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Introduction The digital landscape is ever-changing, and nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). As businesses and consumers increasingly move online, the importance of a robust SEO strategy has never been more critical. In South Africa, this trend is no different. The country has seen a surge in …
Assets of alleged illegal mining kingpins frozen
The Pretoria Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks Priority Crimes Specialised Investigation and Serious Organised Crime Investigation have secured preservation orders to freeze assets “which are proceeds of unlawful activities of a syndicate dealing in unwrought gold” in Gauteng.
The frozen assets include 51 vehicles and seven properties with a value of more than R16 million.
“The orders were to preserve various properties belonging to Bethuel Ngobeni, Lerato Bathebeng, Poppy Mathongwane, Bongani Khumalo, Dumisani Moyo [and his company] Kesitaal Pty Ltd, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Neo Duba, Tsepo Dube, Itumeleng Magagane, Gloria Magagane Mlambo, Nhlanhla Mathebula, Manuel Nhamucho and Thabiso Sechele, which are proceeds of unlawful activities of a syndicate dealing in unwrought gold in Khutsong and Carletonville.
“This emanates from a criminal investigation by the DPCI [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] that resulted in six accused being arrested, who are alleged to be illegal mining kingpins. All the accused are remanded in custody, however Moyo was granted bail after he appealed at the high court. Some of the properties belong to four of the accused,” the NPA said in a statement.
The criminal case in this regard is expected to be heard in court on Thursday, 7 April. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Thu, 09/07/2023 - 09:49
Introduction Navigating the intricate world of supplements can be overwhelming, particularly if you’re new to the fitness scene. The multitude of options available can easily baffle even the most experienced athletes. This guide is here to shed light on the various types of supplements you can incorporate into your wellness and fitness regimen. The …
“Under democracy, hundreds and even thousands of inmates have been subjected to these practices” says Judicial Inspectorate report
Storage units have become a convenient solution for individuals and businesses looking to declutter their living or working spaces. These units provide a secure and organised environment to store belongings temporarily or long-term. However, not all items are suitable for storage, as some can pose risks to the safety of the stored items, the storage …
Mashatile to outline government plans for municipalities, tackling crime
Deputy President Paul Mashatile will today brief members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on a range of issues related to government efforts to implement rapid response interventions in municipalities and plans to tackle crime.
“As part of his delegated responsibilities, Deputy President Mashatile has been leading the implementation of rapid response interventions on service delivery, trouble-shooting service delivery hotspots, and monitoring the implementation of the District Development Model, which is an integrated planning model that government has adopted to fast-tracking service delivery,” said the Presidency in a statement.
Following the successful National Dialogue on Coalitions convened by the Deputy President, which took place in August at the University of the Western Cape, he will also brief members of the NCOP on emerging proposals aimed at stabilising coalitions within municipalities.
“In light of the persisting levels of violent crime in the country, Deputy President Mashatile will apprise members on government’s rapid response plans to tackle crime.”
He is also expected to update members of the NCOP on the country’s commitment and continued efforts to play a key role in the realisation of peace and stability in the region and the continent. – SAnews.gov.za
Gabisile
Thu, 09/07/2023 - 08:50
Introduction We’ve all been there—overwhelmed with stuff and running out of space to keep it all. Whether you’re downsizing, relocating, or simply decluttering, storage unit facilities can be a lifesaver. But how do you find the best “storage near me“? In this guide, we’ll explore the various options available and how to choose the right …
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World Rugby is partnering with the Signify Group to protect officials, players and coaches from online abuse. World Rugby has today announced that it will implement transformative measures to protect all match day officials and team squad players from online abuse during Rugby World Cup France 2023. The move underpins World Rugby’s wider commitment to …
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RCL FOODS, in partnership with SA Chefs Association (SA Chefs), is proud to unveil the exceptional young culinary talents who have earned their place in the regional semi-finals of the RCL FOODS Young Chefs & Young Bakers Challenge 2023. The competition is dedicated to cultivating the careers of the country’s most promising culinary students. Selected …
eThekwini municipality says it can’t electricify the shacks because the informal settlement is on private land
As the November 2023 deadline looms, 70% of public schools still don’t have libraries
Removing cataracts is easy and inexpensive. Yet in some parts of South Africa thousands of people are waiting for surgery.
The Portfolio Committee on Police today voted to adopt a Motion of Desirability on the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Amendment Bill [B21-2023] and will continue with processes to consider the Bill. The majority view was that there is an urgent need to strengthen, through legislation, IPID's institutional and operational independence and give effect to the Constitutional Court judgement in the case of McBride v Minister of Police and another.
While there were concerns about the Bill's lack of certification by the Office of the State Law Advisor as it relates to apprehension on the constitutionality of clause 4 of the Bill, the committee emphasised that the Bill's principles are accepted. The committee's adoption of the motion of desirability is in line with National Assembly Rule 286 (6). The committee reiterates that it has taken due regard of the legal advice provided and will ensure that its processes comply with the Constitution, South Africa's laws and regulations and National Assembly rules.
“This decision is necessary as Parliament is the only body that has the mandate to legislate the structural and operational independence of IPID in accordance with section 206 (6) of the Constitution. We must also emphasise that the decision was taken with full consideration of the legal advice provided and that every step of the process will be guided by legal considerations,” said Mr Nocks Seabi, the Chairperson of the committee.
Meanwhile, the committee received a progress report and implementation plan emanating from the recommendations made by the Presidential Expert Panel report on the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The committee welcomed the detailed plan and progress in implementing the recommendations directed to SAPS.
In line with this, the committee welcomed the implementation of the Increased Crime Prevention and Combating Action Plan, which will result in the countrywide mobilisation of SAPS resources to address violent crime through high-density operations, intelligence-led roadblocks and suspect tracking operations. The committee also welcomed the work to enhance relationships with the community through community police forums. Financial support of R70 million to these forums will provide them with the necessary support to procure the tools of trade they need to function efficiently.
Meanwhile, the committee raised its concerns about the slow prosecution of criminal cases linked to the unrest. While the committee acknowledges that criminal justice processes are sometimes protracted, it emphasised the need to ensure successful prosecution as a deterrent against a recurrence of such events.
The committee welcomes the progress in filling critical vacancies at the Division: Crime Intelligence. SAPS management informed the committee that a Divisional Commissioner was appointed in December 2022 and processes are underway to fill another 15 posts. A further 268 vacancies were filled in the 2022/23 financial year. The committee remains of the view that Crime Intelligence is critical to ensure proactive policing. The filling of posts is a major step towards enhancing this environment.
The committee also welcomed the plans to capacitate SAPS members with crowd control techniques and the assurance that more than 10 000 SAPS members were trained as first responders in crowd management. A further 4 900 Public Order Police members received training in the principles and techniques of basic crowd management, which the committee also welcomed.
Meanwhile, the committee has decided to give Members of Parliament time to consider whether it will be ideal for the committee to conduct a full enquiry on the unrest or to defer it to the seventh Parliament. The committee will draft a process plan setting out timeframes to see if the committee will have adequate time to process the matter. The committee previously deferred the matter to give time to the Presidential Expert Panel and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) investigations to avoid duplication. The SAHRC has said it is in the process of concluding its investigation.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
At least five injured in Braamfontein fire
An explosion from a gas pipeline in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, has left at least five people injured, while a truck and a building close to the Nelson Mandela Bridge caught fire.
According to a statement released on the City of Johannesburg’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account, Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda explained that the incident occurred while maintenance was being carried out on an Egoli Gas pipeline.
“The explosion is confirmed to be a gas explosion from an Egoli Gas pipeline that was undergoing maintenance.
“Following the Bree Street incident, the City has placed pressure on eGoli and other service providers to test and maintain their systems to prevent future accidents and minimise the risk to leaks and explosions. Sadly, this explosion occurred during the course of such maintenance.
“Residents in the area are advised that they may experience a strong gas scent and mustn’t be concerned as the gas is being released into the atmosphere and poses no risk to health and life,” Gwamanda said.
Since July, at least two major incidents have rocked the area, namely, a methane gas pipeline explosion at Lillian Ngoyi (Bree) Street, which killed one person and caused serious infrastructure damage, and last week’s Usindiso Building fire, which claimed at least 74 lives.
Gwamanda warned residents to stay clear of disaster areas for their own safety.
“We must, however, also decry a growing tendency where people converge around a scene of disaster, taking pictures and videos, as opposed to evacuating and moving away from such scenes. The Boksburg explosion must be a lesson that scenes of disaster must be cleared immediately by all,” said Gwamanda.
In a statement, Egoli Gas confirmed that the pipeline belongs to it and said the fire was “contained within 15 minutes”.
The company said it has been working closely with the City of Johannesburg since the Lillian Ngoyi Street explosion in July “to make the city safe”.
“This involves exposing sections of pipeline and sleeving to ensure integrity of the network. This process of making the city safe is being rolled out in phases, following the explosion in Bree Street in July and possible damages to the Egoli infrastructure due to that incident.
“A root cause analysis will be concluded and agreement has been reached with the executive team of Johannesburg that JMPD [Johannesburg Metro Police Department] and EMS [Emergency Medical Services] will be informed of future work to assist with the management of traffic and public movement in areas where work is planned,” Egoli gas concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 09:37
Postbank experiencing technical glitch
The Postbank has advised South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant beneficiaries that it is experiencing intermittent technical issues which are affecting some beneficiaries’ ability to withdraw their funds from ATMs and retailers.
The technical challenges also affect some SASSA Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 withdrawals within the retailers.
SASSA grants beneficiaries are assured that Postbank’s technical teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue.
“Postbank deeply understands the inconvenience and challenges that this technical issue poses to our valued SASSA grants customers. We apologise unreservedly to all our customers. Postbank will advise as soon as the technical issue is resolved,” Postbank said in a statement.
Postbank said social grants payments transactions via SASSA Gold Cards within the Post Office branches are processing normally and not affected by the issue. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 09:46
Ardagh Glass Packaging Africa seeks to build largest container plant
With a total of R3.3 billion invested in the South African economy in the last two years, Ardagh Glass Packaging Africa aims to build the largest container production plant in the continent.
Ardagh is one of the companies that heeded the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa for more investment into the South African economy.
Their staggered investment kicked off in May 2022 with a R1.5 billion set aside for the expansion of its facility in Nigel, Ekurhuleni. A further R1.8 billion was added later for expansion at the same facility.
Ardagh Glass Packing Africa exists after it took over the company, Consol, which had been in existence since 1944.
The company is headquartered in Johannesburg and operates four modern glass production facilities. These are in Bellville, Clayville, Nigel and Wadeville and are producing around five billion glass containers per annum.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ardagh Glass Packaging Africa, Paul Curnow, says demand for sustainable packaging in Africa is growing strongly, supported by factors such as rising income levels and growing sustainability awareness.
He said Ardagh is committed to investing in its people and its asset base to serve this strong demand growth over the near term.
“The expansions have also been designed with the environment in mind. They provide significant energy, water efficiency and environmental benefits, representing another important step in Ardagh Glass Packaging Africa’s journey to decarbonise the glass production process and to reduce emissions in the communities in which it operates,” Curnow said.
He adds that the expansion projects together are expected to create around 300 direct jobs and significant ancillary supply-chain expenditure in local communities.
The company also estimates that at least five indirect jobs are created for every direct job, indicating a much larger impact in job creation. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 11:59
Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City plan to strengthen fire safety protocols in two buildings occupied by activists
Dear Editor “The current fuel price framework no longer serves the interests of consumers but has become a vehicle to extract high taxes to pay for the insatiable appetite of a corrupt and wasteful ANC government.” The DA has submitted a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, for a debate …
Discovery has today announced the launch of Discovery Green, a renewable energy platform that connects businesses across South Africa to affordable, renewable power generated by utility-scale renewable plants. The Discovery Green renewable energy platform will operate through a process called “wheeling”. Energy is generated at the most efficient locations in the country and “wheeled” to …
Facelift for land ports of entry
Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, says officials are committed to making the country's border posts safer, less porous and more efficient in the facilitation and easing of trade, as well as the legitimate movement of people.
“The South African government is committed to putting in the latest infrastructure and relevant technology in its efforts to modernise and upgrade our ports to be on par with the current global best practices on border management,” Motsoaledi said.
Addressing media in Pretoria on Wednesday, Motsoaledi said the main objective of upgrading border posts is to make it easier for law-abiding people and companies to easily enter and exit South Africa through the borders, while the illicit movement of persons and goods is nipped in the bud.
“It has taken a while for us to get to this point. I would like to commend my team consisting of officials from the Border Management Authority, the Department of Home Affairs, The Presidency’s Infrastructure SA, National Treasury, SARS, the DBSA’s Infrastructure Fund, and the transactional advisors, Bowmans and Ernst & Young, for their hard work in getting us to this point,” Motsoaledi said.
He said South Africa’s ports of entry were designed during the apartheid era, with the primary objective of tightened security, while neglecting the effective facilitation of regional and international trade.
“Since the advent of democracy, there has been an exponential increase in the number of people moving between South Africa and the countries in the region. The volume of regional and international trade has similarly increased.
“As a result, our land ports of entry are very congested and that continues to stifle trade, instead of enabling it. If you want to understand what we are talking about, just take a visit to the Lebombo Border Post between SA and Mozambique, where you will see trucks lining up for kilometres, bumper to bumper, for hours on end, on the N4 Corridor,” Motsoaledi said.
He said this is because mining companies in the North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga took a decision to use the Maputo Port for their exports and no longer Richards Bay Harbour.
“Given the current narrow design of the port, this has led to congestion. The announcement we are making today will make sure that what is happening there, will become history (sic),” the Minister said.
Improvements to boost continental trade
Motsoaledi said SA has 72 ports of entry, 53 of which are land, 11 are international airports and eight are seaports -- all of which are now operated by the Border Management Authority.
“Of the 53 land ports of entry, we have now earmarked six of our largest and busiest, by traffic volume, for redevelopment in order to address the congestion. The outcome of the redevelopment of these ports of entry will be used as a blueprint in the long-term for all other South Africa’s land ports of entry.
“The primary intention is to ensure the realisation of regional economic integration in the SADC region, while facilitating the realisation of African Continental Free Trade Area,” the Minister said.
Motsoaledi said in order to ensure that ongoing operations at each of the designated Ports of Entry are not interrupted, construction will be undertaken in phases.
“During construction, the project is expected to create in the order of 38 000 jobs in areas around the six designated ports of entry,” he said.
The six ports of entry earmarked for upgrading or redevelopment are:
• Beitbridge - Zimbabwe
• Lebombo - Mozambique
• Maseru Bridge – Lesotho
• Ficksburg - Lesotho
• Kopfontein - Botswana
• Oshoek - Eswatini
The redeveloped ports of entry will result in:
• Efficient cross-border management of the movement of people, goods and services.
• Improved administration of persons entering and leaving the Republic.
• Better regional economic integration, and enhanced support for the African Continental Free Trade Area.
• Improved revenue collection and addressing leakages caused by the illegal movement of goods and illicit financial flows.
• Protecting local industry from harmful imports and exports.
• Effective migration management including curbing illegal migration. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 13:10