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14 May 2024

BCX Alibaba Cloud Academy and Arovy University join forces to empower African students for the digital economy!

Location: MyPR

BCX Alibaba Cloud Academy and Arovy University have joined forces in a strategic partnership aimed at empowering students to cultivate essential skills for the expanding digital economy in Africa. The basis of this initiative is the Alibaba Cloud Academic Empowerment Programme, a pioneering effort to embed digital excellence within academic institutions globally. Arovy University, situated …

14 May 2024

Dozens of shacks demolished in Midrand

Location: News

Shackdwellers say they’ll keep rebuilding because they have nowhere else to go

14 May 2024

All systems go for elections

Location: News

All systems go for elections

The Electoral Commission Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, says it's all systems go for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.

South Africans will go to the polls on Wednesday, 29 May, to elect the leadership of the seventh administration out of the 70 political parties and 11 independent candidates that were published by the IEC as final contestants in these elections.

In total, there are over 14 903 candidates vying for 887 seats in the National and Provincial Legislatures. There are 27.79 million registered voters.

Moreover, out-of-country voting is scheduled to take place in 111 foreign missions on Friday, 17 May and Saturday, 18 May 2024. More than 78 000 South African citizens living in other countries will cast their vote on 17, 18 and 19 May 2024.

“In these elections, voters will receive three ballot papers: the national compensatory ballot for political parties, provincial and regional for parties and independent candidates,” Mamabolo said on Tuesday.

WATCH | Three ballots explained

Addressing media in Pretoria on the state of readiness for the General Elections, Mamabolo reminded voters to make only one mark against a party or candidate of their choice.

“One ballot, one mark,” he said.

Mamabolo said lease agreements for 23 303 permanent voting stations have been signed and concluded.

“Of these, 62% are schools, 9.7% are places of worship and the balance of 28% include all other categories, such as community halls and other municipal facilities.”

Mamabolo said the IEC is in the final stages of training 202 500 voting officials, who will discharge the responsibility of administering the electoral process in the voting stations.

“The addition of a new category of staff to assist the presiding officer with the counting effort is another significant step towards improving the quality of counting.”

According to Mamabolo, three such staff will be appointed for each voting station and for each sub-station where a voting centre is being operated.

“To this end, a total of 191 185 staff have been appointed,” he said.

WATCH | Full IEC briefing

Results Operations Centre

As part of final preparations, Mamabolo said the Commission will launch the national Results Operations Centre (ROC) on Wednesday, 22 May 2024.

“The national ROC will be based at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. It will house Commission members, as well as representatives of key service providers such as Eskom and Parliament, representatives of contestants running in the national elections, domestic and international observer missions, and media organisations.

“The Commission is pleased to share that a record 160 organisations, with 5 000 observers domestically and from around the world, will be observing South Africa’s 2024 General Elections,” Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo explained that about 15 of the observer organisations are international and include the African Union, the Carter Centre’s Democracy Program, and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

Making voting easier

With regards to measures put in place for people with disabilities, Mamabolo said the Commission has implemented measures to make the voting process more accessible to all South Africans, regardless of physical abilities.

“Voting officials will assist voters who require assistance on voting day. Working with the South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB), we have developed a voting aid, the Universal Ballot Template (UBT), to increase the chances of them confidently and confidentially exercising their right to vote,” Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo has also reminded the voters to vote where they are registered.

“It is therefore appropriate that, ahead of the elections, we remind voters of the general rule in elections that a person votes at a voting station where they have registered. The only exception to the general rule is that a voter may vote outside of their registered voting district only after notifying the Commission.

“Notifications in this regard will close this Friday, 17 May. As of today, approximately 199 092 notifications had been approved,” Mamabolo said.

The Commission also called on registered voters to check their voting station ahead of election day.

According to the Commission, a number of channels are available to assist voters with checking their registration, including:

SMS your ID number to 32810.
Use the voting station finder application on the IEC website.
Contact help centre on 080011800.
Download the IEC APP from the Appstore.

“We call on South Africans both abroad and here at home to come out in numbers and excise their democratic rights.

“We further continue our call to citizens, media members and political party leaders to set a good example and foster an electoral environment based on trust, integrity, and respect for all.

“The Electoral Commission, for its part, commits to declaring an election outcome based on South African voters' choices,” Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo said the counting of votes will take place at each voting station in the presence of political party agents and observers.

“There will be a result slip at the conclusion of the count which will be displayed at that voting station. All interested are allowed to capture a photo of that official result of that voting station, with their gadgets,” Mamabolo said. – SAnews.gov.za

Edwin
Tue, 05/14/2024 - 13:29

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14 May 2024

Spoil Mom with Southern Sun… she’s the heartbeat of the family!

Location: MyPR

This Mother’s Day, show your appreciation by treating Mom to a memorable day at one of Southern Sun’s many hotels across the country. Let her relax and indulge in delicious food crafted with care, surrounded by the comfort and luxury of our inviting spas. Make her day extra special with a dining experience that reflects …

14 May 2024

From small screen to decor scene – inventive room sets to bring emojis to life!

Location: News

A bright yellow face smiling at you from your phone, a red heart beating between messages in a chat, a thumbs up that reaffirms. The ideograms our society calls ‘emojis’ have become a new language in and of themselves, harbouring both overt and secret meanings as they represent the physical in digital form. Emojis are …

14 May 2024

Event Info: How to Spot False Information During Elections

Location: Entertainment

In today’s digital age, the spread of false information has become a significant concern, especially during elections. The dissemination of misleading or fabricated news can have a detrimental impact on the democratic process and the public’s trust in the electoral system. Therefore, it is crucial for voters to be vigilant and equipped with the necessary […]

14 May 2024

30 years of democracy: The electrification of South African households

Location: News

30 years of democracy: The electrification of South African households

Despite a myriad of challenges – both present and past – along the way, the South African government through Eskom and municipalities has made great strides towards achieving universal access to electricity in the country.

This came out during a roundtable on the electrification programme since 1994 hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

According to the Eskom website, in 1987, fewer than 13 million people had access to electricity with the vast majority of that access servicing white households – leaving other population groups reeling in the dark.

At the dawn of democracy in 1994, Parliament endorsed a plan to create universal access to electricity – defined at some 97% due to population growth and challenges related to the formalisation of informal settlements.

This charged government’s wholesale plan to electrify homes. Now, access to electricity in South Africa today is at least 94% according to Statistics South Africa.

Director Project Monitoring and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Lufuno Madzhie, said the electrification programme has thus far, been a success.

“[During 1994 to 1998] Eskom and municipalities only electrified 2.5 million households. In 2001, then government decided this [electrification] programme needs to reside within the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy [DMRE]. Through us as the department, working with different stakeholders, we have achieved a lot with regard to this electrification programme.

“Through this programme, the department has achieved a huge milestone. Currently, we have electrified over 8.3 million households,” he said.

Eskom’s Pozisa Njezula emphasised how access to electricity improves the welfare of households and explained how Eskom contributes to facilitating access for hard-to-reach rural areas.

“[It allows for the] improving on safety where we no longer have to use candles and paraffin stoves. It improves on convenience where we no longer have to collect wood to cook and also, in terms of improving on education where kids can study at night.

“With…us now pushing towards universal access, the challenge that we are now faced with is that we now have to reach the far-flung areas. The far corners in all the rural areas. With the support from the DMRE, as Eskom we have started and embarked on the rolling out of micro grids for those far-flung areas where you may not be able to get grid electricity because of losses as well as the amount of money that you would have to spend to get to those areas.

“The [micro grid] is just a container, it has solar panels, it has got batteries and then you’ve got the reticulation network. When you get to a certain area, you electrify it off grid and those people benefit,” she said.

Challenges and solutions

Njezula bemoaned that although the electrification programme is going full steam ahead, the power utility faces serious and dangerous challenges when going into communities.

“We are not immune as Eskom to the crime [and] extortion in our project sites. In South Africa, with almost all the projects that are being undertaken, there’s reports of these extortions and these demands for certain amounts of money, for protection fees and so forth.

“That delays the progress in our projects, and it really puts the lives of our employees as well as our contractors in danger. In some instances, we have to leave site, we need to be escorted, we need protection,” she said.

Head of energy and electricity distribution at the South African Local Government Association, Nhlanhla Ngidi, described South Africa’s electrification plan as a “moving target”.

“In terms of access itself, at 94%, I think it’s very important that people understand because this is a moving target. In a year’s time, you could find this being below 94% and it’s because of all these challenges…people moving towards where the economy is more active.

“Municipalities have done quite well but with the capacity challenges we have, we still need municipalities to be assisted and government needs to put in place agencies that can come in and be catalysts in terms of the implementation of the programme,” he said.

Energy expert, Chris Yelland, agreed that access to electricity has improved but warned that affordability remains a blockage to some households.

“[There] are some technology developments that require that we look at these distant rural customers. The first thing of course is renewable energy. The price of renewable energy…has come down dramatically over the last ten years. This is now opening the doors to renewable energy for remote households that never existed ten years ago.

“There’s a lot to celebrate in electrification [but] there’s a lot to do about affordability. We are not there yet. We need to understand where we come from, where we are and where we’re going and for that we need data…so that we know where we are and where we’re going” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

Location: News

Condolences for Motsuenyane family

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the Motsuenyane family following the death of Nomgcibelo Jocelyn Motsuenyane.

She died a day following the funeral of her husband, Dr Sam Motsuenyane.

“As South Africans, we stand by the Motsuenyanes in your moment of compounded loss.

“Sam and Jocelyn Motsuenyane are icons of their generation whose belief in education and entrepreneurship as keys to self-realisation and reliance sustained communities and contributed to the inclusive economy we continue to build today.

“May they rest together in peace at the end of a life of service and upliftment and a union they shared for 70 years,” President Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

Ma Motsuenyane was an anti-Apartheid activist listed in the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as someone who suffered gross violation of human rights under that regime.

Her home was petrol bombed – and subsequently lost in March 1986 – by members of the Bophuthatswana Police at Winterveld in the Bophuthatswana homeland.

She was part of a group attempting to organise a meeting between the community and the Winterveld Community Council to address grievances relating to police harassment.

Her husband, Dr Sam Motsuenyane, was a revered black business pioneer.

He was the co-founder of the pivotal National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC) and played a leading role in the establishment of African Bank – both at the height of apartheid.

Ma Motsuenyane is expected to be buried later this week. – SAnews.gov.za

The meeting, which was held last Friday, forms part of Nzimande’s continued interventions to ensure stability and clean governance at the University of Fort Hare.

The purpose of the meeting was for the Council to provide the Minister with a progress update on specific governance issues and the disturbing recent events, including the arrest of senior university employees, with some employed in the Vice Chancellor's office.

Reporting on the outcome of the meeting, the department disputed media reports suggesting that Nzimande’s meeting with the university council collapsed.

According to a statement issued by the department, some members of the Council had initially expressed concern that a detailed agenda was not distributed before the meeting.

However, after a brief break that was mutually agreed to, the meeting continued and the Minister then tabled his set of concerns about the recent developments at the university.

Nzimande also indicated that he would like the Council, as the highest decision-making body, to respond to the concerns raised.

“After tabling his concerns, it was agreed that the Council will not respond immediately to the issues raised by the Minister and that the Minister will communicate his list of concerns to the Council, in writing.

“The Minister's concerns will form the basis for the next meeting with the Council, which will be a physical meeting, to be convened by the department within several days,” the department explained.

The department said Nzimande is pleased with the outcome of the meeting and remains committed to working with the Council and all university’s key stakeholders to ensure that clean governance is restored, and that the proud history of the university is protected. – SAnews.gov.za

GabiK
Tue, 05/14/2024 - 10:12

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