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With many businesses detrimentally affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, South African banks during this bleak period have provided their clients with voluntary relief on loans with a book value of R537 billion.

This was confirmed by the board of the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) during a meeting with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday. Also in attendance was the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago, his Deputy Kuben Naidoo, the Deputy Minister of Finance, David Masondo, and National Treasury officials.

During the meeting, stakeholders discussed measures banks were taking to support the economy, as the country moved to level 2 of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The BASA board, which represents all registered banks, is composed of bank chief executives.

In a statement issued on Thursday, National Treasury said bank CEOs reported the success of a number of initiatives undertaken by the industry to support their clients during this difficult time.

“In total, as at the end of the first week of August, banks had provided voluntary relief on loans with a book value at risk of R537 billion. This voluntary relief was in part supported by regulatory changes made by the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank,” Treasury said.

The banks also provided an update on the loan guarantee scheme.

In this regard, as at 1 August, the scheme had lent R14 billion out of an initial R100 billion, benefiting almost 10 000 businesses, with another 15 000 applications still being processed by banks.

“It was noted that demand for credit is particularly low at present, largely due to the earlier voluntary assistance provided by the banks when the State of National Disaster was declared,” said Treasury.

This was due to firms being reluctant to take on additional debt.

“However, the recently announced move to level 2 would support the re-opening of significant parts of the economy. With firms adjusting to the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hoped that the economic recovery will strengthen and the demand for credit will improve,” BASA said.

With this in mind, changes have been made to the design of the loan guarantee scheme. These include a Business Restart Loan and changes to credit assessment criteria.

Minister Mboweni said: “The banking industry’s ongoing openness to discuss design improvements is particularly appreciated, and I note that many countries have adjusted the design of their respective schemes from time to time to respond to changing circumstances. We will continue to evaluate the scheme and make changes to improve it”.

BASA has emphasised the need for COVID-19 economic relief measures to be complemented by structural reforms for South Africa, as proposed by the Minister of Finance to turn the corner in its economic recovery.

Ongoing engagement between the Banking Association and National Treasury would inform further design changes that may be required to ensure that more small to medium sized enterprises use the scheme to support their recovery.

Following the recovery of three generation units overnight that eased supply constraints, Eskom says no load shedding is expected for the weekend.

Three generators were returned to service at the Lethabo, Medupi and Kusile power stations while another unit at Kusile was taken offline for repairs.

“While the supply constraints have eased for the rest of the weekend, Eskom would like to remind the public to continue using electricity sparingly as the aged generation infrastructure is unpredictable, unreliable and volatile,” said Eskom in a statement on Friday.

Unplanned breakdowns stand at 8 750MW of capacity, adding to the 4 500MW currently out on planned maintenance.

“Any significant deterioration in the generation performance may necessitate the implementation of load shedding at short notice,” said Eskom.

The power utility thanked South Africans for their assistance during the difficult week of load shedding.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has recently revealed the racial divide in COVID-19 deaths, with Blacks and Coloureds more likely to succumb to the disease in South Africa.

“Race is for the first time reported to have an association with in-hospital mortality, with a higher risk of mortality in individuals who were Black African or Coloured, compared to White individuals,” the NICD said.

The institution said a similar trend was observed in studies in the United States, where Blacks, Hispanics, and those from lower socio-economic status are more likely to die of COVID-19.

The NICD’s latest report is based on 49 218 COVID-19 admissions reported from 380 facilities, 144 and 236 in the public and private sectors, respectively, between 5 March and 8 August 2020.

“There was an increase of 5 177 new admissions since the last report, and 40 additional hospitals – 35 public sector and five private sector – reporting COVID-19 admissions,” the NICD said.

The majority of those admitted were in four provinces: 15 782 (32%) in the Western Cape, 14 122 (29%) in Gauteng, 7 824 (16%) in KwaZulu-Natal and 4 306 (9%) in the Eastern Cape.

“Admissions in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng have decreased, and there are indications of admissions slowing… in the other provinces over the past three weeks,” the NICD said.

Meanwhile, factors associated with in-hospital COVID-19 fatalities were also linked to older age groups, males and those with underlying conditions.

These include hypertension, diabetes, chronic cardiac disease, chronic renal disease, malignancy, HIV, tuberculosis and obesity.

“Trends in case fatality ratio (CFR) over time and provincial differences may be affected by many factors, such as hospital admission criteria, closing cases timeously, testing criteria in different provinces, and the severity of illness in admitted cases.”

The report also revealed that compared to the Western Cape, individuals hospitalised in the Eastern Cape and Free State provinces were more likely to die in-hospital, while individuals in Mpumalanga province were less likely to die.

Age

The study found that the median age of patients who died was 62 years and 49 years for those discharged alive.

“There were 39 (0.5%) deaths in children aged younger than 18 years, with most of these deaths in children with serious underlying comorbid conditions,” the NICD said.

Meanwhile, there were 511 (6.7%) deaths in patients younger than 40 years, while the CFR was higher in males (21.2%) than females (15.9%).

“In all age groups, except for those younger than 20 years, hypertension and diabetes were most commonly reported comorbidities among patients who died.

“In addition, in patients younger than 60 years, HIV, tuberculosis and obesity were common, while in those older than 60 years, asthma or chronic pulmonary disease and chronic renal disease were common comorbidities,” the report said.

Admissions

Of the 49 128 admitted individuals, 6 723 (13.7%) were currently in hospital, 34 186 (69.6%) were discharged alive, 481 (1.0%) were transferred out to either higher-level care or step-down facilities. Also, 7 655 (15.6%) died in hospital and 83 (0.2%) died after discharge from hospital.

“There were 1 028 additional deaths since the last report,” said the NICD.

Public and private sectors

In the first few weeks of the outbreak, most deaths were reported in the private sector, while most fatalities were recorded in the public sector since week 17.

“However, since week 27, again most deaths were reported in the private sector. The CFR was higher in the public health sector (24.5%) than in the private health sector (15.5%).”

The NICD has also noted a decrease in reported COVID-19 admissions for the past three weeks.

The NICD’s DATCOV is a sentinel surveillance system and does not include all hospitals with COVID-19 admissions and may not be truly representative of hospital admissions for COVID-19 throughout South Africa.

“DATCOV only reports hospital-based admissions and deaths and therefore does not include deaths occurring outside hospitals.”

The institution said the availability of reliable surveillance data is of critical importance to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of COVID-19 in South Africa, to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and respond with adequate control measures.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has called on taxi operators, taxi drivers and civil society to engage government on a plan that will see the taxi industry as an integral part of the formal economy.

The Minister made these remarks on Thursday during the launch of the National Taxi Lekgotla Public Discourse platform, which is effectively a dialogue with industry and civil society on topical issues that require resolution.

“The National Taxi Lekgotla will be a platform where we will consolidate consensus on sustainable ways to formalise and regulate the industry. This will be underpinned by an economic empowerment model that must benefit every single taxi operator, and not just those in positions of leadership,” the Minister said.

He said the public discourse platform will provide an opportunity to stakeholders and civil society at large to contribute to the solutions that will place the country on a sustainable footing to deliver an industry of the future, able to sustain itself.

The Taxi Lekgotla Public Discourse is intended to create a platform for sustained momentum and public engagement towards the National Taxi Lekgotla, planned to take place at the end of October 2020.

The launch will then be followed by a staggered release of discussion documents and a structured roll-out of debates across all digital platforms to sustain the conversation and engage stakeholders in robust discussions on all identified themes of the National Taxi Indaba. These conversations will be led by the Minister and the MECs in various provinces.

“The launch of this public discourse platform is an invitation to the taxi industry, workers, commuters and the rest of civil society to engage with the discussion documents and take the opportunity to participate in formulating the blueprint for a taxi industry of the future,” the Minister said.

The discussion documents that will inform the content of the public discourse and discussions in the Provincial Makgotla and ultimately the National Taxi Lekgotla will cover the following themes: unity and leadership; industry regulation; industry empowerment model; professionalisation;  road safety; customer service and commuter safety as well as Gender Based Violence.

Industry empowerment model

The Minister said the Taxi Lekgotla must emerge with an empowerment model that truly empowers the industry with the real beneficiaries being individual operators.

“We have committed to re-imagining the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme such that the real beneficiaries of this massive public investment are taxi operators, rather than commercialbanks, retailers and other corporates,” he said.

To date government has spent in excess of R4 billion and will spend more over the next five years.

“The end game is a taxi industry that is able to recapitalise itself and benefits of this business cascading down to the last operator on the ground.

Discussions on the industry empowerment will include the establishment of corporate entities as empowerment vehicles of choice to ensure economic benefits reach all operators in the industry.

Industry regulation

Discussions about regulation will primarily revolve around operating licences and law enforcement.

“The challenges experienced over the years relating to the issuing of operating licences, which includes challenges of no responsiveness of municipalities to applications resulting in saturation of routes as these operating licences are issued without due regard to transport planning.

“The current planning framework and the extent to which it affects the issuing of operating licences will also come under scrutiny with a view to emerge with a model that advances our objectives,” the Minister said.

The discussions will also look at strong disincentives aimed at those who operate illegally with penalties that include monetary penalties, impoundment of vehicles, suspension of drivers’ licences or a combination of measures.

Gender Based Violence

The Minister said the prevalence of Gender Based Violence in the taxi industry remains a source of serious concern.

“This discussion has been muted for too long and it is time it is confronted head-on, and active measures must be put in place to address this decisively.

“Such measures must also include safety of women and children in the taxi environment, with particular emphasis on the girl child,” he said.

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases are edging closer to the 600 000 mark after 3 916 new cases were recorded on Wednesday.

According to the latest data, there are now 596 060 people who have contracted the virus, while the death toll is now 12 423.

Of the 159 additional COVID-19 related deaths, 45 are in KwaZulu-Natal, 43 in Gauteng, 37 in the Eastern Cape, 29 in the Western Cape and five in Free State.

Meanwhile, the hardest-hit provinces include Gauteng with 202 011 cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal 107 271, Western Cape 103 210 and Eastern Cape 84 362.

The Free State has 33 163 cases, North West 23 641, Mpumalanga 22 067, Limpopo 11 944 and Northern Cape 8 341.

Fifty cases remain unallocated.

The total number of tests conducted is 3 455 671 with 25 324 done in the last 24 hours.

“The number of recoveries currently stands at 491 441 which translates to a recovery rate of 82%,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

Globally, there have been 21 989 366 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 775 893 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has welcomed the appointment of Kugandrie Govender as acting Chief Executive Officer for Cricket South Africa (CSA).

Govender replaces Jacques Faul, who resigned earlier this week.

Mthethwa met the CSA Board on Monday and noted the departure of Faul from his position and the resignation of Chris Nenzani as President.

Mthethwa welcomed the swift action by CSA to appoint a replacement in Govender, from within the fold.

“The appointment will certainly show an improvement in the composition of the top structure of CSA’s management,” said the department.

According to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, it was clear at Monday’s meeting that CSA was going through troubling times and any steps aimed at restoring stability to the organisation were welcomed.

“I still expect the undertakings made by the CSA at the meeting to be honoured and accordingly, look forward to CSA’s urgent response to the substantive issues I have raised with their delegation,” Mthethwa said.

The Minister has wished Govender success in her new role.

Eskom will once again implement stage 2 load shedding between 9am and 10pm today as the power grid remains constrained.

“While Eskom teams have today and yesterday successfully returned three-generation units to service, a further three units tripped, two of which have returned,” Eskom said on Wednesday evening.

According to the power utility, three generators returned to service at the Duvha, Tutuka and Hendrina power stations, while a single generation unit at Tutuka failed.

“Unplanned breakdowns stand at 12 100MW of capacity, adding to the 4 350MW currently out on planned maintenance,” Eskom explained.

“Any further deterioration in the generation performance may, therefore, necessitate the escalation of load shedding at short notice.”

Power cuts are expected to continue for the rest of the week, as the old generation infrastructure is unreliable and volatile and cold weather persists, Eskom added.

“We urge the people of South Africa to help reduce electricity usage in order to assist Eskom to reduce the instance of load shedding and keep the lights on,” Eskom pleaded.

Government, in collaboration with the private sector, is putting plans in place to roll out hydrogen fuel cell technologies in various parts of South Africa.

These will serve as alternative energy sources to the country’s electricity grid.

Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) Director-General, Dr Phil Mjwara said that such partnerships will enable government to take alternative energy sources to rural areas while also contributing to the growth of the country’s green economy.

Dr Mjwara was speaking at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Wednesday, where government has set up a field hospital to prepare for the potential increase in COVID-19 patients.

The department unveiled seven hydrogen fuel cell systems as the primary power source for the field hospital, which has facilities for testing and screening, as well as life-saving equipment such as ventilators in the intensive care unit.

The project is a partnership between the DSI, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, the Department of Defence and private companies including, Bambili Energy, which is committed to commercialising intellectual property developed through the DSI’s Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Programme.

Mjwara said that Bambili Energy is working on an initiative to take some of these fuels cells to rural areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

“This is the start, but the idea is to roll the project out to various parts of South Africa,” said Mjwara.

South Africa’s Secretary for Defence, Ambassador Sonto Kudjoe said that the field hospital is now operating using only the fuel cell systems, while Eskom’s electricity grid serves as back-up.

“It is encouraging that there was an opportunity to scale up the project.  We can extend the systems to many parts of the country and relieve the burden on Eskom, while transferring skills in the development of hydrogen fuel cells in the country,” said Ambassador Kudjoe.

The support provided to 1 Military Hospital will be complemented by hands-on training, involving government officials and unemployed college graduates with N4 electrical engineering (light and heavy current) qualifications.

Bambili Energy CEO, Zanele Mavuso expressed excitement at leading the deployment of the fuel cell systems to contribute to government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is also an opportunity to demonstrate the potential role alternative energy sources can play in our everyday lives, given South Africa’s growing energy challenges,” Mavuso said.

Further contributions in the form of methanol and hydrogen for the fuel cell units were received from Air Products South Africa, Protea Chemicals and Sasol.

Protea Chemicals Interim Managing Director, Pieter Swart, said they are looking forward to the partnership, and to working with the Bambili group and the various government departments involved in the project.

Given its experience in the production and handling of hydrogen, which it uses to produce liquid fuels, fuel gas and chemicals, Sasol will donate 10 000 litres of methanol and 600 kg of hydrogen monthly until April 2021.

This will help to power the field facility.

“We are deliberately pursuing renewable energy sources through technology, innovation and collaboration, and sustainably produced hydrogen is integral to reducing our carbon footprint across our operations,” said Sasol’s Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Executive Vice President, Charlotte Mokoena.

Other partners in the initiative include South Africa’s HyPlat, Singapore’s Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, the US company Element One, and Powercell Sweden.

Hydrogen fuel cell technologies are globally recognised for their potential to decarbonise the energy and transport sectors.

Fuel cells produce electricity by means of a chemical reaction, using hydrogen as the basic fuel and platinum-based catalysts.

Besides being efficient and reliable, fuel cells can be deployed rapidly and scaled up easily as the need arises, and their maintenance costs are relatively low.

The National Home Builders’ Registration Council (NHBRC) Disciplinary Committee has fined the eThekwini Municipality R1.2 million for failing to enrol 60 subsidy houses that were under construction at Inanda.

According to the NHBRC, the municipality, which was the developer of the Umqhawe project, commenced with the construction of 60 residential units without enrolling the homes with the council.

This is in contravention of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998, which requires all new homes to be enrolled with the NHBRC, 15 days prior to construction.

Home enrolment insures consumers against poor building practises and permits the NHBRC to conduct building inspections at key stages of construction, prior to the commencement of construction.

In a statement on Wednesday, NHBRC Acting Chief Executive Officer, Songezo Booi, said the municipality has pleaded guilty to all 60 charges proffered by the prosecution.

The municipality was accordingly found guilty as charged by the disciplinary committee.

The DC further imposed the following:

• Counts 1 – 60: R25 000 per count, of which R5 000 per count is suspended on condition that the developer is not found guilty of a similar transgression within the next two years; and that the developer complies with the late enrolment requirements within a period of six months from the date of receipt of the written ruling.
• A sum of R300 000 is suspended, subject to the conditions as aforementioned.
• Should the developer re-transgress and be convicted of a similar transgression by the DC within the period of suspension (i.e. 2 years) and/or fail to late enrol the units in question, the suspended portion of the fine will come into operation.

Booi said the municipality has paid the R1.2 million, which is a record single payment to date, and a first from an organ of State operating in the subsidy sector.

“We are happy with the sanction imposed, as it shows that such contraventions will be dealt with harshly in order to deter similar conduct in future and we hope that going forward, the municipality will be proactive in ensuring compliance and not wait for enforcement and disciplinary sanctions by the NHBRC,” Booi said.

South Africa’s COVID-19 death toll has jumped to 12 264 after 282 fatalities were recorded on Wednesday.

Of the new deaths, 89 were in Gauteng, 66 in the Eastern Cape, 57 in KwaZulu-Natal, 34 in the Western Cape, 20 in the North West, 13 in Free State and three in the Northern Cape.

Also, the number of cumulative COVID-19 cases increased to 592 144 after 2 258 new infections were identified.

Gauteng remains the epicentre with 200 949 cases, while KwaZulu-Natal has 106 565, Western Cape 102 739 and Eastern Cape 84 144.

The provinces with the least number of infections include the Free State with 32 593 cases, North West 23 445, Mpumalanga 21 717, Limpopo 11 813 and Northern Cape 8 129.

Fifty cases remain unallocated.

“The total number of tests conducted to date is 3 430 347, with 14 677 new tests conducted since the last report,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.

According to the latest data, 485 468 people have recuperated to date, which translates to a recovery rate of 82%.

Globally, there have been 21 756 357 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 771 635 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.