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RAPT Creative has taken SCOPEN’s 2023/24 AGENCY SCOPE South Africa by storm to rank 4th on its Agency Performance Table, scoop up four 1st place or tied 1st place results, achieve a top 10 ranking in 9 out of the 11 categories SCOPEN deems most important to agency performance, and rank 7th on the Overall …
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Regain your confidence and drive in 2024 with Holsters well-groomed shoes! While a comfortable chunky sandal or basic trainer might be appreciated for a comfortable commute, the importance of a power shoe for the workplace can’t be overlooked. Shoes from Holster will have you looking stylish and comfortable whether you’re dressing up for a big …
Engen, in collaboration with the Community-Engen Joint Committee, has spread some heart-warming holiday cheer to 30 children residing at the Ocean View Child and Youth Care Centre on the Bluff. Engen’s generous donation of Santa Boxes, brimming with delightful treats and toys, brightened the faces of these vulnerable children aged 6 to 18. The Engen …
Dear Editor ANC corruption poses an existential threat to the continued payment of social grants to millions of vulnerable South Africans. Yesterday, the party’s cowardly President, Cyril Ramaphosa, told a lie with his claim that social grants were “likely to disappear” when the ANC loses the fast-approaching 2024 election. The truth is the exact opposite …
Ten post-graduate students who were previously unemployed recently embarked on a remarkable journey from Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, to Tzaneen, Limpopo Province, as part of the SA Harvest entrepreneurial incubator initiative. Supported by Naspers Labs, this programme aims to equip young individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to become self-sufficient agri-food entrepreneurs. These ten students …
Dear Editor Today the DA laid criminal charges against the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, for his role in allegedly defrauding the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) through kickbacks paid to him, NSFAS board chairperson, Ernest Khoza, and the South African Communist Party (SACP). This alleged corruption was revealed by the Organisation …
OUTA says Blade Nzimande is trying to mislead the public by diverting from what leaked recordings disclose about him and the SACP The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) notes Minister Blade Nzimande’s comments at his media conference today, and his reaction to our investigation report and the leaked voice recordings in which the NSFAS debacle …
City of Cape Town libraries revert to pre-pandemic borrowing policy
The City of Cape Town has announced that the original borrowing privileges at its libraries will revert to pre-pandemic arrangements from next month.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries extended the number of items that patrons could borrow, as well as the borrowing period.
However, from 1 February 2024 borrowing privileges will revert to pre-pandemic arrangements. In addition, printed newspapers and magazines will be discontinued as their subscriptions come to an end.
“During the pandemic, borrowing privileges were extended to a one month lending period and a maximum of 20 items for all borrowers. Those were extraordinary times and the city made the adjustment to benefit our patrons who couldn’t access the library or materials as readily.
“The longer borrowing period means other patrons wait longer to enjoy all the material our libraries offer. It also meant fines accumulated quickly due to the higher number of items that could be borrowed,” the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross said on Tuesday.
Prior to the pandemic, the frequency of access to available material was higher and could circulate as often as 24 times a year (twice per month), whereas at present it can only circulate 12 times.
“We want all our patrons to enjoy as much of our libraries’ offerings as possible. Therefore, the number of items that can be borrowed will go back to 12 for an adult and seven for children for a borrowing period of two weeks with an opportunity to renew the items for a longer period. This will help us provide a better and more efficient service,” said Van der Ross.
The change will also ease fines on patrons. Patrons with 20 overdue items quickly reached the maximum fine limit on the system, resulting in their accounts being blocked.
“This discouraged the return of overdue material and affected circulation, as patrons do not want to borrow material for fear of not being able to pay once the material becomes overdue; also for fear of being blocked on the system.
“It is anticipated that this change will also reduce annual losses, as staff will contact patrons sooner to return overdue material. It will also reduce the risk of accumulating fines. City libraries offer a reservation service, which allows patrons to reserve popular items that are always out on loan.
“By shortening the borrowing period, patrons are encouraged to prioritise the popular material they truly want to borrow and return them promptly for others to enjoy, thus reducing waiting times,” the City said.
Patrons are also advised that the provincial grant for printed newspapers and magazines will be cut from this year, which means libraries will only have electronic copies available via Pressreader, free of charge for all library members.
Patrons are able to access this resource from their desktops, as well as from smart mobile devices by visiting the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) at https://opac,capetown.gov.za. – SAnews.gov.za
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Tue, 01/09/2024 - 12:40
City of Cape Town workers are on site to fix burst pipe
Minister hands over outdoor gym in Mpumalanga
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa has handed over an outdoor gym and sporting clothes to a community in Mpumalanga.
“Government’s intervention to build outdoor gyms in Royal Great Places is a commitment to develop sport in rural communities. Further to this, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is also building multipurpose sports courts in rural and township communities,” the Minister said on Tuesday.
He said historically, rural communities have lacked these sport and recreational facilities.
“This has meant that there are not enough resources available in these communities for people, and the youth in particular, to exercise and play sport. By focusing on sport development in rural communities, we are inspiring communities to live active lifestyles.
“We are also addressing the issue of youths needing to go to towns and cities to play sport, where there are more resources. By prioritising sport development in rural communities, we are also working to ensure that sport talent is identified in these communities, and that sport talent is given opportunities to flourish. It is in communities such as KwaMhlanga where the next Trevor Nyakane or Caster Semenya will be discovered,” Kodwa said.
He said the outdoor gym, which is located in Royal Great Places, means that communities can exercise in a safe environment, and the gym equipment can be well looked after.
“This year, South Africa celebrates 30 years of freedom. One of the mandates of our government over the past 30 years has been to ensure social transformation in South African society through promoting social cohesion, social integration, and social inclusion.
“Sport plays a critical role in realising this goal. Just as President Nelson Mandela said, sport unifies people in ways little else can. Sport brings hope where there was once despair,” he said. –SAnews.gov.za
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Tue, 01/09/2024 - 13:26
The Hollywood Foundation is thrilled to unveil the eagerly awaited return of its highly successful “Back to School” campaign. With a remarkable R8 million pledge, the campaign aims to support parents and empower learners from diverse communities across South Africa, at the beginning of the new school year by providing them with essential school supplies. …
SA can still expect loadshedding
Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated that while Eskom is working hard on improving its generation system, citizens can still expect load shedding.
Providing an outlook on Eskom’s generation capabilities during a media briefing on Tuesday in Pretoria, the Minister explained that the majority of units remain unreliable and this is being addressed through the planned maintenance that Eskom is conducting routinely.
Due to legacy issues including under investment at Eskom and the entity not having sufficiently planned for maintenance, South Africa’s grid is unreliable.
“We will have periods of days of no load shedding and there will be days of load shedding. Eskom has announced its summer outlook and it makes the point that we should not be at more than Stage 4 level of load shedding.
“While demand was low during the week 22- 29 December 2023, Eskom was working to address issues of its fleet and used the opportunity to carry out planned maintenance.
“We have been working during the festive season to ensure that we address issues of the fleet to continue to perform but also readying the fleet to ensure that once there is a ramp up of demand, the units are able to return back to service and remain in service while delivering efficient megawatts (MW),” Ramokgopa said.
The Minister pointed out that Eskom is beginning to decrease its planned maintenance, as they are expecting demand to increase.
While in December 2022 South Africa experienced load shedding, Eskom had three units back last December at Kusile, which ensured that there were periods of no load shedding.
“If you had to look at the work that has been done at Eskom, they have reduced repeat failures. We have additional buffer for instances of a cluster of units failing where you do not have to initiate load shedding or if you do, it is not at intense levels.
“Unit 1 at Kusile experienced significant delays in relation to the timeline to return to service, which was set for June last year but it returned five months later due to outage slips. We are confident that the work that has been done by the generation team has ensured that we will not have a repeat when we want to return unit 2, which is currently out,” he said.
The Minister reminded citizens that Koeberg unit 1 and 2 were extending the license of the only nuclear power station in the country.
“We had to do a significant amount of work to meet the regulatory requirements and compliance so we can get the license extensions… so these units were out. As part of this robust exercise, unit 1 in Koeberg is now on full load. It has passed the full load tests. There is a plethora of tests that need to be run and the test was passed on 30 December.
“Now unit 1 in Koeberg is unleashing the MWs that are required and we hope it will continue to do that for the next 20 years. Another development is the synchronisation of Kusile Power Station’s unit 5.
“That power is intermittent. It is doing a number of tests, and it will go into full commercial operation for an average period of six months so they continue to do the tests but as they continue to do the tests, it does give us MWs,” Ramokgopa said.
“Unit 5 is running at 60% and there are a lot of things that need to be done such as balancing and optimisation tests so that we are sure when the unit is in commercial operation so essentially giving us MWs uninterrupted.”
Integrated Resource Plan
The Minister called on the public to make submissions on the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023 that was issued by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, for public comment in Government Gazette no 49974 of 04 January 2024.
“I want to urge that your comments are not restricted to public commentary, engagements and with the media. That does not amount to a submission. A submission means you make a written response of ideas of what you think of the IRP and submit it as required.
“As it stands, the IRP represents the views of Cabinet and we want to know what the public thinks. I want to encourage you to make submissions and as and when the DMRE offers an opportunity to make oral representation, I encourage you to do that as well,” Ramokgopa said.
The IRP is an electricity generation plan that seeks to ensure security of electricity supply by balancing supply with demand, while taking into account the environment and total cost of supply.
The purpose of this publication is to solicit public comments on the assumptions, input parameters, scenarios, and observations made. Comments submitted will be considered when drafting the final policy adjusted plan, which will map out the future energy mix for the country. – SAnews.gov.za
nosihle
Tue, 01/09/2024 - 12:22
You were made for going places. For expressing who you are. You were made for this — wherever you take life next. And we were made to be right there with you – Fossil. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – 18 December 2023 – Fossil Group, South Africa, is excited to announce the grand re-opening of …
Leading truck and trailer manufacturer, Serco, forecasts another challenging year ahead for South Africa. This is based on negative factors such as load shedding and congestion at the country’s ports taking their toll. However, CEO Clinton Holcroft is optimistic about prospects for Serco. He cites innovation and resilience as the company’s beacons of hope and …
Minister refutes allegations in OUTA report
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande, has assured South Africans that he has never used any money from any of his department’s entities to fund the South African Communist Party (SACP), as suggested in a report by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).
Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, the Minister refuted allegations that he received personal kickbacks from service providers to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) or any of the other entities falling under his departments.
His assertions follow a report by OUTA alleging that service providers appointed to administer the NSFAS’ new direct payment system paid him millions of rands in kickbacks.
The report also alleges that payments were made to NSFAS board chair Ernest Khosa as well as at least R1 million to Nzimande’s party, the South African Communist Party (SACP).
“I therefore wish to dismiss this baseless insinuation by OUTA, some organisations, including some sections of the media, that I as Minister was involved in some form of corruption at NSFAS. These are all lies that emanate from a malicious fight back campaign. My conscience is clear, and I have nothing to hide or fear.
“As stated in my statement on 5 January, I reserve my rights to take the necessary legal action and I have voluntarily decided that I am going to subject myself to the relevant legal processes and ethics bodies of the African National Congress (ANC) and the SACP,” the Minister said.
The Minister highlighted his track record in fighting corruption at NSFAS and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
“My fight against corruption and maladministration dates back to the appointment of the Administrator at NSFAS where disciplinary processes were initiated against some employees following the discovery of some wrongdoing and financial misconduct by these employees.
“With the current NSFAS Board, I have supported their initiatives to deal with ghost students who were benefiting from the scheme irregularly. I also directed the Board to implement the recommendations of the Werksman Report, without fear not any favour. Part of these recommendations is the termination of the contracts of the direct payment service providers,” Nzimande said.
He noted that the SACP has already made its stance known on the false allegations contained in the OUTA statement and rejected them.
“I also wish to place it on record that I do a lot of party-political fundraising, especially for the South African Communist Party as is the case I am sure with leaders of all our political parties.
“However, with the strict guidance from the SACP, I am not permitted to raise funds from entities under our departments or knowingly from service providers in that space.
“As Minister, I also wish to remind the country that I have absolutely no role or direct influence in determining the allocation of training funds by any of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), including the Services SETA that is being mentioned in the aforementioned statement,” he said.
Nzimande emphasised that the allegations against him and the attacks on the chairperson of the NSFAS board are part of a nefarious fight-back campaign that is linked to success and measures to fight corruption and ensure clean governance at NSFAS.
“This campaign includes threats to the life and person of the NSFAS Chairperson. You would recall that a finding was made by Werksmans Attorneys that the appointment of four direct payment service providers was irregular and that in line with the recommendations of the Werksmans report, the contracts of these services were to be terminated and that in doing so, we had to ensure that the students are not affected negatively.
“It is our view therefore that the leaked recordings are part of a nefarious fight-back campaign that is meant to undermine and frustrate the decision of the NSFAS Board to start with the legal proceedings to terminate the contracts of these four direct payment solution service providers, as recommended by the Werksmans report,” the Minister said.
He said the publishing of this report and leaking of the recording is calculated to disrupt the smooth start to the academic year and have no regard for the plight and well-being of poor and working class students.
As part of his oversight responsibilities over NSFAS, the Minister will on Wednesday meet the Board of NSFAS to receive progress on the 2024 application process, the finalisation of the 2023 disbursements, the implementation of the accommodation pilot project and the phased implementation of the Comprehensive Funding Model, particularly the funding of the missing middle through the NSFAS Loan Scheme.
“I wish to assure the people of our country that I stand firm on my commitment to rooting out corruption and ensuring clean governance at NSFAS and all the entities under my departments and will not allow any organisation or individual to distract me from this task.
“I further wish to assure the people of our country and in particular, the students and stakeholders in our Post School Education and Training sector that I remain committed to ensuring that we have a smooth start to the 2024 academic year. I will be having the first of two press conferences later this week to inform the country and our stakeholders on our preparedness and readiness for the start of the 2024 academic year,” Nzimande said. – SAnews.gov.za
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Tue, 01/09/2024 - 09:33
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Drugs seized at OR Tambo airport
Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have seized 23kg of narcotics disguised as moulded artwork with an estimated street value of R37 million at the cargo sheds of the OR Tambo International Airport.
The customs officers were doing their inspection rounds last week when they came across a box headed for New Zealand.
The box contained items of moulded artwork, which looked suspicious. The officers used a narcotics test kit and some of the items tested positive for crystal meth, which weighed 10kg.
A test by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on other items tested positive for fentanyl, which weighed 13kg. The narcotics were handed over the SAPS for further investigation.
In a statement on Saturday, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter praised the vigilance of the customs officers who detected the narcotics.
“SARS Customs will spare no effort in stopping the export or import of narcotics and any illegal substance which cause so much pain and hardship for families, particularly their youth.
“Drug smugglers must know that our Customs Division is fully committed to this objective, and will act without fear or favour against those criminals involved in the drugs trade. They must know that they will face the full might of the law,” Kieswetter said. – SAnews.gov.za
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Mon, 01/08/2024 - 09:27
Eastern Cape mother arrested for allegedly murdering baby
Police have arrested a 27-year-old woman for allegedly murdering her 11-month-old baby girl in the Eastern Cape.
“It is alleged that on Friday, 5 January 2024, a man went into the bushes at the Nonyevu locality in Port St Johns to urinate when he found the baby in a refuse bag. He alerted the members of the community, and the mother was traced,” the South African Police Service (SAPS) said on Sunday.
According to police information, on 29 December 2023 the infant got sick and passed away at about 5am on 1 January 2024.
It is believed that the mother wrapped the child with a towel, put her in a plastic bag and threw her in the bushes at Nonyevu locality where she was living at the time.
“The mother was assaulted by the community and is hospitalised. She faces a charge for murder and will appear in the Port St Johns Magistrate Court. A post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,” SAPS said. – SAnews.gov.za
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Mon, 01/08/2024 - 09:36
Andrew Ingram, NSRI spokesperson, said: The NSRI’s Pink Rescue Buoys are public rescue equipment deployed at selected beaches, rivers and dams around South Africa and have been used to help rescue 177 people that we know of. Since the project started in late 2017, more than 1800 of these bright pink emergency flotation devices have …