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As South Africa steadily edges to its COVID-19 peak, President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged citizens not to be complacent and adhere to the regulations put in place.

“We have all seen images and this is the worrying part, of people having parties and social gatherings, attending funerals where sometimes the limited number is not adhered to and without masks.

“Tonight I want to implore all of us to embrace the regulations with the same vigour that we did in the early days. I’d like to ask that everyone should be very conscious of the actions that we take because they impact the safety of those around you,” he said.

With the country’s COVID-19 cases tipping over the 150 000 mark at 151 209 recorded on Tuesday, President Ramaphosa made the call during the first virtual Presidential Imbizo on Coronavirus.

The Imbizo, a public-participation platform where communities are able to interact directly with government on challenges in society, took place on Wednesday evening.

Citizens called in using the toll-free hotline: 0800 142 446 – and under the #PresidentialImbizo took to social media to engage the President on Coronavirus, gender-based violence, the cigarette ban and life beyond lockdown.

“We need to look at opportunities that this moment yields. What are those opportunities?

“We currently involved in looking at the various opportunities that were given rise by COVID-19, opportunities such as resetting the economy of our country.

“Coronavirus has brought with it the presence of devastating poverty, unemployment and indeed it has done so for many other countries, not that it was not known but the Coronavirus has brought it to the fore,” said the President.

The steady rise of COVID-19 infections has left many South Africans reasonably anxious as was evident in some of the questions posed to the President, which engaged the President on the symptoms of COVID-19.

While the President is admittedly not a medical doctor, he highlighted some key symptoms of COVID-19 such as chest pains, headaches, joint pain but equally stressed that some patients are asymptomatic.

On a question as to when smokers can expect the lifting of the cigarette ban, the President emphasised that this will take place as the country gradually moves through the various levels.

“We will not be under lockdown forever – even the ban on cigarettes will be lifted. It is still in place now in terms of our regulations and I think we should accept it as such and with time as we go to another level, the ban on cigarettes will be lifted,” he said.

Gender-based violence

Gender-based violence also reared its ugly head, with a caller raising her concern to the President over the inability to lay a charge of assault she recently experienced at a police station, stifled by the police officers.

Having previously highlighted gender-based violence as the country’s second pandemic, President Ramaphosa punted the importance for a multidisciplinary approach to gender-based violence that involves layers of professionals and goes beyond the opening of a case.

“It does not matter whether she has been violated by a person who is mentally challenged, she does need to have redress. The redress should be the type that involves the intervention of a whole number of professional people from social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. They should be brought into the picture.

“It should not just be the word of the police officers because they may not be well versed in issues that have to do with people who are mentally challenged,” said the President.

Noting the socio-economic impact of the Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown, the President urged South Africans not to underestimate the magnitude of the challenges presented by the virus.

On Tuesday, Stats SA announced that Gross Domestic Product GDP contracted by 2%. Just last week, the statistics agency announced that the country’s unemployment rose to 30.1%.

“We must not underestimate the magnitude of the challenge we are facing and we have to be realistic that it will take some time for our economy to recover. Already before the pandemic our economy was facing enormous challenges and it is for this reason that our recovery will take time,” he said.

As part of his COVID-19 readiness oversight visits, President Cyril Ramaphosa will head to Mpumalanga on Friday to assess the province’s response to the pandemic.

The President will visit the Ehlanzeni District Municipality to assess Mpumalanga’s preparations.

The visit follows the President’s oversight visits to Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape to evaluate the fight against COVID-19.

Mpumalanga province currently accounts for 0.8 percent of infections nationally.

President Ramaphosa will commence his visit by receiving a presentation from the Provincial Command Council on the province’s COVID-19 response strategy.

He will then proceed to the Cyril Clarke Secondary School to monitor progress made in managing the impact and spread of the virus in schools.

The visit will culminate in a visit to the Rob Ferreira Hospital as a designated hospital for managing the COVID-19 cases.

President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane on his inspection of COVID-19 facilities.

As confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in South Africa, Social Development Deputy Minister, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, has appealed to the public, particularly caregivers in residential care facilities, to keep older people safe and protected from contracting the virus.

“More than ever before, we need to do more and play our part and focus on keeping our older persons protected from COVID-19, as they are particularly vulnerable due to their advanced age, weak immune systems and other underlying health conditions.

“Our collective responsibility is to give them love and care to enjoy their golden days to the fullest,” Bogopane-Zulu said.

The Deputy Minister made the appeal on Tuesday during her assessment visit at Lodewyk Spies Old Age Home in Eersterus, east of Pretoria, to ensure compliance with level 3 regulations.

Lodewyk Spies Old Age Home is registered as a 24-hour residential care facility, in terms of the Older Persons Act (Act No. 13 of 2006).

The facility is funded to the tune of R4 million by the Provincial Department of Social Development in the current financial year.

The Deputy Minister’s visit formed part of the department’s drive to ensure that all 418 residential care facilities for older persons countrywide comply with measures to prevent and contain the spread of Coronavirus.

To date, no positive case of COVID-19 has been reported at the facility, which currently caters for 96 older persons.

During her visit, the Deputy Minister also handed over personal protective equipment, including hand soap, soup and tea to keep older persons warm during the cold winter months.

The home’s manager, Abraham Damon, said since the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Africa, all caregivers, including cleaners, professional nurses and nursing assistants, were trained on prevention and control measures, and undergo daily screening to protect older persons at the facility.

“We are doing everything possible to protect our older persons against this dreaded virus. We don’t want to leave anything to chance. Our staff has been tested by the Department of Health and we are following strict health and hygiene protocols,” Damon said.

Recognising the emotional toll brought about on older persons by the restrictions on visits, Damon said the centre has recently started allowing family visits under very strict conditions that comply with social distancing measures and hygiene guidelines.

The family visits are strictly monitored at all times.

Bogopane-Zulu said while it is important for older persons to keep in contact with their families for emotional support and wellbeing, their health and safety must remain a priority.

Some residential care facilities for older persons in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape have reported infections and deaths since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Currently, people aged 60 and above account for 57% of all the nationally reported COVID-19 related deaths.

The Department of Health and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) are currently conducting surveillance of COVID-19 cases at residential facilities for older persons throughout the country.

As part ongoing measures to ensure that all the department’s facilities comply with prevention and control measures, the Deputy Minister will on Friday visits the Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa Centre of Excellence in Soshanguve.

The facility serves as a child and youth care centre for children in need of care and also provides services to children with disabilities.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has called for the suspension of law enforcement officers involved in the eviction of a naked man in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, with immediate effect.

This comes after a video was circulated on social media of a naked man in Thembeni informal settlement being evicted by the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers.

“We insist that these individuals be suspended with immediate effect,” Joemat-Pettersson said.

The Portfolio Committee on Police has denounced the law enforcement officers’ actions, saying they were “appalling and unwarranted”.

“Law enforcement officers have a mandate to protect and serve, and this mandate was undermined in this instance. Their actions are unacceptable and run contrary to the spirit of their work [and] their actions are not in keeping with the Constitution and the Police Act, which governs the work of the police at municipal level,” Joemat-Pettersson said.

She said the actions by the law enforcement officers are in gross violation of the man’s right to human dignity, which is enshrined in the Constitution.

She said their actions are even more shameful, especially in the context of the implementation of the State of National Disaster, which prohibits evictions.

“The police officers did not allow the man to get dressed at all and seemed intent on publicly humiliating him. That is not in their job description and we want to encourage the victim to lay a charge against the City Law Enforcement officers and their managers. We cannot allow law enforcement officials to act as a gang against the citizens of our country,” said Joemat-Pettersson.

While Joemat-Pettersson understands the need to enforce by-laws, however, “that should be done within the ambit of the law at all times”.

Joemat-Pettersson said she has summoned the leadership of the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Police Services to give an account of what transpired.

She said the meeting with the leadership of the City of Cape Town’s City Police is to understand the legality of the actions and the orders under which the officers were acting.

“The meeting is primarily intended to ensure accountability and transparency by the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Police Services, in accordance with the principles of the Constitution,” Joemat-Pettersson said.

The committee also noted that the City of Cape Town proceeds with inhumane evictions in the middle of winter, despite the call by the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, when she was in Cape Town recently to stop evictions.

“The City Police are not a law unto themselves and must be held to account. There is no private police force in the country and the municipal police conduct in this regard is shocking,” Joemat-Pettersson said.

She has since requested the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to investigate the incident, and to hold any officer and the senior management involved in the incident accountable.

Sisulu has also condemned the incident and called on the Western Cape government to urgently get to the bottom of the incident, and to hold accountable those implicated for their deplorable actions.

“While we are yet to be appraised of the exact details of what led to what we have seen on various media platforms, we wish to condemn with the strongest terms an act which sought to degrade an individual in the manner we have witnessed.”

The Minister has on several occasions warned people planning to or who are already invading private properties to desist from unlawful acts.

The incidents of land invasion has been a regular occurrence in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

However, Sisulu insists that no matter the circumstances, there is no reason for such behaviour from the people tasked with enforcing the law.

“The act is inhumane and has no place in our democratic South Africa. The violation of someone’s dignity has no place in a democratic South Africa,” Sisulu said.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says it has been working on innovations to improve the disbursement of students’ allowances to eliminate all third parties from the disbursement chain.

For the 2021 academic year, NSFAS will be migrating students from all public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges who receive their allowances through NSFAS Wallet and institutional disbursement services to a direct payment system which will see students receive their allowances directly into their bank accounts.

The migration of 38 of the 50 colleges to the NSFAS wallet system in 2020 has already made huge improvements in the accuracy and regularity of distribution of allowances directly to such students.

“This migration will eliminate third parties in the payment channel as part of NSFAS’ strategy to fully implement the student-centred model of paying allowances directly to the students,” NSFAS said in a statement.

In 2019, NSFAS replaced the anti-competitive voucher system with cash allowances to allow students to manage their own finances.

By integrating innovative ways of allowance disbursement, the scheme employed technological solutions which puts student’s needs, safety and efficiency at the centre of operations.

“By disbursing directly to student’s bank accounts, NSFAS will eradicate fraudulent activities and scams which students have been subjected to. Recipients of NSFAS disbursements will have the added security offered by administered accounts.

“The direct payment system is convenient and allows a student to be in charge and have access to their allowance 24/7 with no limitation or additional tedious bureaucratic processes,” NSFAS said.

NSFAS urges students who would like to enrol at a public TVET college in 2021 to open accounts in preparation for the roll out of allowances through bank accounts.

As the banking project is currently out for tender, students on NSFAS Wallet will as an interim measure be moved from the *134*176# USSD channel to *120*176# USSD channel with effect from 01 July 2020. A transaction on the *120*176# USSD channel will cost approximately 20 cents per 20 seconds.

Through this platform, a student will have access to their NSFAS Wallet account, make withdrawals, and view transactions. There will be a smooth transition to ensure that there is no disruption in the system.

The next phase of the direct payment system through bank accounts will be rolled out to students at universities to create uniformity and further efficiencies.

“NSFAS is a firm believer in student independence, growth and most importantly cutting-edge innovation,” it said.

NSFAS is accessible from 08h30 to 17h00, Monday to Friday on info@nsfas.org.za or on NSFAS Connect: www.nsfas.org.za or on NSFAS social media accounts.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has confirmed it will continue to accept and process COVID-19 TERS claims submitted for April, May and June.

However, the Fund will not be accepting and processing claims for July and onwards, said Fund Commissioner, Tebogo Maruping, in a statement.

The three-month relief was introduced by government in March.

“Although June was the last month for the COVID-19 TERS [Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme] benefits, as per the directive, the UIF will continue to process and pay claims submitted for this period until the cut-off date is determined.

“However, we will not accept claims submitted for July onwards, as that falls outside of the time period stipulated in the directive for the COVID-19 TERS benefits,” Maruping said.

The Commissioner said while the Fund will accept claims for the determined period, the Fund is currently experiencing minor technical glitches with the opening of the system for June submissions.

“The main problem is with the swapping of employer profiles when users try to submit claims, which causes a potential security breach.

“We initially opened the system for June applications on 23 June 2020, and our aim was to start making the first payments on 25 June to ensure that employees do not wait too long for their salaries.

“Unfortunately, we experienced problems with the swapping of user profiles and we immediately shut it down for June and rolled back to May to fix the problem.

“We deployed the system again on the 24th of June but the problem persisted and our IT engineers have ultimately increased the capacity of the system to be able to simultaneously process claims for April, May and June. The good thing is that the data is safe and we will ultimately be able to finalise the claims and pay monies due to employees once we have resolved the current issues,” said Maruping.

To resolve problems expeditiously, the Commissioner said the Fund has roped in external resources to help. However, the Fund will make sure that the system is completely stable before re-opening for June applications.

“I wish to apologise to employers and employees for the further delays. We are, however, working around the clock to fix the problem. We anticipate complete testing by Friday, so that we can open the system again over the weekend if everything goes according to plan,” Maruping said.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) cautioned South African Airways (SAA) employees, labour unions and creditors that the liquidation of the airline will lead to financial hardship for employees and substantial undervaluation of assets.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the department said SAA stakeholders should realise that business rescue provides a better outcome than liquidation and should be supported for their collective interests.

The SAA Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) have scheduled a creditors’ meeting for 14 July after last month’s vote on the business rescue plan was postponed.

“A vote in favour of the plan by 75% of the voting interests would be required to carry the vote. A vote against the plan would result in the protracted and costly liquidation of the airline,” said the DPE.

As the shareholder on behalf of government, the department said it was of the view that business rescue is a viable alternative to liquidation.

“This option supports job preservation and the ability to bring the airline back from the brink to a position where some employees, labour unions and creditors can continue to contribute to the South African economy and its integration into the global economy.”

The department believes in the case of liquidation, a liquidator will be appointed to consolidate the company’s assets in order to raise capital which will be distributed to the creditors when the airline is wound up.

During the drawn-out process, the DPE says, creditors would in all likelihood receive a negligible dividend after all secured and preferred creditors have been paid in the liquidation proceedings.

For employees, the liquidation of SAA means they would receive a maximum of R32 000 per staff member, regardless of years of service, to the extent that there are funds available.

“They will only receive payment once the final liquidation and distribution account has been approved which can take up to 24 months,” the department said.

“Therefore it stands to reason that generally, business rescue dividends should result in a higher return for creditors than would result in a liquidation situation.”

The DPE is convinced that the R2.2 billion budgeted for Voluntary Severance

Packages (VSPs) for SAA employees is the best available option at a time when government is faced with massive financial demands and fiscal constraints.

The VSPs, which can be offered to employees immediately after a creditors vote endorses the Business Rescue Plan, meet the requirements of Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act, including one week calculated per year of completed service, one-month notice pay, accumulated leave paid out, a 13th Cheque and a top-up of severance packages.

The VSPs are supported by a social plan and a skills development programme for affected SAA employees.

“The social plan is aimed at equipping individuals to re-enter the job market. Employees who take up the VSPs will be entitled to re-apply for positions in a new, restructured national airline which is anticipated to emerge from the business rescue proceedings, as it grows,” reads the statement.

The department added that the transformation of SAA into a competitive airline will require sacrifices and a major restructuring, starting on a conservative basis and gradually and systematically building up over the next three years to re-employ as many of the displaced employees who have necessary skills and competence.

The DPE said it supports a restructuring process as it would achieve:

● an internationally competitive performance;

● a demographic profile of skilled, competent and committed employees; and

● for the employees that remain, the task will be to grow the airline and provide opportunities for their former colleagues to be re-employed.

“It would require a level of commitment and cooperation from both SAA and the unions to overcome the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic where thousands of jobs are being lost on an unprecedented scale in South Africa and globally,” the department said.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has passed the Cybercrimes Bill, Civil Union Amendment Bill and the Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill during its sitting on Wednesday.

The Cybercrimes Bill was initially introduced as the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill in 2017, and was referred to the fifth democratic Parliament’s Select Committee on Security and Justice from the National Assembly on 27 November 2018.

The Bill was thoroughly advertised for public participation in 2019, where substantive inputs were provided by various stakeholders and individuals.

However, it lapsed at the end of the fifth Parliament and it is among the bills that were revived by the NCOP through a resolution on 17 October 2019.

The objectives of the Bill are, among others, to create offences and impose penalties which have a bearing on cybercrime, to criminalise the distribution of data messages which are harmful and to provide for interim protection orders, and to further regulate jurisdiction in respect of cybercrimes.

The bill also aims to regulate the powers to investigate cybercrimes, to further regulate aspects relating to mutual assistance in respect of the investigation of cybercrimes and to provide for the establishment of a 24/7 Point of Contact.

The bill further imposes obligations on electronic communications service providers and financial institutions to assist in the investigation of cybercrimes. It also provides that the executive may enter into agreements with foreign states to promote cybersecurity.

Civil Union Bill

The Civil Union Bill was referred to the Select Committee on Security after its revival in 2019.

The purpose of the Civil Union Bill is to repeal section 6 of the Civil Union Act of 2006 which allows a marriage officer to inform the Minister that he or she objects on the ground of conscience, religion, and belief to solemnising a civil union between persons of the same sex.

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said that during the vigorous processing of the bill, the Select Committee received extensive submissions – a total of 325 submissions from organisations and individuals either in favour or against the amendment bill.

“The committee also considered Section 195 (1) of the Constitution which provides that public administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, including in subsection (d) that services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias.

“The committee noted further that Section 197(3) of the Constitution provides that no employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause. The committee agreed that the repeal of Section 6 of the Civil Union Act, 2006 was important in advancing equality and upholding the Constitutional rights afforded to persons entering into same sex unions,” Mothapo said.

Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill

The Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Scientific Research Council Act of 1988, the Academy of Science of South Africa Act of 2001, the Human Sciences Research Council Act of 2008, the Technology Innovation Agency Act of 2008, and the South African National Space Agency Act of 2008, so as to harmonise the processes for the termination of the membership of Boards or Councils of the entities established by these Acts.

The bills will be sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for approval.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed that children are less likely to die of COVID-19, while the disease is usually mild among school-going kids, aged between five and 18.

Even though Coronavirus may be less severe in children compared to adults, the newly published NICD report has stressed the importance of implementing and strengthening non-pharmaceutical interventions.

These include wearing masks, physical distancing and hand washing or sanitising within schools to prevent children from contracting SARS-CoV2.

“The number of deaths in this population is small but any severe illness in children in this age group is concerning, and steps to minimise COVID-19 transmission, such as physical distancing and use of masks, should be consistently applied where possible, even among children,” the report said.

The NICD said the data highlights that the burden of COVID-19 disease is lower in young children compared to adults.

“Among the COVID-19 admissions in children, the median age at admission was lower than that among all diagnosed cases younger than 18 years, which may suggest that severe disease may be more common among younger children or that clinicians are more likely to admit younger children as a precaution.”

The research also found newborns may have been warded for birth-related complications or precautionary reasons, rather than COVID-19-related illness.

The NICD said asthma was the most frequently reported comorbidity in infected children, followed by current and past tuberculosis.

However, the analysis shows that the children who lost their lives had other severe comorbidities and the role of COVID-19 in disease progression is unclear, the NICD explained.

“COVID-19 is uncommon in South African children, including among school-going children aged five to 18 years and when it occurs, it is milder than in adults.”

The NICD said this was encouraging now that schools are preparing to welcome more grades from 6 July.

“Describing the epidemiology of COVID-19 in children in South Africa is important to inform prevention strategies of COVID-19 and to assist policymakers in making informed decisions about enforcing or relaxing some of the COVID-19 prevention regulations currently in place or being planned, such as the reopening of schools.”

According to the Department of Health’s recent statistics released on Wednesday, of the 2 749 COVID-19 related deaths recorded since the outbreak, three are children between the ages of zero and nine, while seven are between 10 and 19 years.

If you’ve been waiting a long time for a parcel from the Post Office, the State-owned postal service says it is experiencing hold-ups due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“The SA Post Office would like to advise its customers that mail processing does not take place at the normal rate under lockdown 3 regulations, leading to delays, particularly in international items,” spokesperson Johan Kruger said.

Kruger said they currently have a third of their workforce owing to regulations governing social distancing on their sorting floor at mail processing facilities.

“As a result, crewing is not optimal and processing takes longer than usual.”

Kruger said transport to and from other countries is irregular and some international flights are still prohibited, which has a knock-on effect on mail leaving the country.

“Although mail processing is not optimal, customers are assured that their items are not lost and will be delivered.

“The Post Office apologises for the inconvenience to customers and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding during these difficult times.”