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A joint law enforcement operation has slammed the brakes on a sophisticated pyramid scheme that fleeced 230 000 unsuspecting investors of millions of rands amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

The National Prosecuting Authority, Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) gave details on the “Up Money” pyramid scheme at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The scheme was probed by the NCC after an East London resident laid a complaint.

Acting NCC Commissioner Thezi Mabuza said a subsequent investigation revealed that Up Money (Pty) Ltd (Up Money) contravened the Consumer Protection Act by promoting and causing members of the public to join and participate in a pyramid scheme.

“Following a request from the NCC and the analysis by the FIC, Up Money’s bank statements, the agencies established that directors of the entity, between 4 May and 2 July 2020, made 221 976 deposits, of R180 each, into an FNB business account,” Mabuza said.

The deposits, she said, totalled R42 million.

“Over R40 million was deposited through points of sale and purchases at various retail stores. An amount of R3.5 million was transferred from the FNB account into another account held by another company called UniitCo,” Mabuza said. The two companies, she said, are linked through directorship and business address. An Up Money director is also the sole director of UniitCo.

Between 24 May and 23 June, UniitCo paid for the purchase of three luxury vehicles, namely an Audi TT, a Hummer H3 and a Jaguar XKR Coupe.

The vehicles, Mabuza said, were not registered as company assets, but registered in the name of a director.

In the wake of this, the AFU sought and was granted a preservation order by the Johannesburg High Court to freeze bank accounts worth more than R18 million and a number of luxury vehicles.

Prosecution

Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA, Advocate Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, told reporters that criminal prosecutions will get underway.

“The criminal charges may include fraud and contraventions of various sections of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA). The sections might be racketeering, money laundering, fraud, theft, assisting another to benefit from proceeds of unlawful activities and acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of unlawful activities, as well as assisting another to benefit from proceeds of unlawful activities,” said the Advocate.

The application by the AFU is part of the interventions by the NCC and the FIC to salvage more than 228 900 investors, who were defrauded in the multimillion Rand scheme.

Use of social media and recruitment

Rabaji-Rasethaba said the pyramid scheme, which mainly used social media to recruit members, was neither registered with the Reserve Bank, a registered stokvel, nor a financial services provider.

“New participants were required to pay a once-off joining fee of R180. This qualified them for a meat pack. The new members were then required to recruit five other new participants. This process was termed level one,” she said.

The original investor would then help the five he or she recruited to sign up their five new members each. This would then ensure that the original recruiter moved to level two, whose benefits were a meat pack, groceries and R500.

When those on level one were moved to level two by their recruits, the original organiser was pushed to level three.

The new participants made up the base of the pyramid and provided funding for participants who were recruited earlier.

Those who joined earlier were pushed to the top by the new recruits.

The Department of Water and Sanitation says the destruction of water infrastructure is resulting in a huge setback in service delivery.

“Vandalising of infrastructure does not only disrupt water supply to communities but it also impacts on the financial well-being of the department and other stakeholders in the water sector, particularly municipalities,” the department said on Tuesday.

The department said acts of vandalism of infrastructure, including property theft, is prevalent both in rural and urban settings, as witnessed in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape.

These acts include vandalism and theft of valuable metal pipes, fittings and manhole covers, leading to an increase in maintenance costs by Water Services Authorities.

“Water theft through bypassing of meters or tampering with pipes and fittings to make illegal connections is also a serious challenge, especially for downstream water users.

“Destruction of water infrastructure generally results in reduced access to a suitable quantity and quality of water to users broadly. This is turn affects the sanitation services, with associated impacts on public health and personal dignity,” the department said.

The department has called on communities to refrain from destroying water infrastructure and to protect it instead.

“This will result in improved water and sanitation services, especially in areas that are challenged with water shortages,” the department said.

The appointment of the new Secretary for Defence, Gladys Sonto Kudjoe, signifies the continued empowerment of women in the defence sector, says Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans.

The committee welcomed the appointment of Kudjoe in a statement on Tuesday.

“As the country commemorates Women’s Month, we welcome the appointment of Kudjoe in this highly crucial position and we believe that her experience, strength and vast knowledge of the defence industry will contribute to bringing the much-needed stability to the department,” said committee cqhairperson Cyril Xaba.

Kudjoe’s appointment was announced last month ahead of her scheduled first day in office on 1 August 2020.

Kudjoe served as South Africa’s ambassador to Sweden between 2002 and 2006, and Egypt from 2006 to 2010.

She also held several senior positions in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Kudjoe was the first female Director-General of the State Security Agency (SSA) appointed in 2013. She was with the then South African Secret Service (SASS) for about 13 years before.

“We realise the enormous task ahead and the myriad of challenges facing the department and thus we wish her well in her new role,” Xaba said.

Xaba has also, on behalf of the committee, expressed good wishes to the outgoing Secretary for Defence, Dr Sam Gulube, who first joined the South African National Defence Force as a medical doctor in the Military Health Services.

Dr Gulube was a key role-player in the drafting of the 2015 Defence Review.

“Dr Gulube’s contribution to the local defence industry strategy and his focus on the Defence Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Sector Code are some of the key attributes which he will be remembered for.”

“On behalf of the committee, I wish to thank Dr Gulube for his service to the country and wish him well in his much deserved retirement,” Xaba said.

The novel Coronavirus cannot be passed on to babies through breast milk, says Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

“I can assure you that COVID-19 has not been found in breast milk and research evidence has shown that the virus is not transmitted through breast milk or by giving breast milk that has been expressed from a mother who is confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19,” he said.

Speaking during the World Breastfeeding Week virtual commemoration on Tuesday, the Minister said breast milk remains the best nutrition for babies even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said government remains committed to improving the health of babies during the global pandemic under the theme “Support breastfeeding for a healthier South Africa”.

“We are mindful that families, mothers, caregivers and even some healthcare workers, in particular, are worried and asking many questions whether the Coronavirus can be passed on through breast milk and how can they protect themselves and their babies.”

According to Mkhize, great progress has been made in studying mothers and babies who have been affected by COVID-19 and breastfeeding in the context of COVID-19 came under the spotlight.

“Based on these studies, mothers who have been suspected as or confirmed COVID-19 positive are encouraged to continue breastfeeding while practising good respiratory hygiene,” he added.

These include wearing a mask, washing hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitiser and routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

“A baby’s immune system is not yet fully developed and requires immune protection from breast milk. This life-saving protection is more important than ever right now during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he stressed.

Benefits of breastfeeding

Nursing can protect children from many other illnesses and conditions such as diarrhoea, chest infections, diabetes and heart disease.

“Nearly half of diarrhoea episodes and one-third of respiratory infections are due to lack of breastfeeding,” he said.

Meanwhile, breastfeeding also offers children long-lasting protection against conditions such as diabetes, cancer, asthma and malnutrition.

It is not only good for the infants but has benefits for mothers too.

It can also reduce the chances of women getting breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers.

“In addition, breastfeeding facilitates bonding between baby and mom by triggering the release of large amounts of oxytocin. This is the same hormone that causes the uterus to contract thus reducing the chances of postpartum haemorrhage.

“It’s nature’s way of protecting the physical and mental wellbeing of mothers and babies in the first critical years of life.”

Weaning

Weaning children too early can lead to malnutrition especially in children under five, Mkhize pointed out.

The 2016 Demographic Health Survey South Africa has an estimated  27.4% (1 in 4 children) under the age of five being stunted, or low height for age and 3% wasted or low weight for height.

“Stunting is a result of chronic undernutrition. Stunting during the first two years of life is particularly damaging and may be irreversible,” he said.

Prolonged undernutrition can also compromise a child’s physical and mental development and expose them to a higher risk of getting diseases like heart disease and diabetes in adulthood.

“Furthermore, our current levels of exclusive breastfeeding [of] 1 in 4 children (32%) is not good enough,” he said, adding that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life.

Meanwhile, breastfeeding should begin within the first hour after birth – regardless of the mother’s HIV status, he said.

“Women must be able to feed their babies anywhere, anytime, without feeling any shame in doing so. We call on all men and women to support natural breastfeeding in any environment whether it be work, in public places, in gatherings, churches or even at home when other people enter into that space.”

Donated breast milk

The Minister said donated breast milk remains critical in managing children who cannot breastfeed for various reasons.

“The vast majority of these patients are premature babies who benefit enormously from the properties contained in breast milk.”

The Minister urged all healthcare workers to contact the nearest Breast Bank if they require breast milk for patients while also assuring them that there is adequate stock at this stage.

Immunisation

Meanwhile, he said the department has noted with concern of children missing their vaccination schedules for fear of visiting a facility and contracting COVID-19.

“Many of the illnesses we vaccinate against – such as measles, polio and meningitis are much more dangerous for children than COVID-19.”

He has assured parents and caregivers that health facilities have a triage mechanism whereby patients with flu-like illnesses are separated.

“This is to ensure that access to quality health care is not compromised during the COVID-19 surge.”

National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise is considering requests for Parliament to address COVID-19 corruption allegations.

This follows a request from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to Modise for Parliament to address allegations of corruption around COVID-19 relief funding.

“The DA, through its parliamentary leader, John Steenhuisen, has requested a scheduling of a debate of urgent national public importance on corruption related to COVID-19 tenders, with President Cyril Ramaphosa also appearing to provide answers about how he will act on the allegations.

“The EFF Chief Whip, Floyd Shivambu, has requested the establishment of a special committee (ad hoc committee of inquiry) to investigate the alleged corruption committed in the COVID-19 procurement of protective personal equipment, food parcels and other COVID-19 related expenses,” Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said on Tuesday.

Mothapo said the Speaker is considering the two requests, and will revert to the DA and EFF in due course.

A number of police stations have shut down for decontamination after members in different provinces tested positive for COVID-19.

Bronville, Kopanong, Virginia, Mangaung, Sun City and Delmas police stations are among those affected.

In the Free State, the Bronville Community Service Centre (CSC) will temporarily operate from the United Apostolic Faith Church and the number to be used during closure is 082 466 6708.

The Kopanong CSC will operate from the Victim Empowerment Centre situated at the back of the police station.

The numbers to be used for emergencies are: Station Commander – 082 370 9600; Detective Commander – 082 301 6383.

The Virginia CSC will operate from the Detective Building located on Civic Road. The alternative numbers to be used are 057-9108280/1/; Station Commander – 079 505 3222; Visible Policing Commander – 082 465 3011.

The SAPS Mangaung CSC will operate from a mobile unit placed outside the police station. For any emergencies and complaints, the community can contact the station commander, Brig Winnie Mokalake – 082 491 3029; Colonel Lefela – 063 688 2692.

In the North West province, SAPS Sun City police station will now operate from a mobile CSC placed in front of the police station. The old police station telephone number is not working, but the station can be reached on 0609877595.

In Mpumalanga, the SAPS Delmas police station CSC telephone lines will not be accessible for the duration of the closure. For this reason, members of the community who need assistance should contact 082 352 3460; Station Commander Colonel Sipho Sithole – 082 0651 028.

The SAPS management has apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Staffing and spacing is the biggest challenge that will face the public education sector when schools welcome all learners on 24 August 2020.

This is according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga who on Tuesday paid a visit to Eletsa Secondary School and Tshepagalang Secondary School in Letlhabile, Brits to monitor the return of Grade 12 learners to schools.

The visit follows a weeklong break following various calls in the education sector to suspend schooling as COVID-19 infections surged in the country.

Grade 12s returned to the classroom on Monday and will be followed by the Grade 7s who will return to class on 10 August.

All other grades will return to school on 24 August 2020, after nearly a month’s break from 27 July.

“For now there is space and there is not much really. The problems are going to come after the 24th.

When learners come back we won’t have enough space to ensure physical distancing so we are going to have to use differentiated timetables which are going to be either daily rotations because we can’t all be here at the same time every day, there won’t be enough space for all of them to safely distance,” said the Minister.

To manage the challenge of space, Motshekga said schools will implement a rotational timetable to allow for adequate social distancing in line with the recommended health protocols.

Maintaining that the reopening of schools remains the best decision, the Minister said it would have been catastrophic to cancel the academic year completely.

“For me it is even catastrophic as it is to have kids who have no access to reading materials and ICTS sitting at home since March up to now they have not gone to school.

“For me it is a disaster as even next year when we have trimmed the curriculum we will still not be able to claw back what we have lost,” she said.

Department claws back lost teaching time

In order to make up for the lost teaching time, the department has trimmed the curriculum nationally. Parts of the 2020 curriculum will be carried over into 2021.

“What we have done for the internal grades is to take parts of the curriculum of 2020 into the 2021 so we are going to only teach and assess them on only 70% of the curriculum.

“We are not going to dump the work we missed, we are going to factor it into 2021,” said Motshekga.

Having carried over parts of the 2020 curriculum into 2021, the Minster said it is unlikely that schools would be able to complete the 2021 curriculum.

“So it is going to be a three-year programme to see if we can claw back what we have lost. Every school is looking at its own situation with the curriculum, and what are some of the available resources.

“What remains for the Grade 12 is that their paper has been set. They are writing a paper that has been set since two years ago. Because the cycle for the paper is 18 months.

“That is why we pushed the exam to December and we are not giving them a break to allow them to finish,” she said.

By pushing back the 2020 Grade 12 examinations to conclude by 15 December, they would have made up the lost time due to the pandemic.

Home Schooling

While the department has left home schooling as an option for parents anxious about the Coronavirus, the Minister said all indications show that many are not taking it up.

“We even checked with the Home Schooling Association and parents didn’t take up home schooling. Without speaking to parents my view is that it is also not easy to home school. You have to register your child and you also have to arrange for assessments and sometimes parents themselves don’t have the time and capability to monitor the programme and that is why most of them didn’t take it up,” she said.

Motshekga said while the department is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the safety of children, parents who still want to keep their children at home must register for home schooling.

“As far as we are concerned we are doing all we can to make sure that children are safe but, rightfully as a parent, if you continue to feel that your child is not safe do the right thing and register your child for home schooling, develop a programme and keep your child at home,” she said.

Cash strapped consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the price of petrol is set to go up by 5 cents a litre at midnight.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced a 5 cent increase in both grades of 93 (ULP and LRP) 95 (ULP and LRP) in Gauteng.

From Wednesday onwards, a litre of 95 ULP in Gauteng, which currently costs R15.12, will increase to R15.17 a litre.

Meanwhile, both grades of diesel (0.05% Sulphur) and diesel (0.005% Sulphur) will increase by 45 cents a litre.

The price of illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will increase by 39 cents.

The price of illuminating paraffin (SMNRP) will increase by 52 cents, while the Maximum Retail Price for LPGAS will decrease by 4 cents per kilogram.

The DMRE said the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments were due to the Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, and the increase in prices of crude oil and petroleum products prices.

The Automobile Association (AA) said global oil prices strode higher during July, setting the stage for fuel price increases in August.

“Oil traded in a fairly tight range throughout July, but it was a substantial climb at the beginning of the month, plus some recent volatility, that combined to push prices higher,” said the AA.

South Africa now has 516 862 COVID-19 cases, after 5 378 new infections were identified on Tuesday.

The number of new cases shows a slight decline since 23 June 2020 when the country recorded 4 523 new infections.

However, 173 more fatalities have been reported, pushing the death toll to 8 539 since the outbreak.

Of the new deaths, 45 are from Mpumalanga, 37 from Gauteng, 31 from the Western Cape, 28 from the North West, 20 from the Eastern Cape and 12 from KwaZulu-Natal.

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

Gauteng remains the epicentre of the pandemic in South Africa with 181 946 cases followed by the Western Cape with 97 076 infections.

KwaZulu-Natal is now the third-hardest hit province with 84 361 cases, the Eastern Cape becoming the province with the fourth-highest number of infections with 79 674 cases.

The Free State has 23 705 cases, North West 20 149, Mpumalanga 15 395, Limpopo 9 204 and Northern Cape 5 302.

Fifty cases are still unallocated.

Meanwhile, the recovery rate stands at 69% after 358 037 people have recovered from the virus.

Also, 3 058 695 have been tested of which 21 916 were done in the last 24 hours, the lowest number of tests since 2 June.

Globally, there are 17 918 582 cases and 686 703 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.

The Constitutional Court is expected to today deliver a judgment that will settle the long running labour relations dispute between the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and Tasima.

In a statement issued on Monday, the RTMC said Tasima has launched numerous court actions in an attempt to hold on to the National Traffic Information System after the Constitutional Court ruled in November 2016 that it had to hand over the system to the RTMC.

“In the current matter, Tasima has sought to compel the RTMC to pay the salaries of its employees as it believes that the RTMC has taken over its business,” reads the statement.

This uncooperative attitude, added the RTMC, was insisted upon despite the 2016 court ruling which recognised that Tasima had unlawfully captured the state asset, eNatis, and turned a R355 million contract into a R2.5 billion deal.

“The company has steadfastly refused to disclose its true financial position to prove that it does not have money to pay the salaries of its employees. Instead it has instituted many law suits; in total of 64 with an expensive entourage of lawyers,” the cooperation said.