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KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, says Women’s Month is a time to highlight the plight of women and equally reflect on the strides made as a country in the advancement of women’s socio-economic emancipation.

Dube-Ncube made the remarks as the country kick starts the 2023 Women's Month commemoration under the theme, 'Accelerating Socio-Economic Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment'.

“The 2023 Women’s Month programme gives us an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the role that women can play in the revival of our economy by creating business and job opportunities in all sectors of our economy,” Dube-Ncube said.

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and various government entities, this week launched the 2023 Women’s Month in Durban.

Dube-Ncube said this year’s Women’s Month programme will focus on acceleration of socio-economic programmes and activities that are undertaken across the different sectors to fast-track gender mainstreaming.

Dube-Ncube called on women to grab the opportunities that are available, as South Africa has unique products that can be sold to global markets. 

She also urged them to speak out about the various forms of abuse experienced by women, both at home and in the workplace.

“August is a significant milestone in our history, as it marks the commemoration of  Women Day in South Africa and we celebrate the historic achievements of women in the fight for justice, equality, sexual and gender discrimination, and human rights abuse,” Dube-Ncube said.

BRICS roadshow

The Women’s Month launch culminated in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) roadshow, where Dube-Ncube met with BRICS Women Business Alliance (WBA) members and discussed the logistics of the upcoming BRICS Africa Trade Conference, which is scheduled to take place from 20 - 21 August 2023.

“We are not just merely launching the Women’s Month programme. We have brought in business and representatives of BRICS countries to come and have a conversation with us about opportunities that exist for women.

“We are discussing the energy sector and the role that women must play there. We are discussing access to the job market, finance and how we can now aggressively push that envelope to ensure that these things are realised,” Dube-Ncube said.

She said in the last few weeks right up to October 2023, KwaZulu-Natal has positioned itself as the theatre of BRICS conversations. 

“On 21 June, we hosted the BRICS Sport Ministers, and on 14 July, it was the BRICS Gender Dividend Dialogue. The BRICS Urbanisation Forum took place on 26 and 27 July and on 20 - 21 August, we are hosting the BRICS Africa Women's Business Alliance Trade Conference and in October, it will be BRICS games,” Dube-Ncube said. – SAnews.gov.za

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) says South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance deficit of R3.5 billion in June 2023.

According to SARS, the deficit is attributable to exports of R167.6 billion and imports of R171.1 billion, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).

“The year-to-date (1 January to 30 June 2023) preliminary trade balance surplus of R5.6 billion is a deterioration from the R129.6 billion trade balance surplus for the comparable period in 2022,” SARS said in a statement.

Year-on-year export flows for June 2023 were R167.6 billion, which were 8.3% lower compared to R182.9 billion for June 2022, whilst import flows were 6.5% higher, having increased from R160.7 billion in June 2022 to R171.1 billion in the current period.

“On a month-to-month basis, exports decreased by R15.8 billion (8.6%) from R183.4 billion to R167.6 billion between May and June 2023, whereas imports decreased by R2.7 billion (1.6%) from R173.9 billion to R171.1 billion over the same period.

“Export flows decreased in June, driven by iron ores and concentrates, vehicles for goods and vehicles for passengers.

“The value of imports decreased on the back of a decrease in importation of crude oils, telephone sets and unused postage stamps,” SARS said.

Due to ongoing vouchers of correction (VOC), the preliminary trade balance surplus of R10.2 billion announced for May 2023 was revised downwards by R600 million, with the final number at R9.6 billion.

Trade data, excluding BELN for June 2023, recorded a preliminary trade balance deficit of R14.7 billion, with export flows at R151.6 billion and import flows at R166.3 billion.

The preliminary cumulative trade balance deficit for 2023 was R54.4 billion compared to R72.6 billion trade balance surplus during 2022.

Between May and June 2023, exports decreased by R15.7 billion (9.4%), whilst imports decreased by R2.4 billion (1.4%) over the same period. – SAnews.gov.za

The acceleration of socio-economic programmes for women will take centre stage as the country commemorates Women’s Month.
  
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and various government entities will today officially launch the 2023 Women’s Month in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Observed under the theme, 'Accelerating Socio-Economic Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment', this year’s Women’s Month programme will focus on acceleration of socio-economic programmes and activities that are undertaken across different economic sectors to fast-track gender mainstreaming across these initiatives.

The month will focus on creating more opportunities for women’s inclusion and empowerment; and enable women to either take up employment in these sectors or develop their entrepreneurship or businesses. 

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said Women’s Month is a time to highlight the plight of women and equally reflect on the strides that have been made as the country in the advancement of women’s socio-economic emancipation. 

“To launch the 2023 Women’s Month in KwaZulu-Natal, at a time when we are hosting various BRICS women events, is major boost not only for the women of the province and the country but the whole of the Global South,” Dube-Ncube said.

Opportunities that exist in the oceans/blue economy for women will also take centre stage. 

Dube-Ncube said the sector has several areas with existing value chains that the empowerment programmes for women, young women and women with disabilities can leverage on for their socio-economic advancement.  

However, the Premier said, the month will not only focus on initiatives within the oceans economy, but will include initiatives within the agricultural sector, green economy; waste sector, manufacturing sector, technology and innovation sector, among others in the country.

The launch of Women’s Month will take the form of a BRICS Business Breakfast, where the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will deliver the keynote address.  

August 9 marks the commemoration of National Women’s Day annually in South Africa. 

The day was declared a National Day in 1994 to commemorate the historic achievements of women stalwarts in the struggle against oppression, subjugation and disenfranchisement; as well as the pursuit of women’s empowerment, advancement and the achievement of gender equality. – SAnews.gov.za
 

The police’s multi-disciplinary high-density four-day Operation Shanela, which kicked off on Thursday in Kimberley and in other areas, focused on reducing contact and violent crimes, as well as property related crimes in hotspots areas.

Actions and police activities executed during the operations included vehicle check points (VCP's), stop and searches, foot and vehicle patrols, compliance inspections, drugs and other commodities smuggling.

Nineteen VCP's and eleven roadblocks were conducted across the province during which 2049 vehicles and 4700 persons were stopped and searched. at least 318 compliance inspections were executed at second-hand dealers, liquor premises, formal and informal businesses as well as farms.

Numerous operational successes were achieved and these include: 

• Arrests of 356 suspects for contravening the firearms controls act, possession of dangerous weapons, attempted murder, robbery, assault, burglary, theft out of motor vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol, malicious damage to property, dealing and possession of drugs as well as illegal dealing in liquor.
• 20 undocumented immigrants were also apprehended and detained.
• 184 wanted suspects were traced and arrested by detective teams in all five districts as follows: 60 in Frances Baard, 24 in John Taolo Gaetsewe, 27 in Pixley Ka Seme, 44 in ZF Mgcawu and 29 in Namakwa district.

Prior to the  quarterly review session on 26 /27 July 2023 in Kimberley, the 91 station commissioners from across the province participated in high density police actions in the greater Kimberley area.

The station commanders as well as provincial components were led by the Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Policing, Major General Luntu Ngubelanga.

Numerous seizures including dagga, copper cables, alcohol and homemade brew, numerous dangerous weapons and cash believed to be the proceeds of crime were made.

The Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape, Lt General Koliswa Otola indicated that Operation Shanela will continue to stamp down the authority of the state in an endeavour to reclaim communities from criminals and restore the trust of the public in the police. 

She also appreciated the efforts of the SAPS members, the external role-players and the community policing structures for their unabated efforts in fighting crime collectively. – SAnews.gov.za

By Anele Zikali

As South Africa’s netball team, SPAR Proteas, takes on the rest of the world at the Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023), the players have encouraged fans to work hard if they want to follow in their footsteps.

Captain of SPAR Proteas Bongiwe Msomi (34) said hard work is the key to success. 

“When some of the kids say ‘I want to be like you one day’, I always say: ‘You can even do better’.  “It is hard work to play and constantly be at your best,” she said.

She added that highlights of how well someone played during a game do not show the hard work and preparation that go on behind the scenes before each game.

Msomi, who is from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, said the team is well settled ahead of the NWC 2023 and is looking forward to playing in front of the home crowd.

The NWC2023 will take place at the Cape Town International  Convention Centre. “We have an advantage of playing in front of our people, who back us … We will be playing in front of our siblings and parents, which is just amazing,“ said Msomi. 

A rising star in the SPAR Proteas team is Emeré van der Berg (20), from Bloemfontein in Free State, who plays in the goal attack and shooter positions.

She was recently selected for the SPAR Proteas team that will play in the NWC2023. 

“I feel very honoured and privileged to represent my country. I am ready to go on court and put on the best performance and give it my all every time,” said Van der Berg. 

She added that the team was focused and ready to represent the country. 

“We are working hard and have the determination to keep on showing up at the training sessions in preparation for the NWC2023,” concluded Van der Berg.   

NWC2023 takes place from 28 July to 6 August. To buy tickets for the event, go to: https://nwc2023.org.za/tickets/. – SAnews.gov.za

*This story first appeared in Vukuzenzele

President Cyril Ramaphosa says although load shedding will not be resolved overnight, Eskom and government is making “significant progress” in areas aimed at reducing and eventually removing it altogether.

The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter on Monday.

“Today, we are releasing a detailed report outlining the work done to improve the performance of Eskom’s power stations, accelerate the building of new generation capacity and drive regulatory reforms to transform the electricity sector.

“The winter months will soon be coming to an end. Although load shedding has continued, as was anticipated, we have managed to avert a worst case scenario by stabilising the performance of Eskom’s power stations and reducing demand,” President Ramaphosa said.

He explained that the power utility is hard at work to address challenges at power stations.

“Eskom’s generation fleet continues to show sustained improvement. Unplanned losses have been reduced to less than 16 000MW in in the last two months, down from more than 18 000MW previously. Planned maintenance has been reduced during the winter period, with Eskom having undertaken significant maintenance in the months preceding winter.

“Looking ahead, damaged units at the Kusile and Medupi power stations are being returned to service on an expedited basis. In combination, these units represent more than 3 000MW of capacity.

“The Eskom debt relief package announced by the Minister of Finance will enable necessary investment in maintenance and expansion of the transmission network,” he said.

Energy Action Plan

A year has passed since President Ramaphosa announced the Energy Action Plan aimed at addressing load shedding and achieving energy security for the country.

President Ramaphosa said since then, fervent work has been done “to add as much power as possible” to the vulnerable power grid.

“Eskom has unlocked close to 400 MW from companies with extra available capacity, and a further 600 MW is currently in the contracting process. We have sourced an additional 400MW from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique.

“We are fast-tracking the procurement of new generation capacity from renewables, gas and battery storage. Later this year, the first three projects from the emergency power programme are expected to connect to the grid. Also later this year, around 2 300MW from the most recent bid windows of the renewable energy independent power producer programme should be in construction,” he said.

President Ramaphosa explained that home and rooftop solar uptake is one of the key outputs of the Energy Action Plan coupled with accelerated private investment in capacity generation.

“It is encouraging to see that more municipalities are allowing customers to feed electricity into the grid when they have surplus electricity. This will provide yet another incentive for businesses large and small to invest in alternative energy sources.

“Regulatory changes have helped to boost private investment in new generation capacity. This work has enabled a massive boom in private investment in electricity generation, with a pipeline of more than 10 000MW of new capacity that will begin to connect to the grid later this year,” he said.

The President acknowledged that although load shedding remains a challenge, gains are being made in addressing it.

“We have maintained that load shedding will not be resolved overnight, but we are making clear progress towards reducing it and eventually bringing it to an end.

“Let us maintain this momentum, and let us all play our part, wherever we can, as we lay the groundwork for an energy secure future,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za

Projects are underway to upgrade Eskom's infrastructure in the areas of generation and transmission in effort to increase their capacity and resolve load shedding.

Addressing a media briefing on Sunday, Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said 25 projects to upgrade the existing transformers and increase their capacity are currently in construction.

“We are talking about 25 projects that can unleash about 13 gigawatts of electricity into the grid. The work starts now to be connected by 2026 to ensure there is additional capacity. We need to ensure we expedite the projects and bring them quicker online so we can expand the grid capacity.

“These are the twin challenges [generation and transmission] that we are facing at the moment and we must resolve to address load shedding. Of course, the issue of distribution must receive attention,” the Minister said in Pretoria.

In addition, Eskom has identified 22 projects that can provide 24 gigawatts by 2033.

The concentration of these projects is in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, as the coastal areas have the highest wind speed.

“From the Northern Cape, we can get about 5 845MW. In the Eastern Cape, we can get 5 875MW and 8 954MW in the Western Cape. Eskom will need R100 billion going into the 2025 financial year and by 2029, we will need about R170 billion.

“The Eskom balance sheet will not be sufficient to finance this. We need alternative sources of financing and that is the work we are doing,” the Minister said.

Grid capacity

Ramokgopa also gave an update on the Energy Availability Factor for the week 24 July – 28 July 2023.

“During this week in question, we had a peak on 25 July, where we had capacity available to the tune of 29 376MW.

“This energy availability is the sum of a number of elements, which include planned outages.

“On Friday (28 July), we had the highest of that period with 4 126MW. That represents 1 600MW above what we had projected for our planned outages for the winter period.

“When the planned outages are up, it means that we are doing everything that is possible in an orchestrated fashion to ensure we are able maintain the units and when they return, hopefully they will be more resilient and overtime, it will improve the capacity available,” the Minister said.

Ramokgopa said the albatross remains the capacity loss factor, where units fail as a result of a multiplicity of factors.

“The principle reason… is boiler tube leaks. They are a big contributor to the failure rate. In the context of the winter outlook, the best case scenario was that the unplanned loss capability factor would be about 15 000MW and the worst case scenario was that it would be about 18 000MW.

“We are just shy of 16 000 MW. It is an area that is receiving our attention. The partial load losses simply means that the units are producing but not at the desired level. This is at 6 340MW. We want to improve their efficiency so that they are able to perform better and give us a significant number of MW,” the Minister said.

Eskom is working on reducing the unplanned capability loss factor (UCLF). We want to improve the performance of the units by reducing the partial load losses. When you bring those together, they add to the available capacity. Those are the areas that we are tracking,” he said.

Ramokgopa assured citizens that Eskom is working hard ensure the country does not go beyond Stage 4.

“On outage slips, this is one area that we are seeing significant improvement. It almost halved from 3 476 MW. We are at 1 843MW. This is a function of planning and management. It has received extended attention by various station managers. This is one area that I am confident that we will continue to see major strides going into the future,” the Minister said. - SAnews.gov.za

The Energy Regulator has approved that the National Transmission Company of South Africa (SOC) Limited (‘NTC’) be issued with a licence to operate a transmission system within the national boundaries of the Republic of South Africa. 

“This is a milestone decision by the Energy Regulator and will immensely contribute in Eskom’s unbundling trajectory,” National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) Chairperson, Thembani Bukula, said on Friday.

At the 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd would be unbundled into three wholly owned entities: Generation, Transmission and Distribution.

“The NTC is envisioned to be an independent transmission system operator incorporating, inter alia, the currently non-licensable but integrated functions of network provision, system operation and system planning.

“The NTC’s independence is an important signal to all stakeholders, including investors that they will have non-discriminatory access to the transmission system,” NERSA said.

Furthermore, the NTC is responsible for ensuring grid stability, to which end, it is allowed to buy and sell power, but not for profit.

“However, in terms of section 15(1) of the Act, the NTC will be afforded the opportunity to recover its efficiently incurred costs and a reasonable return on its assets. The Energy Regulator understands that the aforementioned provisions are both within the ambit of the Act and enable the NTC to be operationalised as an independent and reliable transmission system operator,” NERSA said.

The NTC a wholly owned subsidiary of Eskom, which was established as per the Government objectives and in alignment with the Department of Public Enterprises’ (DPE’s) ‘Roadmap for Eskom in a Reformed Electricity Supply Industry’ (‘the White Paper’), issued on 29 October 2019.

The NTC will operate the transmission system and perform the following key integrated roles to ensure the integrity of the interconnected power system (IPS):

• Transmission Network Service Provider (TNSP)
• System Operator (SO)
• Transmission System Planner (TSP)
• Grid Code Secretariat

The NTC’s licence application was processed following due regulatory process, including a public hearing that was conducted on 11 April 2023.

“All presenters that made oral presentations during the public hearing supported the application. NERSA analysed the application to assess whether it meets the minimum requirements for licensing as contained in section 10(2) of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act No.4 of 2006) – the Act. The application was found to meet the licensing requirements,” the energy regulator said.

Generation licence application by Ngonyama Solar

The Energy Regulator approved that Ngonyama Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd be issued with a generation licence as the sixth preferred bidder of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy's (DMRE’s) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window Six (BW6).

On 3 March 2023, Ngonyama Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd was announced as the sixth preferred bidder, with a contracted capacity of 140 MW.

This brings the total contracted capacity for BW6 to 1 000 MW for solar projects.

“Ngonyama Solar’s preferred bidder status letter was issued on 13 March 2023. Ngonyama Solar applied for a generation licence in accordance with section 7 of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006, which requires that no person may operate a generation facility without a licence issued by the Energy Regulator.

“NERSA analysed the application and found that it met all the licensing requirements. There were no objections received to the application,” the energy regulator said.

The six preferred bidders for all Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology include Doornhoek PV (Pty) Ltd; Boitumelo Solar Power Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd; Kutlwano Solar Power Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd; URSA Energy (RF) (Pty) Ltd; Antlia Energy (RF) (Pty) Ltd and Ngonyarna Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd. – SAnews.gov.za

All eyes will be on the SPAR Proteas as South Africa takes on Wales in their first match at the 2023 Netball World Cup, set to get underway in Cape Town later today.

South Africa will be competing against 16 countries for the prestigious trophy to become world champions.  

“All the best to the SPAR Proteas. I know you will do the nation proud, as you have always done. Go out on the court and give it your best. Play in the spirit of true sport and enjoy every moment,” Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, said on Thursday evening. 

The much anticipated match this evening will begin at 6pm. 

The game will be broadcast live on SABC Sport Channel,  SABC 2, SABC Radio Stations and SABC plus.

Addressing the 2023 Netball World Cup welcome dinner in Cape Town, the Minister encouraged the netball teams from around the world to enjoy the beauty of South Africa and its cultures.

“While your focus will be firmly fixed on the tournament, I’m sure you can make room for some fun activities as well. Let us take this opportunity tonight to meet new people and make new friends.

“Tomorrow is a new day, where the battle lines will be drawn as the teams get onto the courts and showcase their skills and talent,” Kodwa said.

The highly anticipated tournament is taking place on African soil for the first time ever, starting on 28 July, and ending on 6 August at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Kodwa has encouraged South Africans to support the national netball team.

“Let us cherish and appreciate the power of sport to bring us all together, to provide us with lessons in tolerance, discipline and respect, amongst others. I would like to wish Netball South Africa and the World Cup Local Organising Committee a successful tournament.

“More so, I would like to pay tribute to the SPAR Proteas, South Africa's national netball team, who head to the World Cup as the highest ranked African team, and one of the top five ranked netball teams in the world.

“The SPAR Proteas have shown world class standards and enter the Netball World Cup as one of the tournament favourites,” he said.

Kodwa said netball continues to grow and develop at an extraordinary pace.

“There is so much potential in bringing the World Cup to South Africa. I encourage world netball to make strides to grow netball in this region, which has so much talent in the sport.

“South Africa has had such an incredible year in showcasing its sporting talent, with these sportswomen in particularly achieving many firsts.

“We successfully hosted the Under-19 and T20 Women’s Cricket World Cups for the first time in South Africa,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za

Her love for agriculture and interest in producing food for her late husband and seven children inspired Nowandile Mbana from Mafini village, outside Libode in the Eastern Cape, to start a sheep farming enterprise.

For Mbana, this was an opportunity to make money by selling her Hammels sheep to local buyers for slaughtering and to sell wool.

Mbana, 60, was one of the sheep farmers from OR Tambo District Municipality who received 144 Dohne Merino rams from the Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, during a handing over ceremony held at Hlanganani shearing shed in Mafini.

The handover of the rams is part of the department’s ongoing programmes to commercialise agriculture in the province, with a special focus on farmers in communal land, smallholding farms and farmers who received farms through government’s land reform programmes and other previously disadvantaged farmers.

The department hands over Dohne Merino rams with superior genetics to farmers who already have sheep so that the rams improve the genetics of their animals, the quality of their wool and meat.

Mbana, who has 14 sheep in her kraal, said her flock is full of nondescript rams and ewes, which limits the quality of her wool clip, and reduces the amount of money she gets from wool sales.

She said the Dohne Merino ram she received from the department will improve the genetics of her flock from nondescript to a better quality than she had before.

“I am excited because it feels like God has Blessed me. I say so because acquiring this ram has been one of my desires because my flock was nondescript.

“I expect the ram to mate with my ewes to produce a flock of lambs with superior genetics that will help expand my farming enterprise and increase my profit margins,” said an elated Mbana. 

Papama Madyibi from Vidgiesville, outside Mthatha, who also received rams, said as emerging farmers, getting the rams will bring a huge difference to their farming businesses because they have nondescript sheep.

“By mating them with these rams, we will see the difference. Some local farmers had these rams and we see the quality of their lambs and we are confident that the rams we are getting from DRDAR will make a difference.”

Madyibi, who is hoping to get better income from wool sales, said to sustain effective mating for rams, they will focus on grass and grain feeding, providing medicines and keep rams separate from ewes, until the mating season. 

Pieters, who also handed over eight shearing sheds to local wool growers, said the department delivered the 144 Dohne Merino rams in order to improve the quality and volume of the farmers’ wool clip. 

Pieters said the Eastern Cape government is investing in the construction of shearing sheds to take woolgrowers out of the mud huts they use for shearing. 

The MEC said the department is investing in farmers in rural areas so that they compete with commercial farmers. 

“Foreign countries need meat because they don’t have livestock and OR Tambo is one region that has the highest livestock population in the province. We want to improve the breed of their animals so that it is suitable for the markets, and they can also export it to other countries and earn money. 

“We know that in South Africa, it is only the East London harbour that has capability to load live animals on a ship for export markets. Government wants to ensure that when livestock is sold, farmers from OR Tambo... also benefit from exporting their animals and be paid in dollars so that they can make meaningful profit,” said Pieters. 

The department’s veterinary services also trained farmers to take care of their sheep, feed them and prevent disease. The department strongly urged members of the public and farmers not to eat animals killed by diseases. – SAnews.gov.za

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has led a provincial government delegation to receive the mortal remains of Snegugu Ntobeko Myeni during a special prayer ceremony at a chapel near OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

KwaZulu-Natal was instrumental in the repatriation of Myeni’s mortal remains, which arrived in the country from the Philippines on Wednesday night.

The final-year medical student passed away in the Philippines while she was about to board a flight on her way back home.

Dube-Ncube and government officials joined Myeni’s family and friends for the special prayer service held on Thursday.

The Premier expressed her heartfelt condolences to the family, saying that Myeni’s death is a great loss to her family, friends, community, KwaZulu-Natal province and the entire country. 

“From a young age, she was passionate about psychology and had a heart for serving others,” Dube-Ncube said.

The Premier commended Myeni’s mother, Lindiwe Myeni, for raising a humble and caring daughter, who represented KwaZulu-Natal well globally.

Dube-Ncube said while hearts are bleeding due to the loss, she is thankful that Myeni’s mother’s wish to bury her daughter, where she spent her childhood, would be realised.

She also commended the people of South Africa, who are touched by Myeni’s untimely demise. 

“Her painful story brought to the fore South Africans’ compassion and hearts of gold. As we receive Snegugu’s mortal remains and prepare for her funeral to bid our final farewell, we collectively say farewell, daughter of the African soil,” Dube-Ncube said.

The Premier commend the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), including the Department of Health and the South African Embassy in the Philippines, for their swift and efficient response in repatriating Myeni’s mortal remains.

“On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Snegugu. Please find solace that your bereavement is ours to share,” the Premier said.

Myeni will be laid to rest on Saturday in Utrecht. The provincial government is also helping the family with her funeral. - SAnews.gov.za

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng, says BRICS must prioritise the objectives of a just transition as the countries transition to low carbon economies.

“As the world is in the midst of significant transformation, the concept of a just transition is increasingly taking centre stage and so as our countries transition to low carbon economies, we must acknowledge the urgent need to achieve a just transition in our respective countries,” Nkadimeng said.

Nkadimeng was speaking at the 2023 BRICS Urbanisation Forum in Durban, held under the theme, 'Advancing urban resilience for sustainable cities and towns for future generations'. The two-day forum got underway on 26 July.

Nkadimeng said by embracing renewable energy, circular economies and sustainable practices, the bloc can mitigate the negative impacts of urbanisation on the environment, and ensure a harmonious coexistence between nature and cities, thereby strengthening resilience to withstand climatic shocks.

The countries' efforts to build resilient cities must be underpinned by social equity, ensuring that every citizen, regardless of their background, has equal access to opportunities, services, and a dignified standard of living.

“The challenges posed by urbanisation are not confined to national borders. By uniting as the BRICS bloc, we possess the strength to address these issues collectively, drawing from our diverse experiences and innovative ideas. 

“Our ability to collaborate and share knowledge will be the key to tackling common challenges and unlocking new possibilities for our urban landscapes. It is heartening to witness the exchange of best practice and the formation of partnerships that have taken place over the past two days,” Nkadimeng said.

The Minister said as governments representing their respective countries, they have a crucial leadership and policy formulation role to play. She encouraged the delegates to capitalise on their connections to develop robust strategies that integrate sustainability, resilience, and the imperatives of a just transition into their urban planning and governance systems.

“By learning from each other, we can accelerate progress towards our shared objectives. As we return to our nations, I urge each of you to keep the spirit of collaboration and innovation alive in your work. 

“Let us be agents of change, advocating for policies that prioritise the well being of our urban communities and the protection of our planet. By working hand in hand, we can inspire others and build a network of like-minded nations committed to the greater good,” the Minister said.

The Minister commended the BRICS delegates for their valuable contributions during various sessions held at the forum. She said their insights have enriched their collective understanding in advancing, strengthening and building urban resilience.

“Your insights have shed light on the innovative approaches being implemented in urban water resilience projects, human settlements and alternative infrastructure provision, and have brought to the fore the critical role of data as a critical component of urban infrastructure and a foundational resource to enhance the effectiveness and productivity of urban environments,” Nkadimeng said. – SAnews.gov.za