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Three suspects accused of conspiring to steal money by hacking into the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) system, are expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate Court today.

The suspects, aged between 27 and 39, were arrested in Nelspruit during an intelligence driven operation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation, together with Cyber Crime, Local Criminal Record Centre and SASSA on Friday.

The suspects are accused of conspiring to steal monies by hacking into the SASSA system.

Hawks Mpumalanga spokesperson, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said an electronic device which was intended to be used to extract information including a laptop, scanner, SASSA cards, and the suspect’s vehicle were seized.

“The three will be facing charges of corruption, fraud, conspiracy to commit an offense and contravention of the Electronic Communication Act.  Investigations are still ongoing,” Sekgotodi said.

Two people, one a current Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa employee and another, a former employee of the agency, have been arrested for allegedly being in possession of stolen assets, worth almost R2 million in value, belonging to PRASA.

The two were arrested by the Organised Crime Unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Protection Services of PRASA this past weekend.

The arrests follow an intense investigation by the unit of the SAPS and PRASA security personnel, which also included a warrant to search the premises of the manufacturing company.

Twelve points machines and 50 signal tuning units, all belonging to PRASA, have been recovered.

“One of the suspects is an employee of PRASA at management level at one signal depot in the Germiston area in the city of Ekurhuleni. The other is a former PRASA manager, who now owns and runs an electrical and railway equipment supply company,” PRASA said.

The two suspects were detained at Elsburg SAPS and are expected to appear at a local magistrate’s court on Monday. The investigation continues and further arrests are possible.

The two arrests are part of numerous other arrests that have taken place since the appointment of the acting head of PRASA Protection Services, retired Brigadier-General Tebogo Rakau, earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the process to recruit 3 100 security personnel at PRASA continues.

This follows PRASA Administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo’s decision to insource security personnel after several security contracts were terminated by PRASA.

“The contracts were found by the offices of the Public Protector and the Auditor-General to have been irregular. Four PRASA employees were dismissed last month as a result of their involvement in the procurement of the irregular contracts,” PRASA said.

The 3 100 new recruits are expected to commence their guard duties in August 2020.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has been discharged from hospital.

Mantashe who tested positive for COVID-19 on 14 July 2020 was discharged from hospital on Sunday evening.

“We are grateful that Minister Mantashe is now at home with his family and on his way to a full recovery.”

We wish our other colleagues in the Executive, and all other South Africans battling this virus a speedy recovery. We also extend our condolences to the many families who have lost their loved ones due to the coronavirus,” said Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu.

The Minister was admitted to hospital on 20 July 2020, for further medical attention and monitoring.

Though Mantashe has been discharged, he has been advised by his medical team to stay home for another seven days.

South Africa reported the highest death toll in a single day, with 572 people dying of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Of the additional deaths, 400 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 114 from Gauteng, 43 from the Free State, 35 from the Western Cape and 18 from KwaZulu-Natal.

This has pushed the fatality rate to 5 940 since the pandemic.

Meanwhile, there are now 394 948 infections after 13 150 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.

The worst-hit provinces include Gauteng with 144 582 cases followed by the Western Cape with 87 847, Eastern Cape 67 818 and KwaZulu-Natal 50 521.

The four provinces have the highest recorded deaths as well, leading is the Western Cape with 2 752 fatalities, followed by the Eastern Cape with 1 345, Gauteng with 1 156 and KwaZulu-Natal 477.

SAnews reported on Wednesday that the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, chastised the Eastern Cape for under-reporting deaths during his visit in the province.

“MEC, I’m going to ask your team to continue to report deaths as they come and don’t wait or say you haven’t found all of them. You’ll never find them all. Just give us the report of the deaths on a daily basis,” Mkhize said to Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba.

While he said he understood that there were challenges, he urged the provincial health department not to go by a day without accounting for COVID-19 deaths as it breeds misrepresentation.

“It does give us a bit of distortion. You suddenly do not have deaths for one day then afterwards you have 400 deaths. It becomes the problem in terms of understanding the distribution,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the number of people who have recuperated stands at 229 175, which translates to 58% recovery rate, while 2 585 474 tests have been conducted.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are 14 765 256 cases and 612 054 deaths worldwide.

If you are worried about your driving licence that has expired during the lockdown, don’t stress, as you have until next year to renew it.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has publicised the gazette announcing amended directions on the validity period of licences, which was published on Wednesday, 22 July.

“All learner’s licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits, which expired from 26 March up to 31 August 2020, are extended to 31 January 2021,” the gazette reads.

In addition, all motor vehicle discs, temporary permits and roadworthy certificates, which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 May 2020 are deemed valid until 31 August 2020.

Furthermore, motor trade number licences, which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 May 2020, will also be given a grace period ending on 30 November 2020.

Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo has warned Sedibeng taxi operators to stop threatening the lives of commuters.

This follows an incident of violence where a bus was allegedly shot at and set alight in Sebokeng, south of Johannesburg.

According to preliminary reports, an Ipelegeng bus driver was allegedly attacked by occupants driving four taxis and two private vehicles in Zone 12, Sebokeng on Tuesday.

Mamabolo has condemned the incident and warned that lawlessness in the public transport sector will not be condoned under any circumstances.

The MEC has also called on the law enforcement agencies to speedily bring those involved to book.

“We are deeply worried that if the perpetrators of this incident are not brought to book, we might see a surge in torching of other public transport modes, something that has the potential to destabilize the province. We call on law enforcement officials to prioritise this matter,” Mamabolo said.

Addressing Sedibeng taxi operators during the launch of taxi ranks support committees on Wednesday, Mamabolo encouraged the taxi leadership in the area to isolate those involved in [criminal activities], and assist law enforcement officials with their investigations.

“Violence and destruction of property will never resolve challenges as they only serve to inconvenience other operators and put the lives of commuters in danger. The torching of the bus and intimidation of bus operators clearly shows a total disregard for the rule of law.

“This should never be tolerated and those involved have clearly crossed the line. We will ensure that rule of law prevails and triumphs over the rule of the barrel of the gun,” Mamabolo said.

The bus company has since ceased operations, affecting over 3 500 commuters in Orange Farm, Evaton, Sebokeng, Meyerton and Bophelong, areas in the Sedibeng District Municipality.

Following his address to the Sedibeng taxi operators, MEC visited Ipelegeng Transport Trust bus depot where he encouraged the company to resume operations on Thursday.

“We will not be intimidated by taxi warlords. Taxi associations and their leadership should renounce the violence and stop intimidating and putting the lives of commuters in danger. If allegations that taxi operators have a hand in this are proven to be true, we will not hesitate to put the associations involved under administration,” Mamabolo said.

The MEC also challenged the leadership to assist law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of this, and ensure that perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.

He further emphasised that the taxi operators must appreciate competition in the transport sector and cannot, in any way, force commuters to use their services.

“Commuters have an unalienable right to choose any mode of transport and exercise their choice. We call upon the taxi industry to appreciate efforts of building a gun-free industry and refrain from using killing machines, as these end up harming the very same people that initially brought them into the taxi industry,” Mamabolo.

MEC Mamabolo added that the department has always opened its doors to all transport operators to raise issues without resorting to violence,” the MEC added.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) says it has begun with double payments for the outstanding R350 grant for June and July.

“This is meant to avoid a situation where beneficiaries of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant have to make two trips to the Post Office and to eradicate the backlog of payments,” SASSA said on Wednesday.

The agency said the move has been met with much appreciation and excitement on social media.

In the statement, SASSA said these double payments are in the process of being transferred into people’s bank accounts as of this week.

“Payments for those who receive their money through the Post Office will be done progressively throughout the month to try and limit the numbers of people at the Post Offices on a daily basis.”

However, the agency is pleading with the beneficiaries who do not have bank accounts and will receive their money at the Post Office to only go there once they have received an SMS saying their money is ready for collection.

Meanwhile, the agency said it has already reconsidered applications made in May against updated databases received resulting in about 1 million additional applicants being approved for the special allowance.

“This will drastically reduce the number of potential appeals and will also cushion the affected beneficiaries against the current impact of the lockdown,” SASSA added.

The grant is meant to help those who are unemployed and receiving no other assistance.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (Afdb) has approved a loan of approximately R5 billion ($288 million) to the government of South Africa, as the country battles one of the largest COVID-19 caseloads in the world.

South Africa confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020 and is currently the most affected in Africa, and among the top five in the world in terms of confirmed cases.

The country reported the highest death toll in a single day, with 572 people dying of COVID-19 on Wednesday. There are now 394 948 infections.

According to the Afdb, the loan falls under the bank’s $10 billion COVID-19 Response Facility and will finance South Africa’s COVID-19 Response Support Program, it further represents the bank’s first ever budget support to the country.

The operation is designed as a Crisis Response Budget Support Operation prepared following a request from the government of South Africa.

The purpose of the program is to:

-protect lives and promote access to essential equipment to prevent infection, such as protective personal equipment, sanitizers and gloves

-protect livelihoods by preserving jobs, incomes, food security and access to essential public services – protect firms by supporting enterprises in the formal and informal economy to withstand the impacts of COVID-19 and prepare for economic recovery.

“South Africa’s ability to respond to the pandemic has implications for neighbouring countries as well as the continent as a whole, given its position as Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria.

“Even before the pandemic, South Africa was experiencing an economic slump. In 2019, the country registered GDP growth of 0.2% – the lowest in a decade – and according to bank estimates it could drop to the worst in 90 years in 2020. Projections show a GDP contraction of 6.3% and 7.5% under baseline and worst-case scenarios, respectively,” said the bank in a statement.

These growth forecasts have placed budgetary constraints on the government’s ability to deal with the health crisis.

In order to ensure a complementary intervention, the African Development Bank operation was designed in collaboration with other partners, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the New Development Bank.

South Africa is ranked as the most prepared African country to deal with a pandemic, according to a Global Health Security (GHS) Index.

“Yet significant challenges remain in the public health sector, including underfunding and human resource shortages. While the private health sector is better equipped, it remains unaffordable to the majority of South Africans.”

The COVID-19 outbreak is also likely to adversely affect the gains made in controlling other infectious diseases such as TB and HIV and AIDS.

“South Africa’s scaling up of mass testing has also put pressure on capacity at public sector laboratories, and concerns have been raised about the rising numbers of infections among health workers,” said the bank.

Eskom has suspended operations in parts of Kraaifontein and Wesbank (Delft) due to protest action.

The suspension of services in these Western Cape areas come as Eskom staff escaped with their lives when the vehicle they were travelling in was pelted with rocks in a protest in Kraaifontein.

Protest action in Wesbank has also forced Eskom to withdraw its operators.

“The ongoing protest action across Cape Town is posing a significant threat to the safety of field operators working in these communities. The safety of employees is Eskom’s top priority and only when these areas are declared safe, will operations resume,” said the power utility in a statement on Wednesday.

Th new suspension of services follows the suspension of operations in parts of Khayelitsha and Bardale on Monday. The suspensions in these areas were also due to violent protests.

In addition, Eskom has also taken the decision to withdraw operations from Bloekombos and Wallacedene.

The power utility is working closely with the local South African Police Service (SAPS) and Eskom Security Services to ensure the safety of its staff while working in these areas.

Engagement is also taking place with community leaders to find solutions to the situation.

“We emphasise our call to communities to support Eskom and report incidents by contacting the Eskom toll-free crime hotline 0800 11 27 22 or SMS Crime Line on 32211. Callers may remain anonymous,” Eskom said.

Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with disabilities, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, says the department has forged partnerships that will see it rolling out free sanitary products to vulnerable women and girls in poor communities.

The Minister said this when she outlined the Ministry’s budget priorities for the year ahead in a virtual mini-plenary of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

She said this amid concerns over the lack of access to menstrual health and hygiene products by indigent women and girls, products such as sanitary towels, water and soap, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On our part, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has contributed to the COVID-19 response plan with a particular focus on mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic on women, youth and persons with disabilities.

“The Department has also partnered with the Department of Social Development, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and WaterAid to ensure Menstrual Hygiene Management is accessible to vulnerable women and girls.

While the United Nations Population Fund is an agency that promotes the rights of women and girls in areas of reproductive health and gender equality, WaterAid is an international NGO that works in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene.

“Furthermore, the Department has been participating actively in government structures to coordinate the response to COVID-19, including key workstreams and the [National Joint Operations]. This is to ensure that interventions are deliberately targeted at these sectors and that these sectors benefit from social and economic relief packages.

“Working with development partners, we will ensure that women in poor communities have access to free sanitary dignity products,” she said.

Nkoana-Mashabane also said that government has adopted progressive interventions to alleviate the worst social impacts of COVID-19.

This includes the establishment of homeless shelters; expansion of provision of psycho-social support services; measures to ensure support for gender-based violence victims, including declaration of GBV-related services as essential services and strengthening the capacity of the GBV Command Centre.

Calls for communities to unite against gender-based violence

Nkoana-Mashabane said as efforts against gender-based violence are intensified, the fight against femicide is bigger than government.

“We need communities to join and help us eradicate this pandemic. We would like to call upon our communities to come together against this scourge and expose perpetrators and not turn a blind eye.

“As government, we will continue to improve our response to gender-based violence and femicide in the context of the District Development Model.

“We will ensure that perpetrators are brought to book whilst taking good care of the victims. We will engage all structures of society through on-going dialogues, education and healing sessions. We want to work with communities so that we can get to the root of this pandemic.”