, there is a 22% higher prevalence of cardiac injury in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 as compared to 1% in patients with other viral infections.

“It is currently not known how far-reaching the effects of the virus are on asymptomatic people; on people who have a mild-moderate infection and are not hospitalised and the long term effects on those who have had severe infection either with or without cardiac involvement,” she explained.

Barsky said international sporting and cardiology experts agree on various stepwise approaches before resuming physical activity.

She said if you are asymptomatic, it is best to wait for two weeks, before starting training again.

Those with mild signs should at least delay exercising until all symptoms are cleared, then rest for a further 14 days before working out.

Meanwhile, people with severe symptoms or those hospitalised without heart issues should take a break until they are showing no signs, relax for two weeks and get a check-up with a doctor.

In addition, you need an evaluation and clearance from a cardiologist after your two weeks rest if you showed severe symptoms or hospitalised and suffer from a heart condition.

“The more high-level athlete you are, the more it is advised to go for a formal check-up which would include an ECG and cardiac enzyme level checks.”

The virus, she said can cause complications in different systems in the body and therefore the best practice is to resume training slowly and steadily.

“You need to pay attention to both the physical and psychological effects of a workout.”

Barsky said there are several discomforts to look out for during, or after, a workout and these include a higher than usual resting and exercise heart rate and longer time to recover.

“Excessive fatigue, this includes knowing that you had a low-intensity workout, and feeling completely exhausted afterwards as if you’d done a much harder workout,” she explained.

Gym fanatics should also pay attention if they are they are feeling dizzy, have chest and muscle pain and palpitations.

“The best way to go about getting going again is to start with a very low-intensity session and gradually build yourself up over a three to four week period,” she said.

While the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is urging taxpayers to make use of its electronic filing platforms, taxpayers who are unable to make use of these platforms will be able to access SARS offices for assistance.

“From 1 September to 22 October 2020, taxpayers can visit our SARS branches for assistance with completing and submitting their tax returns. However, they can only do so by making an appointment, due to social distancing requirements under lockdown regulations,” said the revenue service on Thursday.

To assist taxpayers, the revenue service is introducing a toll-free number for taxpayers to call and make branch appointments. The number to call is 0800 11 7277 with operating hours from 8am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays.

Wednesday operating hours are from 9am to 4pm.

In addition, from 1 September, SARS will also introduce enhancements to the current eBooking system on its website.

The eBooking system will give the taxpayer confirmation in real-time of their booking slot with their case number and also advise them of supporting documents that they may need to take along with them for their appointment.

Since 24 July 2020, there have already been 14 201 eBookings made via the SARS website.

In addition, with both the toll-free number and the online eBooking system, taxpayers will have the option of booking a virtual session with a SARS agent – via video or voice call.

This would especially be helpful for the elderly, disabled or those who live far from a tax office.

If they choose the video option, taxpayers will be sent a link to the video call which they can access on the day of the appointment.

For video calls, taxpayers will need to have either a smartphone with a camera or a personal computer with a camera to start and conclude a video appointment. No special software is needed for this virtual engagement.

The revenue service said the “virtual agent” project was recently piloted at its Mitchell’s Plain office in the Western Cape.

Auto assessments

As part of developments, SARS will also be calling certain taxpayers who have been sent auto-assessment SMSes and have not responded.

“The call will be to ascertain why they have not accepted their auto assessments and to help them either to accept or edit their return and submit it on their behalf.”

These taxpayers:

• Have all been auto-assessed
• Have a refund due to them
• Submitted their returns at a branch last year
• Have not responded to an auto-assessment SMS

Since the first phase of individual filing season was introduced on 1 August 2020,  SARS has been actively encouraging taxpayers to use its revamped digital channels to file their returns.

“Over the past month we have focused on auto-assessments, in which we pre-populated taxpayers’ returns by using third party data, artificial intelligence and a taxpayer’s prior compliance history.”

“This was implemented to make it easier for taxpayers to submit their returns electronically – particularly those with standard tax returns – as they simply had to log into eFiling and accept the assessment if all their details were correct.”

By 31 July 2020, the revenue service had sent over 3 million auto-assessment SMS’s to taxpayers.

As of 27 August 2020, 500 322 taxpayers had accepted the auto-assessment outcome thus far.

“This means that 51% of those who had been selected for auto-assessment, and have already filed, accepted the outcome, while 49% elected to edit and submit their return. SARS will continue to make follow-up calls to encourage uptake, and prevent people from having to come into our offices to file.”

Moving to digital platforms

In the last month, SARS has been encouraged to that the just over 1.16 million taxpayers who have already filed their returns electronically, 281 160 were taxpayers who used to submit at branches in the past and are now using one of our digital channels (eFiling and/or MobiApp).

“We are encouraged by the large number of people being converted from filing at our branches into our digital channels. We also targeted government employees (national, provincial and local government) to educate and enable them to file their returns using our enhanced MobiApp and eFiling.”

The revenue service also emphasised that taxpayers use its online electronic filing platforms.

“We wish to emphasise that as far as possible, taxpayers are discouraged to come to our offices, but should continue to use our online electronic filing platform. While we are determined to minimise the numbers of walk-in taxpayers at our branches, we are also prepared, as an absolute exception, to address the concerns of taxpayers who don’t have access to any technology, or who struggle with data issues,” it said.

There are 618 286 people who have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak in South Africa, after 2 585 new cases were registered on Thursday.

The most-affected provinces are Gauteng, with 208 156 cases, KwaZulu-Natal 111 585, Western Cape 105 273 and Eastern Cape 85 625.

Free State has 36 419 cases, North West 24 805, Mpumalanga 23 677, Limpopo 12 867 and Northern Cape 9 829.

Fifty remain unallocated.

“Regrettably, we report 126 new COVID-19 related deaths,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.

Of the additional fatalities, 48 are from KwaZulu Natal, 33 from Gauteng, 25 from the Eastern Cape and 20 from the Western Cape, bringing the tally to 13 628.

The Western Cape has the highest COVID-19 death toll with 3 843 fatalities, followed by Gauteng with 3 428, KwaZulu-Natal 2 102 and Eastern Cape 2 853.

“The number of recoveries currently stands at 531 338, which translates to a recovery rate of 86%,” the Minister said.

The data is based on the 3 617 982 tests conducted, 19 009 of which were done in the last 24-hour cycle.

Worldwide, there have been over 24 021 218 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 821 462 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has applauded law enforcement officials for the arrest of three Home Affairs officials and their external partners involved in issuing fraudulent identity documents.

The officials were arrested in two separate operations in Emalahleni and Pretoria.

Edwell Muntu Monareng, a mobile operator from the Emalahleni Home Affairs office in Mpumalanga, was arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday for corruption.

Monareng was arrested in a sting operation involving the Hawks, SAPS Crime Intelligence and the Department of Home Affairs Counter Corruption unit.

He was arrested for paying a bribe of R13 000 to a Home Affairs Counter Corruption officer, who was investigating him for birth certificate fraud. The bribe was to make the fraud charge disappear.

Counter Corruption officers reported the attempted bribe and a sting operation was arranged to arrest him when he paid the bribe.

Monareng was also being investigated by a Home Affairs Counter Corruption official for fraudulently registering a Pakistani national and issuing him with a birth certificate.

According to the department, Monareng became the focus of the investigation after a member of the South African Police Service, based at the King Shaka International Airport, questioned a Pakistani national, who was preparing to travel on a South African passport.

The Pakistani national looked older than the age recorded in the fraudulent passport. Upon further investigation, they found his Pakistani passport with a different date of birth and surname.

The Pakistani national was arrested and charged with possession of a fraudulent South African passport and for contravention of the Immigration Act.

The police referred the matter to Home Affairs Counter Corruption.

“Using technology-enabled security features built into the system, an internal Home Affairs investigation established that Monareng had registered the Pakistani’s birth and issued a birth certificate. This birth certificate was later used to apply for the passport at the Empangeni Home Affairs office in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The investigation into the activities of Monareng also flagged another 131 transactions, which are suspected to be fraudulent and were completed by Monareng between April 2018 and January 2019.  The department is continuing with the investigation into the 131 suspected cases and will be initiating a disciplinary process against Monareng,” the department said.

Monareng appeared in court on Thursday and was released on a R3 000 bail. He is scheduled to reappear in court on 9 October 2020.

In a separate operation, law enforcement arrested Chinas Mohlolo, a former Home Affairs supervisor who left the department on 30 September 2019; Percy Mabena, an administrative officer at the Home Affairs office in Pretoria, and two Zimbabwean nationals Thubelihle Nyathi and Khumbulani Moyo.

The Home Affairs Counter Corruption unit initiated an investigation after an official reported to them that Mohlolo had demanded the login details of the junior official.

Mohlobo proceeded to change Moyo’s records to Callos Mazibuko, with a South African ID.

After Moyo’s arrest, he identified Nyathi, who is not a Home Affairs official, as the person who introduced him to Mabena.

“It is alleged that Mabena liaised with Mohlolo to have Moyo’s records fraudulently altered. The department is investigating transactions linked to both Mabena and Mohlolo. In addition, disciplinary processes are being initiated against Mabena,” the department said.

All four accused appeared in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on fraud and corruption charges. They also face additional charges of contravening the Immigration Act, the Identification Act and the Births and Deaths Registration Act.

Mabena and Mohlolo were granted R 2 000 bail, Nyathi and Moyo were denied bail and they remain in custody.

The accused are scheduled to appear at the same court on 7 September 2020.

Motsoaledi said he was encouraged that there are officials at Home Affairs and in the police who reported and acted swiftly to root out corruption.

“We will continue to monitor all reported cases to ensure that perpetrators and beneficiaries of fraudulent activities are brought to justice and sent to jail where they belong. We are clearly benefitting from introducing technology based security features in our processes.

“It is only when people report suspected wrongdoing that we will turn the tide against maladministration, fraud and corruption. I continue to support the efforts of law enforcement agencies in ensuring that all forms of maladministration are rooted out of the Department of Home Affairs,” Motsoaledi said.

Motsoaledi encouraged South Africans to ensure that their children are registered within 30 days of birth.

The Minister also encouraged anyone, who may have information about corrupt or any other criminal activities, to contact the South African Police Service or the anti-corruption unit of the department.

People with information can contact the National Anti-Corruption Hotline on 0800 701 701 and the Home Affairs Counter Corruption Unit on 012 406 4318.

While Cabinet has welcomed the country’s move to alert level 2 of the lockdown, the executive has warned that the fight against the virus could be hindered by the reckless behaviour of some in society.

The view was on Thursday relayed by Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, during a post-Cabinet press briefing.

Mthembu said Cabinet is of the firm view that the move to level 2 from 18 August has resulted in the welcomed relaxation of restrictions on even more socio-economic activities.

This significant transition, he said, will inevitably lead towards the recovery of the country’s economy, as well as the creation of much-needed jobs, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Cabinet acknowledged that while some countries had experienced a second wave of the virus, something that is an ever-present possibility in South Africa, the country’s collective efforts in the next few weeks could quell this threat.

“That will determine how we move [going] forward,” Mthembu said.

Cabinet during its meeting called on every member of society to take further precaution and practice responsible behaviour.

“Do the right thing to avoid a second peak. Government is working with social partners and communities to ensure that districts are adequately resourced and organised to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

“Our nation has made significant strides in fighting the pandemic… It is because of all our… contributions that we have seen infections going down in our country, and we are proud that we have been able to confront this disease,” Mthembu said.

Cabinet, however, agreed that the disease has not been defeated.

“Our work is being defeated by the reckless behaviour of people who refuse to play a role in curbing the spread of Coronavirus.

“Those who drive under the influence of alcohol and behave recklessly are endangering the lives of innocent people.

“As a result of such reckless behaviour, this week we mourn the untimely death of three Tshwane Metro Police Department officers, who lost their lives in a tragic crash with a drunk driver.

“This fatal accident is a wake up call to all of us, individually and collectively, to reflect on what we can do to act responsibly and play our part in curbing alcohol abuse,” said Mthembu.

Cabinet urged South Africans to continue observing health protocols, even during alert level 2.

“That we are in level 2 does not mean the threat of infection has disappeared. We must all maintain social-distancing, wear our masks regularly and regularly wash our hands or use an alcohol-based hand-sanitiser,” said the Mthembu.

This, he said, will see the country make great strides towards avoiding a second wave of infection.

A maximum of 66% of students will be allowed to return to university campuses, in line with the country’s shift to level 2 of the national lockdown.

Briefing the media on Wednesday on the department’s plans for level 2, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, said the return of students will be done in accordance with COVID-19 management plans to keep students and staff safe, while allowing for greater access to campus teaching and learning for more students.

The categories of students who will be able to return under level 2 include:

• All groups that had been prioritised to return in level 3, but couldn’t be accommodated due the maximum campus carrying capacity having been reached;
• Students in all years of study, who require laboratory and technical equipment to complete the academic year;
• Students in all years of study, who require practical placements/experiential learning/work place-based learning to complete the academic year (provided the work places and platforms are open and prepared), and
• First-year students in all undergraduate programmes, will also be allowed to return to their campuses.

Nzimande said all other students will continue to be supported through remote multimodal teaching learning and assessment, until they can return to campus.

The Minister acknowledged that each institution will determine the implementation of these criteria in terms of their own academic programme plans and strategies.

“I am aware that there have been different approaches and strategies for completion across the system, and some institutions have faced difficulties in implementing their teaching and learning plans effectively.

“However, we have been doing everything possible to ensure that we support institutions to respond in the best possible way to the many challenges that have arisen during the pandemic.

“This has included the re-prioritisation of funds to support the COVID-19 response at our public universities,” Nzimande said.

Institutions have been requested to submit updated plans to safely accommodate students and staff.

International students studying at South African universities, who are currently outside the country, will only be able to return to their campuses during level 1, once international travel resumes.

Nzimande said priority may have to be given to registrars and senior medical students in this category, should international travel be permitted under level 2.

Risk identified

According to the latest report, 14 universities are deemed to be low risk, six medium risk and six high risk for the spread of Coronavirus.

The 14 universities deemed to be low risk include Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Nelson Mandela University (NMU), North-West University (NWU), Rhodes University (RU), Sol Plaatje (SPU), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Johannesburg (UJ), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), University of Pretoria (UP), University of South Africa (UNISA), Stellenbosch University (SU), University of the Western Cape (UWC), University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) and University of Zululand (UNIZULU).

The six universities deemed to be medium risk include Durban University of Technology (DUT), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Limpopo (UL), University of Mpumalanga (UMP), University of the Free State (UFS) and University of Venda (UNIVEN).

The six universities deemed to be high risk including the Central University of Technology (CUT), Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), Sefako Makgatho University (SMU), University of Fort-Hare (UFH), Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and the Walter Sisulu University (WSU), are deemed to be at high risk.

Nzimande said the department is currently engaging with all medium and high risk institutions identified to secure commitments and actions to lower risks and expedite operational capabilities to ensure the successful completion of the 2020 academic year.

“Special support measures will be put in place to ensure academic activities resume at an accelerated pace at these universities,” Nzimande said.

Academic year to be completed in February 2021

Nzimande said he has met with both the COVID-19 Ministerial Task Team and Vice-Chancellors last week to agree on a fixed period within which all institutions must complete the current academic year and a fixed period of starting dates for the 2021 academic year.

“As it stands, we are targeting all institutions to complete the 2020 academic year by the end of February 2021, with starting dates for the new 2021 academic year ranging from 15 March to 15 April 2021. All efforts will be made to ensure that outlier institutions get up to speed to meet this requirement,” Nzimande said.

The detailed management of the two processes across the system will be communicated by the department once all the necessary consultations have been completed.

Road crash investigators from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) are investigating the cause of a horror accident that claimed seven lives on Thursday morning.

The accident, involving an ambulance, happened in the Northern Cape.

According to the RTMC, the crash happened when the ambulance collided with a sedan on the N4 between Kuruman and Khathu.

“The occupants of the sedan had apparently stolen sheep and they panicked when they saw an approaching ambulance,” said the corporation in a statement.

The driver of the sedan, attempted to do an illegal U-turn on the road, resulting in the ambulance crashing into the vehicle.

Seven people, who were in the sedan, died on the scene and there were two injuries from the ambulance. Seven sheep carcasses were discovered inside the sedan.

A case of culpable homicide will be investigated by the South African Police in Kathu.

The RTMC will work with the police to determine all factors that may have contributed to the crash.

Vaal Dam levels have declined further this week, says the Department of Water and Sanitation.

“The dam fell from 39.6% last week to 38.8% this week. The dam has hovered under the neutral 50% mark for a number of months now, [and it had been at 61.3%] during the same week last year,” the department said on Thursday.

The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), which consists of 14 dams, including the Vaal Dam, has seen a drop this week.

“[The IVRS] fell from 61.8% last week to this week’s 60.8%. These present levels are lower compared to the 67.0% the dam reached in the same week last year,” the department said.

Grootdraai Dam has also recorded a drop to 79.4% this week, having been at 79.9% last week.

“Despite the fall, the present levels of the dam remain higher when compared to last year during the same time, when they stood at 62.9%,” the department said.

The levels of Bloemhof Dam are above average this week at 96.5%.

“This is despite the decrease from last week’s levels of 98.2%. During the preceding year at the same time, the dam floated at 96.7%, showing that the dam has been in a healthy state for a number of months up until now,” the department said.

In the Free State, Sterkfontein Dam is stagnant this week, remaining at 93.9% for the second consecutive week.

In the comparative period last year, it was equally strong at 92.2%.

“Mohale Dam in Lesotho is in a severely shrivelled state, as it looks set to continue to remain in a concerning position. Presently, the dam stands at 6.2% following its fall from last week’s 6.7%. In the same week last year, the dam was at 33.1%.

“Moving in the direction of the Mohale Dam is Katse Dam, which is also in Lesotho. This week, the dam took a further knock from a lowly 28.7% last week, to 27.7%. The dam hovers under the 50% mark and has not made any improvement from last year at the same time, when it was at 18.2%,” the department said.

The department called on water users to save water.

“The department believes that water users’ compliance with appeals to not to use water excessively will help to avoid a potential crisis,” the department said.

Water users have also been encouraged to desist from watering gardens or using hosepipes to wash cars and cleaning paving.

“Thus, water users should work together with the department to avoid the risk of water scarcity as South Africa is an arid country,” the department said.

Six men have been arrested for the alleged theft of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) assets, worth R5.5 million.

The men were arrested during a joint operation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the agency’s protection officers on Thursday morning.

“The operation started earlier today with PRASA security personnel following up on their investigation into theft of the agency’s assets, mainly copper cables and signalling equipment,” PRASA said of the Johannesburg arrests.

Equipment used in illegal mining was also recovered.

“This is fuelling suspicion that elements involved in illegal mining, known as the zama-zamas, are now targeting rail infrastructure. Today’s operation between SAPS and PRASA is part of ongoing efforts by the rail agency working with the police and other stakeholders to curtail the economic sabotage against its network, which has been ramped up during the lockdown period,” PRASA said.

The suspects are being held at the Florida police station.

PRASA has called on the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute the suspects under economic sabotage charges.

“The sabotage against PRASA’s infrastructure is an attack on the country and its economy and it mostly affects low-income earners and the poor, who rely on passenger rail for affordable transport to and from work.

“PRASA further calls on members of the public to join the effort to preserve the country’s rail infrastructure by reporting incidents of sabotage against its infrastructure to the police,” the agency said.