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The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has entered into a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to host a Deep Space Ground Station.

The station, which will be based in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape, will support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

It will be integrated into an existing network of three sites in the United States of America, Spain and Australia.

As the fourth site, the station will complement the other three sites and provide improved coverage and redundancy for critical mission support. SANSA will operate, maintain and manage the station.

Cabinet has approved the partnership, noting that the station will benefit South Africa in, amongst others, the development of scarce skills and the growth of the science, engineering, technology and innovation sector.

“It will also provide opportunities to feed the knowledge economy, and increase the national research output in space science and technology,” Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday.

Draft White Paper on Fire Services

Cabinet has also approved the Draft White Paper on Fire Services, which outlines key policy proposals that will form the basis of the fire services legislation that will replace the current Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987 (Act 99 of 1987).

The draft White Paper outlines the roles and responsibilities of both the national and provincial spheres of government in supporting municipalities.

“To ensure that this service is constantly aligned to the modern ways of managing fire disasters, it [White Paper] proposes research and data collection capacity.  In general, it also seeks to align it with other legislations passed post 1994 and which relate to local government,” Cabinet said.

A wide consultation with all the relevant stakeholders and general public has been undertaken.

Executive functions during Level 3

Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved that under Level 3, which starts from 1 June 2020, it would adopt a blended approach which includes both physical and virtual Cabinet meetings.

Cabinet also approved the monitoring teams comprising Ministers and Deputy Ministers to monitor the measures that have been put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The Ministers and Deputy Ministers have been allocated to each of the 52 districts and metropolitans.

Cabinet has welcomed the outcome of consultations undertaken by President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure the country’s support and inputs of all social partners, as it progresses from Level 4 to Level 3 of the national lockdown.

Accompanied by various Ministers, President Ramaphosa had met with communities, including labour and business sectors, the South African Council of Churches, leadership of interfaith communities, mayors, Premiers, South African Local Government Association, traditional leadership and political parties represented in Parliament.

“Cabinet welcomed the outcome of these consultations, which were broadly constructive and enriched planning for the gradual easing of restrictions to Level 3, which kicks in on 1 June 2020.

“This level will entail a further broadening of economic activity and the removal of restrictions on the movement of people. It will also enable about eight million South Africans to return to work,” Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday, following its virtual meeting.

During Level 3 of lockdown, Cabinet said that special attention will be given to ‘hotspot’ areas, which have increased rates of Coronavirus infections.

“Provincial Health Departments will roll out dedicated health interventions in those hotspot areas in the form of intensified screening, testing, and quarantine and prevention measures,” Cabinet said.

Cabinet reiterated its support for the inclusive consultations undertaken by President Ramaphosa since the start of the national state of disaster on 15 March 2020.

“These consultations have made it possible for all sectors of society to play a role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, saving of lives and protecting livelihoods.”

False suggestions on individual Executive members condemned

Meanwhile, Cabinet has condemned false suggestions that individual members of the Executive are responsible for recommendations that emanate from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) or decisions taken by Cabinet.

Cabinet said the COVID-19 National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) is built on work streams comprise scientists; health specialists; engineers; representatives of the National Disaster Management centres; legal advisors; leadership of the country’s security and law-enforcement agencies, and teams from departments that make up the economic and social clusters of the Forum of South African Directors-General.

“The NATJOINTS receives reports from different departments and submits proposals to Directors-General (DGs) to develop recommendations that are presented to the NCCC. The NCCC deliberates DGs’ recommendations and also makes its own recommendations to Cabinet where proposals, including regulations, are approved. This process ensures that the Executive takes collective decisions that are consensual and inclusive,” Cabinet explained.

Cabinet appealed for unity in action by all sectors of society against a common and dangerous enemy, the COVID-19 pandemic.

State of disaster contributed to saving lives

Cabinet has expressed its gratitude to all South Africans for their continuing sacrifice and understanding during the purposeful lockdown period, noting that the President’s declaration of the national state of disaster has immensely contributed to saving lives.

“The drastic containment measures resulted in significantly slowing and reduction of the infectious trajectory. The lockdown gave South Africa the time and space to put measures in place in the public and private health sectors to deal with an inevitable increase in infections.

“Cabinet continues to appeal to all South Africans to take greater personal responsibility to protect themselves and others to reduce the spread of the virus,” Cabinet said.

Ministers across a range of portfolios will unpack the details during media briefings scheduled to take place on Thursday and Friday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will take part in a virtual United Nations High-Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.

“The purpose is to formulate a comprehensive global response to provide support to developing countries to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not derail the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” President Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko said.

President Ramaphosa will participate at the invitation of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

The event is hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica on Tuesday at 2pm.

Diko said Canada, Jamaica and the UN are convening the high-level event to join forces with Heads of State and Government and of International Organisations to provide concrete solutions to the COVID-19 development emergency.

The event is expected to set a definite pathway to concrete and effective solutions to six pressing issues:

• The urgent need for expanding liquidity in the global economy, including through additional issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• The need for an across-the-board debt standstill for all developing countries that requests forbearance, meaningful debt relief and progress on the international debt architecture.

• The need to create a space in which private creditors can proactively engage in effective and timely solutions to the looming debt crisis and avoid the significantly higher cost to investors and societies that would result from a disorderly wave of defaults.

• Prerequisites for enhancing external finance for inclusive growth and creating jobs, including measures to enhance Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), portfolio investment, long-term credit facilities, and lowering the transactions costs of migrant remittances.

• Measures to prevent processing and receipt of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), assist in repatriating such flows and prosecute perpetrators.

• Ensuring a sustainable and inclusive recovery by aligning recovery policies with Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN High-Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond will be live-streamed from 2pm on http://webtv.un.org/.

As the country fights against the Coronavirus pandemic and the message of washing hands takes centre stage, South Africa’s dam levels continue to take a dip.

The Vaal Dam has plummeted below the neutral 50% mark as it persists to decline week-on-week for the first time in 12 months.

According to the Water and Sanitation Department’s spokesperson Sputnik Ratau, the dam levels have dropped to 49.8%, compared to 71.5% recorded in the same week last year.

“Last week the dam was sitting at 50.6%,” he added.

Meanwhile, the other dams that form part of the Integrated Vaal River System with the Vaal Dam, have also taken a knock.

“One such dam is the Grootdraai, which fell from 89.0% last week to 87.8% this week. The present levels of the dam are reduced compared to 75.5% it was last year at the same time.”

Katse and Mohale dams are no different as they continue to drop weekly.

“The Mohale Dam deteriorated this week, moving from last week’s 14.4% to 13.6% this week. In the preceding year at the same week, the dam was at 33.3%, indicating it has consistently remained in an unfavourable position for a number of months now.”

Katse Dam fell from 37.6% last week to 37.2% this week.

“Both these levels are higher compared with the levels of 33.8% the dam saw during the same week in the preceding year,” he added.

However, the Sterkfontein Dam, which is a reserve that is located in the Free State, is on an upward trajectory this week.

“It notched up from 93.4% last week to 93.6% this week compared with the 93.3% it recorded last year at the same time, the current levels are slightly higher.”

Ratau said the Bloemhof Dam surged up from 100.1% last week to 100.6% this week.

“However, the current levels are lower when compared with 103.7% in the same period last year.”

He said while the Integrated Vaal River System has slightly declined this week, moving from 67.6% last week to this week’s 67.3%, the system remains resilient up until now.

The system was sitting at 74.1% in the same week last year.

“Given the weekly drop in the levels of the Vaal Dam and other dams in the system, the Department of Water and Sanitation urges water users to reduce their consumption to a bare minimum.

“The department wishes to remind water users that the country is moving towards the dry winter season which will see less rainfall. Therefore, water users should be cautious in a manner in which they consume water and save the current resource.”

Government has welcomed the announcement of washable reusable sanitary towel standard by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

The SABS passed the first reusable sanitary standard: The manufacturer of Washable, Reusable Sanitary Towels (SANS 1812) on 6 May 2020.

The publication of this standard is one of the first standards for washable sanitary pads in Southern Africa and is leading the way for other African countries to follow.

Welcoming the announcement during International Menstrual Hygiene Day on Thursday, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) said the momentous act allows women and girls another safe option to manage their menstruation.

“DWYPD offered support and guidance through the standards process because our position has always been one of pro-choice. Women and girls need safe choices for ways to manage their menstruation.

“Support offered by the department demonstrates the commitment the South African government has in meeting the diverse menstrual health needs of women and girls in South Africa through the department’s Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework,” the department said.

The department noted that many women and girls in South Africa face significant challenges when it comes to managing their menstrual cycle and often struggle, due to lack of access to affordable sanitary products.

This hurdle, along with the stigma that surrounds menstruation can cause both emotional and physical harm.

With this new SABS standard, the department said, consumers can be confident that a washable reusable menstrual pad offers women and girls an option that is affordable and longer lasting than a single use pad.

“Due to restrictions in supply from regulations to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, there is general increase in the need for sanitary products for destitute families. The lockdown period also disrupted the normal sanitary dignity programme delivery channels such as schools. Displacement or relocation to places of safety and shelters has also left women and girls without access to sanitary products.

“Recognising that the Coronavirus has brought about a disruption in sanitary dignity programmes delivered by most departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) the need to address menstrual health in society has become more important than ever. So this news is even more welcomed under our current state of disaster,” the department said.

The South African Coalition for Menstrual Health and Management (SACMHM) Products, Standards and Supply Chain Task Committee member Diana Nelson has commended the South African Government and SABS for their support, which has made this possible, even during COVID-19 pandemic.

“They worked to advance this important standard to help meet the diverse needs of women and girls in South Africa. The health and safety of women and girls menstruating is of utmost importance to our organisation, and that is why we are encouraged by the outstanding dedication of the South African Government to ensure this standard was published,” Nelson said.

Nelson said Days for Girls International were also on the Washable Task Committee working on the development of the standard for the past two years.

Director of Social Empowerment and Participation in the department of Women, Sipiwo Matshoba, said the new standard puts South Africa on the map as a leader in the menstrual health and hygiene sector.

“This is an important and exciting milestone that we have reached in order to broaden product choice in line with the sanitary dignity implementation framework,” Matshoba said.

COVID-19 cases have increased by 1 673 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 25 937 in the country.

Meanwhile, the national death toll has risen to 552 after 28 more people succumbed to COVID-19 related illness, the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We wish to express our condolences to the loved ones of the deceased and thank the health workers who treated these patients,” he said.

The Western Cape remains the epicentre, with 391 deaths, followed by the Eastern with 70, KwaZulu-Natal 49 and Gauteng 31.

The Free States has six deaths, Limpopo has three, while North West and Northern Cape each have one.

Mpumalanga is the only province that reported zero deaths.

“The recoveries to date are 13 451, which translates to a recovery rate of 52%,” Mkhize said.

Answering questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Mkhize said the peak of the infection is expected in mid-July in the pessimistic scenario and mid-August in the optimistic scenario, according to the South African Modelling Consortium.

“These models should be considered dynamic and dependent on new data that comes in. It should only be used as a guide for what may be possible,” Mkhize said.

He said estimations show that the number of deaths could range between 34 000 and 50 000.

“All of these figures have also been challenged by other academics… They are open for debate by those who are specialists in this area… We do believe that the models will improve as time goes and more raw data is fed into their assumptions.”

As the places of worship are among the facilities that will be allowed to open on 1 June under strict regulations, Mkhize said they salute the religious leaders who have embraced the decision to lockdown the country.

“There will be a number of restrictions that we in our normal daily lives will have to put in place. We take the church and the faith-based community as partners in the fight against COVID-19, particularly to ensure social behavioural change,” Mkhize said.

Abel Moffat Sithole has been announced as the new CEO of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the Executive Director on the Board of Directors for the next five years.

Announcing the appointment in a statement, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said Cabinet had approved that the Board of Directors of the PIC, proceeds with the appointment of Sithole.

PIC chairman, Dr Reuel Khoza, will elaborate on the process followed for the appointment and on the terms and conditions of the employment.

Sithole is currently the Principal Executive Officer of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Commissioner of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

Before joining the GEPF in 2015, Sithole was a Deputy Executive Director at the Institute of Futures Research at the University of Stellenbosch’s Business School. He also has a number of non-executive roles.

Sithole will take over the reins from Vuyani Hako, PIC Executive Head: Properties, who has been the acting in the role.

Mboweni said: “We thank Mr Hako for his contribution at the PIC, steering the organisation through very difficult times. We also congratulate Mr Sithole on his appointment as CEO and wish him well in leading the organisation and in restoring its integrity.”

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises to 24 264, the country is working around the clock to ramp up its testing capacity.

However, South Africa is now faced with the challenge of a shortage of test kits — a problem not unique to the country.

“As a country, we are now facing a challenge with the global shortage of testing reagents. We understand it is becoming a challenge to many other countries,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on Tuesday.

The Minister said South Africa is in an urgent drive to source stock from around the world.

In the COVID-19 context, a reagent is a chemical used in a lab to test patient swab samples to determine whether a person is infected or not.

According to the statistics released on Tuesday, the number of infections grew by 649 in the last 24 hours, while the country recorded 43 new COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total number to 524.

Of the 524 deaths, two are children between zero and nine years, and one between 10 to 19 years.

The Western Cape has the highest number of infections, with 15 829 cases reported, followed by Gauteng with 3 043, Eastern Cape with 2 864, while KwaZulu-Natal has 1 927.

Provinces with the least infections include the Free State, with 206 cases, Limpopo 132, North West 115, Mpumalanga 103 and Northern Cape 45.

Meanwhile, the total number of tests conducted in the country is 605 991, while recoveries are sitting at 12 741, Mkhize said.

The Department of Employment and Labour says the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has to date paid in excess of R15 billion to beneficiaries — marking a historic first in terms of a lump sum paid out by the Fund within five weeks.

On 16 April, the Fund paid the first batch of COVID-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) benefits to employers on behalf of workers.

The COVID-19 TERS benefits were necessitated by the global breakout of Coronavirus, resulting in the shutting down of economies due to the introduction of stringent nationwide lockdown measures in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

The UIF experienced a remarkable spike in the number of applications resulting from loss of income and employment due to trading restrictions.

Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, has commended the urgency and seriousness with which the department and the UIF have responded to the enormous challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When confronted with a challenge of this magnitude, you either swim or sink. This has been the ultimate test of leadership for almost everyone — whether you are leading an organisation or you are simply expected to contribute towards the flattening of the curve in your personal capacity, we were all called to show up without prior notice.

“Despite several challenges, the UIF continues to experience in executing its mandate to the public, I believe it has risen to the task under extremely difficult circumstances. The noting of achievements is of course not to deny the existence of challenges,” Nxesi said.

The money paid out to beneficiaries thus far had a direct impact on 3 million workers, ensuring that livelihoods are protected against the devastating effects of COVID-19.

The TERS benefit is one of many social protection schemes introduced by government in direct response to the economic effects of the pandemic.

“While the easing of the nationwide lockdown regulations to alert level 3 would see the economy gradually reopening, the negative impact of COVID-19 will continue to be with us for the foreseeable future.

“We expect an increase in labour-related disputes due to retrenchments and termination of employment as employers try to stay afloat. This would undoubtedly place further strain on our ability to meet our social security obligations to the public,” Nxesi said.

The department’s delegation will on Thursday, 28 May, attend a meeting at NEDLAC, where social partners will look at the UIF’s technical and financial capacity to continue to pay out TERS benefits in the long run.

Nxesi said the department needs to guarantee the sustainability of funds beyond June 2020.

Social partners will also look at other issues relating to their mandates and how they can collectively respond to the various challenges within the context of the move to alert level 3.

Nxesi said the department expects social partners to pledge their commitment and support for a return to work strategy that places the safety and welfare of workers above any other interest.

The Minister said the department will implore the partners to work with government in resolving the current and anticipated challenges, including post COVID-19 related difficulties.

“We encourage employers to consult broadly when it comes to major decisions with an impact on job security, such as intentions to lay-off workers. Retrenchments must be the last resort out of all the available remedies to the challenges we face.

“We also expect employers to fully cooperate with labour inspectors, who continue to enforce workplace regulations to protect the welfare of workers.

“We go to NEDLAC trusting that we will collectively explore opportunities available to all of us as partners to resolve the multiple and immense challenges presented by the pandemic,” Nxesi said.

COVID-19 TERS applications for May opened at midnight on Tuesday.

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has conveyed her sincere condolences to the family of a 20-month-old baby who lost his life in an accident involving a water tanker contracted to Rand Water.

Rand Water is an entity of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

According to a report, the truck was delivering water as part of COVID-19 interventions to provide portable water at Lethabong informal settlement in the City of Tshwane when the accident happened.

“To the family and neighbours of the deceased, we cannot imagine what you are going through. Your loss is our loss. We wish you strength as you come to terms with what has happened. Our sincere condolences,” Sisulu said.

The Minister has requested Rand Water and other relevant stakeholders in Tshwane to assist the family as they go through this painful period.

A police investigation into the accident is underway.