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Just a couple of months ago, there seemed next to no chance of Willis Halaholo becoming a Cardiff Rugby centurion. It looked as though his seven-year stay at the Arms Park was over, with no new contract having been put in place, leaving him stranded on 97 appearances. To compound the situation, he had suffered …
The teams for Friday night’s Round 4 fixtures of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below. TEAM NEWS HEADLINES #ZEBvSHA Italian international Luca Morisi, could make his Zebre Parma debut if called upon from the bench Boeta Chamberlain comes into Hollywoodbets Sharks starting line-up …
“Try to understand our plight and our current living conditions” says Langa rail occupier
In a boost to South Africa's healthcare resilience, the first Phakamisa Sustainability and Innovation Summit has paved the way for more effective, efficient, and equitable delivery of high-quality healthcare across the country.
Hosted at the Embassy of Sweden, the first-of-its-kind summit focussed on prevention and early detection, capacity building and health equity, and optimising the use of innovation to build sustainable healthcare systems. The Summit delved into issues of growing concern, including noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which have increased dramatically in South Africa in recent decades. [1] Pre-eminent speakers came from across the healthcare ecosystem, including Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, as well as representatives from businesses, patient groups, non-governmental organisations, and the United Nations.
To kick off the event, global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca signed a partnership agreement with Rare Diseases South Africa, supporting the creation of a national registry for rare diseases and providing training and help for young patients and caregivers aged 18-30 affected by rare diseases. 1 in 15 South Africans is estimated to be affected by rare diseases, the collective name for more than 7,000 different conditions. The partnership will increase understanding of the burden of rare diseases in South Africa and improve equitable health care for those affected.
In addition, AstraZeneca also announced an expansion of its existing collaboration with Medsol AI Solutions, which deploys state-of-the-art Wi-Fi ultrasound probes to detect lesions at high risk of breast cancer in seconds. The AI (Artificial Intelligence) rapid detection app has already been rolled out in rural Melusi and Daspoort Poli Clinics in Tshwane to help with early disease detection. It will now be expanded to breast cancer screening programs at Tintswalo Breast Health Clinic, Groote Schuur Hospital Breast Clinic and Quadcare Clinic in Alexandra.
Pelin Incesu, Area Vice President, Middle East and Africa, AstraZeneca, stated, "In partnership with the government and other stakeholders, AstraZeneca is working tirelessly to strengthen South Africa's healthcare system by focusing on providing equitable access to care and medicines and exploring innovative technology that can detect disease at an earlier stage, improving patient outcomes. The Phakamisa Sustainability and Innovation Summit provides a platform to collectively explore new ways to prevent emerging threats to health like non-communicable diseases, to diagnose patients earlier and quicker, and to ensure all healthcare practitioners have the skills to deliver top-quality care to patients, no matter who they are or where they live.”
Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Deputy Minister of Health, Republic of South Africa, said, “We are committed to delivering quality healthcare services for all South Africans, and that means working with partners across the public, private and third sector to ensure our health system is sustainable and resilient, able to meet current and future challenges. With non-communicable diseases rising, prevention, early detection, and capacity building are at the forefront of these efforts.”
Kelly Du Plessis, Rare Disease South Africa added, “These agreements are the next step in our mission to create a better tomorrow for the millions of South Africans who have been or will be, diagnosed with a rare disease or congenital disorder in their lifetime. The Phakamisa Sustainability and Innovation Summit is a fitting occasion to announce these partnerships, as improving care for those with rare diseases will help to strengthen our entire health system.”
[1] Republic of South Africa, Department of Statistics: https://apo-opa.co/47kDNCI. (Accessed November 2023)
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AstraZeneca.
For media enquiries, please contact mediamea@astrazeneca.com
About Phakamisa:
Phakamisa is AstraZeneca's access to healthcare initiative in South Africa. Now in its 11th year, Phakamisa, which means “upliftment”, brings together different organisations and is helping to reduce the burden of non-communicable disease including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. The programme has reached over 1.63 million people through outreach activities led by community healthcare workers with over 19 700 women identified with breast issues (https://www.MyPhakamisa.com/).
About AstraZeneca:
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries, and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit Astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter (https://apo-opa.co/3QOeunc).
SA a good place for investment, says Zikalala
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Sihle Zikalala, has assured investors that South Africa has put in place systems, structures and policies that are investor-friendly and is easing ways of doing business.
“As South Africa, we are a story of economic growth, hope and resilience to investors and social partners,” he told investors.
The Minister is on an official working visit in the United Kingdom, where he and a delegation are on a mission to promote South Africa as a preferred infrastructure investment destination.
“We are open for business and we guarantee your return on investments in a country that is continuously eliminating red tape, has economic stability, improving the ease of doing business and where the rule of law is jealously guarded by our democratic institutions and our courts,” Zikalala said in his address to over 500 global investors in London.
The Minister presented to investors a plethora of infrastructure investment opportunities in areas such as energy, water, transport and digital infrastructure.
He assured investors that President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading the charge for a corruption-free government which honours agreements and contracts with investors.
“The investor environment is one characterised by a commitment to ethics and running a corruption-free administration. An ethical state is essential to assuring investors that their investment is safe from abuse. In addition, we are very clear about the rules of engagement with no other hidden agendas.
“Despite our recent challenges which we are working hard to overcome, such as load-shedding, our economy remains resilient and has enhanced reforms, especially on financing large infrastructure projects where we have opened up space for public –private partnerships. We are mobilising private sector financing and skills to work with the government of South Africa to fast track delivery and improve contract and project management,” he said.
Policies
At Wednesday’s session, the Minister faced gruelling questions around some of the country’s transformation policies such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), localisation and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), which some perceive to be too bureaucratic and impacts on investor confidence.
The Minister responded by saying that the policies are critical in redressing South Africa’s economic disparities induced by the pain of its history which left many languishing on the fringes of the economy.
“The South African government is creating a new economic landscape and architecture which is premised on economic inclusion of most of the population.
“Our quest to address the socio-economic imbalances of the past should be no threat to investors but should be part of building a united and democratic South Africa that benefits all its citizens.
“This is a consensus that we have built as a country what we want to be non-racial, non-sexist and democratic with a prosperous population,” said the Minister.
Meanwhile, investors expressed excitement about the vast opportunities available in infrastructure investments.
The Minister invited the investors to visit South Africa and share the country’s major investment platforms such as the Presidential Infrastructure Investment Summit 2024 and the South Africa Construction Week and conference to be announced soon.
He believes the Global Africa Trade Conference is a lucrative opportunity to rebuild South Africa’s economy in the wake of a disruptive pandemic of COVID-19.
Zikalala is confident that the new frontiers of economic partnerships have been cemented. The Minister will be in the UK until Friday. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Thu, 11/09/2023 - 08:57
Edinburgh Rugby is pleased to welcome the arrival of British & Irish Lion and Scotland scrum-half Ali Price on a season-long loan from Glasgow Warriors. The 30-year-old half-back will join the capital squad on Monday (13 November) and be in Senior Coach Sean Everitt’s selection considerations for the following Friday’s home match against Vodacom Bulls …
Former Transnet executives pension payouts interdicted
The Special Tribunal has handed down an order interdicting the pension payouts of two former Transnet executives linked to fruitless and wasteful expenditure of about R33.5 million at the state-owned entity.
The two are former executive managers responsible for group business continuity and disaster management Lerato Mary Theresa Makenete and former executive manager for safety, Landela Hawkins Madubane. Their pension funds amount to some R8.9 million.
The application for the order was brought to the court by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the state-owned freight rail and logistics company.
“Transnet initiated and called on the support of the SIU to investigate this matter and requested the support of the SIU to expand and complete the investigations. An investigation by the SIU into the affairs of Transnet has revealed that Makenete and Madubane allegedly colluded with three service providers to abuse Transnet's emergency procurement process during COVID-19.
“During the emergency procurement…Transnet contracted Ramoyadi Air Conditioning, Ndzalo2 Trading and Eagles Ropes to deliver over a million disposable breathalyser straws. Makenete and Madubane allegedly colluded with suppliers to defraud Transnet by inflating the price of the straws from R0.29 per straw to R29.99 per straw, resulting in a total payment of R33 834 698.40,” the SIU and Transnet said in a joint statement.
The two institutions have initiated proceedings against Makenete and Madubane in an attempt recover the financial losses suffered by Transnet due to the overpayment and brought an application to review and set aside the contracts.
“Following the conclusion of the investigation, the SIU made disciplinary referral to Transnet against Makenete and Madubane. Transnet actioned the referral, however, they both failed to appear for disciplinary hearings, but the proceeding continued in their absence. The duo was found guilty and dismissed.
“[The] SIU refers any evidence pointing to criminal conduct it uncovers to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action,” the statement read. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Thu, 11/09/2023 - 10:29
Telkom, a leading technology company in South Africa, is proud to announce the launch of the Telkom Transformation and Innovation Awards, set to take place on the 14th of November 2023. This ground-breaking event marks the beginning of an annual celebration, recognising Telkom’s pivotal role in supporting technology-driven start-ups within the South African ecosystem. The …
Dear Editor Despite the appointment of an Acting Director-General in the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DMV), the implementation of the Military Veterans Act is still not fully complied with. Veterans are yet to access their subsidised public transport benefits. Twelve years ago, the Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011 was enacted with the …
Dear Editor A comprehensive analysis conducted by the DA has uncovered that Ministerial Departments, State-Owned Enterprises, and various entities under the ANC administration have collectively incurred a staggering R40 billion in fruitless and wasteful, irregular, and unauthorised expenditures in the 2022/23 financial year alone. This alarming figure serves as a stark reminder that the ANC’s …
Battle against illegal mining receives a boost
President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the employment of 3 300 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for service in cooperation with the South African Police Service to prevent and combat crime and maintain and preserve law and order under Operation Prosper.
“Members of the SANDF will, in cooperation with the South African Police Service, conduct an intensified anti-criminality operation against illegal mining across all provinces, from 28 October 2023 until 28 April 2024,” the Presidency said in a statement on Thursday.
The expenditure expected to be incurred for this deployment amounts to R 492 143 296.
The President set out the employment in a letter to the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Amos Masondo. – SAnews.gov.za
DikelediM
Thu, 11/09/2023 - 10:44
For the fifth annual edition of the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards, a renowned panel of six local and international judges will bring a strong global perspective to the evaluation process. This will be the second year that this same panel will be judging the awards. “We are confident that this dynamic panel, with wide-ranging and …
The City of Cape Town announced the artists headlining this year’s free light extravaganza set for Sunday, 26 November 2023. The Grand Parade is all set and ready for the country’s largest free open-air event, with a performance line-up designed to thrill and entertain as part of the City’s annual free-to-attend Festive Lights Switch-on event. …
Dear Editor The DA celebrates a resounding victory in yesterday’s four by-elections, securing wins in all four wards and experiencing growth in our vote from 2021. We congratulate the newly-elected ward councillors: Lida Erasmus, Alta de Kock, Fiona Pelman, and Allan Williams. In Tshwane, Lida Erasmus and Alta de Kock triumphed in Ward 47 and …
Strides being made to claw back against effects of State Capture
While the remnants of State Capture continue to impact government and state coffers, progress is being made to bring those responsible to book.
This according to President Cyril Ramaphosa who was addressing the ongoing National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council’s (NACAC) National Dialogue in Gauteng.
President Ramaphosa highlighted that among the billions of Rands that have been retrieved from corrupt elements, at least nine separate court cases, involving 47 individuals and 21 companies, have been brought to court.
“Freezing orders amounting to R14 billion have been authorised by the Asset Forfeiture Unit and a total of R5.4 billion has been recovered and returned to the state. Government departments, municipalities and professional bodies are taking disciplinary action against individuals identified by the [State Capture] Commission.
“The South African Revenue Service has collected R4.9 billion in unpaid taxes as a result of evidence brought before the State Capture Commission. While there is a long road ahead, the fight against corruption is gaining momentum,” the President said.
He highlighted that over the last five years, significant resources have been invested to “rebuild the law enforcement agencies and other bodies that were devastated by state capture”.
“We appointed new leadership with the track record, integrity and capability to tackle crime and corruption. We are now in the process of developing legislation that will insulate the appointment and removal processes for key positions shown to be vulnerable to state capture.
“In 2018, we established the NPA Investigating Directorate to focus on state capture and other serious crimes. We established the Special Tribunal to enable the Special Investigating Unit to fast track the recovery of public funds.
“In November 2020, Cabinet adopted the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, whose six strategic pillars anchor the deliberations of this National Dialogue,” he said.
President Ramaphosa acknowledged that corruption has a significant impact not only on state coffers but in the belief that citizens have in government.
“All South Africans suffer…when goods, services and resources meant for public benefit are misappropriated, mismanaged and stolen and when that happens, it is the poor who suffer most.
“Corruption carries a huge opportunity cost…it imposes a huge burden on the lives of our people. Economic growth is stifled and businesses suffer. Development stalls and institutions across the board – both in the public sector and in the private sector – also fail.
“Corruption has wounded our democracy in a number of ways and has also shaken people’s faith in our institutions. If corruption is not curbed, arrested or stopped, the greatest damage will not be in the funds stolen…or the jobs lost. It will be in damaging our democracy,” he said.
Reflecting further on South Africa’s democracy – which will turn 30 years old in 2024 – President Ramaphosa said next year, both progress and failings will be acknowledged.
“We will…reflect on how far we have come as a country in improving the lives of our people…the quality of their lives and also…in entrenching a culture of democracy and human rights.
“We will reflect on the progressive policies that have enabled millions of our people to be lifted out of absolute poverty and that have provided…basic necessities which they didn’t have…such as housing, electricity, water and other basic services.
“We will also, at the same time, acknowledge where we have not achieved enough, where the expectations and aspirations of our people have not been met. As we consider the great achievements of our democracy, we must be forthright about one of the great weaknesses where we have fallen short and that is with regard to corruption,” the President said.
The President emphasised that the fight against corruption and crime should be taken up by all of society.
“When it comes to criminality, we have 95 000 police in our country [and] we are adding [more]. Between last year and this year we are going to be adding up to 30 000 even next year. But those police will never be in every household, they will never be in every street, they will never be in every locale.
“In the end, the fight against criminality is also a societal one. Quite often…as communities, we know the people that get involved in criminality…and we don’t speak out. It is up to us as well to speak out, to make sure that we root out criminality working together with the police where we become the eyes and the ears of our people as a whole.
“Similarly when it comes to corruption, it is our duty all of us. It is a societal challenge and I hope this summit is going to come up with a lot of strategies and measures that we need to take to push back on corruption and end corruption in South Africa,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Thu, 11/09/2023 - 09:46
Renault South Africa has donated a new library and resource centre to the Khauhelo Primary School in Soweto. In keeping with the spirit of uplifting communities in need, Renault South Africa, in partnership with the Imperial & Motus Community Trust, has donated a brand-new library and resource centre to the Khauhelo Primary School in Naledi, …
Eastern Cape education department sends task team to investigate
FREE WORKSHOP : Music business 101 in George, Saturday 11 Nov 2023 at 10:00 FREE Tickets from : Quicket Speakers include : Music Exchange Founder : Martin Myers www.martinmyersct.com CEO of Jazzathon -Craig Parks Host Germaine Leonard from Garden Route Musicians Network MB101-FREEworshop.png Topics include, but not limited to the ones listed below: 1 )How …
The Hollywoodbets Sharks, Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers will be looking to reverse their fortunes in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this week, while the Vodacom Bulls face a tough challenge as they aim to stay in the top four on the log. The KwaZulu-Natalians will be desperate to change their fortunes when they take …
One of the worst feelings is when your prepaid meter stops working and won’t accept any tokens. Here are a few steps you can take to address the issue: Check the meter display: Make sure that there are no error messages or any other indications of a problem on the meter display. If you see …
The Welsh Rugby Union Group has posted a turnover of £101.3m for the year ending June 2023, it revealed in draft accounts issued to member clubs today. In an increasingly tough commercial environment for rugby around the globe, it invested £16.1m in its senior men’s and women’s international and pathway sides . The investment in …
Johannesburg, 08 November 2023: OMODA is thrilled to announce its exclusive partnership as the official vehicle sponsor for Mr South Africa. This landmark collaboration marks a significant milestone of the Mr South Africa event, as it welcomes its very first vehicle sponsor in its storied history. Mr South Africa is a premier male ambassadorship program, …
Two innovative products of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) won prizes at the fifth annual GEO SDG Awards, which recognize institutions, organizations and countries that are applying geospatial and Earth observation techniques and innovations towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
FAO won the SDG Custodian Agency Prize for the pathbreaking WaPOR portal, which monitors land and water productivity by remote sensing, and also shared the prize for Statistical-Geospatial Integration for its work with the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics in developing a rapid method of monitoring land cover and ecosystems, key components of SDG 15.
The prizes were organized by Earth Observations for the Sustainable Development Goals (EO4SDG Initiative under the auspices of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) at an award ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. The jury comprised a set of experts from different countries and sectors whose selection criteria were the overall impact, quality and soundness of the Earth observation endeavours and their potential for replication and upscaling.
GEO is a partnership of more than 100 national governments and even more participating organizations, representing researchers, data providers and businesses, that advocates for the use of coordinated, comprehensive and sustained geospatial monitoring to support decisions and actions that benefit mankind. GEO coordinates a “system of systems” that includes more than 400 million open-data resources from an array of providers including NASA and the European Space Agency as week as commercial actors.
“We are delighted at the impact and recognition of our innovative geospatial efforts and committed to intensifying this area of activity,” said Lifeng Li, Director of FAO's Land and Water Division.
The winners
WaPOR, formally “Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data”, offers open access to a near real-time database that uses satellite data to monitor agricultural water productivity at various scales.
Rolled out in 2017, it has recently been expanded to encompass the entire globe, and its granularity deepened to the point of measuring evapotranspiration rates on land surfaces as small as 20 meters. These traits help assess exactly when and how much waters crops need, allowing farmers to boost their water-use efficiency and contribute to SDG6.4.1, of which FAO is the custodial agency.
The GEO Award for Statistical-Geospatial Integration was given to the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics and FAO Lesotho for developing a way rapidly to compute the Mountain Green Cover Index at the national level.
The solution uses EOSTAT data disaggregated by elevation zones using Sentinel-2 land cover data. It has proven a game changer, filling pertinent data and gaps, offering significant cost savings on field survey activities, and allowing Lesotho to update its figures for reporting on SDG 15.4.2, which had been stalled for almost a decade.
The approach has also integrated data to identify hotspots of vegetation degradation, monitor the impact of land restoration projects and assess the impact of climate change on ecosystems around the country, further increasing Lesotho's national capacity to produce reliable SDG indicators as well as monitor ecosystem health and landscape trends.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The occupation of more than 360 houses was sparked by allegations of corruption at the housing project