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Presidential Youth Employment Initiative making strides
Presidential Youth Employment Initiative making strides
Between April and June this year, at least 135 000 earning opportunities were secured by young people through the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative’s (PYEI) National Pathway Management Network.
Some 108 061 of these were accessed through the SA Youth platform with 27 088 opportunities scored through the Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) website.
This was revealed during a media briefing on Monday to update the nation on the progress made by the PYEI.
The PYEI was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during 2020 as an intervention to rising youth unemployment in South Africa.
Speaking to SAnews, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Kenny Morolong said it is critical for the PYEI to receive more funding in order to reach more young people.
“That is why we are engaging [National] Treasury and are awaiting a pronouncement during the MTBPS period because the recapitalisation of the PYI programme will go a long way in reaching out to many other young people who have yet to transition from learning to earning.
“Over 4.1 million young people are participating in the platform at no cost. There is evidence that they are being linked to opportunities and those opportunities are critical for their livelihoods. It is a programme that we intend to sustain and that is why discussions are ensuing with National Treasury to recapitalise it,” Morolong said.
Reflecting on the current employment challenges, the Deputy Minister spoke on the need to create pathways into the economy for youth not only as employees but as entrepreneurs.
“It is important to get young people participating in the mainstream economy. This programme is also critical because it exposes young people to self-employment opportunities; that is why we encourage young people to take full advantage of it,” he said.
According to the PYEI dashboard, since its April 2020 inception, some 4.1 million people have registered and are accessing the SA Youth platform and more than 1 million earning opportunities have been secured by young people.
Young women taking opportunities
Director of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, Lerato Shai, told the media briefing that of the work opportunities accessed by young people, at least 70% of these were accessed by young women.
“What we are learning through SA Youth, is that young women continue to face specific barriers even as progress is being made. In particular…more young women are actually getting educated than young men. We are seeing more women that are educated, that are tenacious but they’re still facing substantial barriers once they enter into the labour market with many of them being far less employed and, where they are, earning far less than what men earn in the same jobs.
“What we do see is that if there is intentional design in the programmes to really tackle the barriers that are affecting young women, especially in male dominated sectors, women…take up these opportunities and they run with them and they create new pathways for themselves.
“What we really are seeing is that to tip the scale towards more equity, we need a systemic shift. So it’s not about jobs for girls, but employment systems that actually work for women,” Shai said.
Turning to the Youth Employment Service (YES), Shai said this initiative is also dominated by young women.
“They are supporting just over 58% of young women and since its inception, they’ve managed to really start to generate the kind of demand and access to opportunities we are wanting to see in the private sector with 42% of their alumni employed in permanent or contract roles.
“So YES really is starting to shift the trajectory and…create pathways to earning for young women,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Mon, 08/28/2023 - 12:00
706 views
Meat without slaughter – Advance up to the lab and see what’s on the slab
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Call for increase in affordable rental housing stock
Call for increase in affordable rental housing stock
Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has called on the City of Johannesburg to increase the delivery of social housing units.
This is in response to the ever-increasing public demand, further exacerbated by in-migration to the economic hub of Gauteng.
Kubayi made the call during a community engagement and the launch of the Riverside View Social Housing Project in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, on Friday. The launch included the handover of the completed 180 units to beneficiaries.
The Minister was accompanied by Gauteng Human Settlements MEC, Lebohang Maile and Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.
The Minister also led the sod turning ceremony to mark the commencement of construction of Phase 3 of the project, a Ward 96 mixed-income development. The development is meant to address social, economic, and spatial integration and substantially contribute to providing affordable rental accommodation in Johannesburg.
During an on-site briefing, Kubayi was encouraged to learn that since July, over 9 000 applications for housing were received by the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO), which is an entity of the City of Johannesburg.
While substantial, the figure is not unique to the city noted the Minister, as the Housing Company Tshwane had in 2022, also revealed that it had received over 7 000 applications from potential tenants who had shown interest in the Townlands Social Housing Project.
“The demand for social housing is huge. As the government, mainly the City of Johannesburg and the Provincial Department of Human Settlements, working alongside the private sector, we must strengthen working relations to increase social housing units in the city and other areas to benefit communities,” she said.
The construction of Phase 3 is expected to commence in September 2023, and the Minister said it must be launched as soon as in January 2024.
Overall, the project is expected to deliver 1108 units on completion. It will cater for low-income families and individuals from various backgrounds, while also providing adequate and affordable, safe, and comfortable homes to qualifying applicants.
The Minister underscored that most people living in informal settlements do not qualify for fully subsidised government houses, as they fall outside the qualifying income bracket of R0-R3500.
“Thus, a need to provide them with decent and affordable accommodation, through a social housing programme that offers rental stock for those earning between R3501 and R22 000,” she said.
She added that “we have a Constitutional obligation to provide housing for all” while also calling on renters to pay their rent.
“This is a rental stock, not a rent-to-buy. By doing so, you will be assisting the government in working with the private sector to deliver more affordable rental units.”
Land identified for social amenities
Meanwhile, responding to community concerns about the lack of facilities in Diepsloot and surrounding areas, MEC Maile indicated that there are pieces of land that have been identified to provide social amenities, including schools and clinics.
Maile also outlined plans to further expand the scope to cater for more people, amidst an increasingly high number of people flocking into the province to seek better opportunities.
“Those people inevitably need a convenient and comfortable place to live, thus making it more urgent for private sector partners to come on board,” Maile said.
Government remains committed to delivering 18 000 units between 2019 and 2024. To date, over 11 000 units have been handed over to the rightful beneficiaries.
“The Department of Human Settlements is working with the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) to de-risk potential beneficiaries who find themselves not qualifying for various housing opportunities because of their credit ratings,” Kubayi said.
The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), an entity of the department and delivery agent for the Riverside View Social Housing Project, indicated that 14 projects in total have been completed and are ready to be handed over by the end of 2023. These account for 4700 units across the country. -SAnews.gov.za
GabiK
Mon, 08/28/2023 - 12:40
658 views
The Sharks and SA Harvest unite to combat hunger in Zululand
The Sharks Foundation and Hands of Hope initiative has joined hands and hearts with SA Harvest, the national food rescue and hunger relief organisation, for a collaborative campaign to deliver essential food items to the underserved rural area of Zululand, Kwazulu/Natal, marking another milestone in their ongoing fight against food insecurity. Addressing Food Scarcity in …
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BRICS, Africa CDC commit to work with business on future pandemics
BRICS, Africa CDC commit to work with business on future pandemics
The Ministry of Health, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Africa Health Business and the South African chapter of the BRICS Business Council co-hosted a successful dialogue to deliberate on future pandemics.
The parties met on Monday following last week’s BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit to deliberate on a potential African Union (AU) and BRICS framework of cooperation for the pandemic, preparedness, prevention and response (PPPR).
The meeting brought together BRICS member states including the newly invited members, Ethiopia and Egypt, business, civil society, development finance institutions, global health agencies and AU specialised agencies.
“The dialogue sought to elicit a collaborative framework for AU and BRICS PPPR that is actionable and implementable. [This is] by tabling concrete suggestions, drawing from the AU and BRICS collective experiences of dealing with COVID-19 and other pandemics, identifying the existing capabilities and acknowledging the gaps that would need to be closed for adequate pandemic preparation and response,” a statement read.
The attendees highlighted the reality of the shifting centres of global power, pointing out that the expanded BRICS family now represents 4.8 billion people, which is over half of the global population.
“Increasing human and animal interconnectedness, climate change and an increasing frequency of infectious disease outbreaks mean that the AU and BRICS’ ability to contain infectious diseases has a fundamental bearing on global health security.
“The realisation of this growing responsibility compelled AU and BRICS stakeholders to convene and begin a process towards a declared collaborative framework.”
Participants were further encouraged by the collective capabilities identified in medical and digital technologies, human resource potential, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
They also observed that the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturing Network (DCVMN), which is comprised of manufacturers from BRICS member states, contributed to 60% of the COVID-19 vaccine products.
“The meeting considered the merits of opening up the entire expanded BRICS and AU market to all pharmaceutical manufacturers in the BRICS and AU regions.”
Member of the BRICS Business Council, Dr Stavros Nicolaou, stated that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant and vast global health inequities, particularly on the African continent.
He noted that unnecessary lives and livelihoods were lost, with the African post-pandemic economic recovery still proving to be challenging.
“Collaborative efforts across the African and BRICS geographies can enhance surveillance, research, infrastructure, and resource allocation to ensure a swift and coordinated response to future pandemics underpinned by a resilient African pandemic prevention, preparedness and recovery system,” said Nicolaou.
Putting people first
Stakeholders also acknowledged that the inequities that persist in many low- and middle-income countries, fragile health systems and inadequate financing pose a threat to pandemic preparedness and overall global health security.
“More work must be done to diversify manufacturing, support Africa’s manufacturing targets, ensure primary health care is fully developed as a foundation for pandemic preparedness, and to support last-mile delivery.
“The convening emphasised the importance of placing people and communities at the heart of all PPPR deliberations.”
Some concrete actions that were tabled were financing by establishing a BRICS PPPR fund through the New Development Bank and the need to convene at the Conference on Public Health in Africa.
“Emerging in the wake of a recent global pandemic, this dialogue arrives at a pivotal juncture. It underscores a collective need to fortify health security and adaptability, extending beyond national boundaries,” said Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya.
Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla said BRICS member states need to solidify efforts to promote digital health technologies across health systems to strengthen the sharing of information that may be useful for PPPR.
“At a country level, there is a commitment to develop and implement legislative measures for PPPR. I am glad that BRICS member states have reaffirmed and committed to implementing global, regional, and national actions to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and fully address the direct and indirect consequences of current and future pandemics.” – SAnews.gov.za
Gabisile
Mon, 08/28/2023 - 15:00
510 views
Constitutional Court Denies NEASA And SAEFA Leave To Appeal In Major Victory For Centralised Collective Bargaining In The Metals Industry
Written by Lucio Trentini is the Chief Executive Officer of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa On the 25 August 2023, the Constitutional Court dismissed the leave to appeal sought by NEASA and SAEFA. This follows the rejection of their previous appeals by both the Labour Court and the Labour Appeals Court. …
Rebuttal issued to Daily Investor article on agreements signed by Minister of Electricity
The article published on 27 August 2023 by Daily Investor titled “Ramokgopa accused of misleading South Africa” is in itself misleading.
The Ministry of Electricity has noted numerous inaccuracies in the article that qualify the article as misleading.
It states that Minister Ramokgopa signed a joint memorandum of understanding with eight Chinese companies during the 15th BRICS Summit to ensure that all public health facilities, schools, and police stations in South Africa have alternative sources of energy.
This is factually incorrect as the Memorandum of Cooperation signed with eight Chinese companies focuses on enhancing South Africa's energy security through infrastructure and technology development, human capital development, and research amongst other objectives.
The substance of the agreement that Daily Investor is reporting about, instead, relates to the Exchange of Letters and resultant Technical Assistance Programme, under which the emergency equipment will be donated by the Chinese Government to South Africa.
This agreement, unlike what the Daily Investor incorrectly reported, was signed during the People's Republic of China's Head of State Visit to South Africa at the Union Buildings on 22 August 2023, not in Johannesburg.
Under the programme the first shipment of equipment will include 450 petrol generators, which will be deployed to critical facilities, including hospitals and clinics.
The Minister has been consistent in stating that the facilities will be identified by Provinces.
Furthermore, the details and potential benefits of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed with the eight Chinese companies were not in any way scanty, as purported by Hilton Trollip in the article, instead the substance and details of the agreement were openly presented during an open signing ceremony attended by media.
Mr Trollip's misleading inaccuracies, as expressed in the article, could have been countered with facts, had the Daily Investor given the Ministry a right to reply before publishing a one sided article.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency: Republic of South Africa.
Use force proportional to threat, Cele tells police officers
Use force proportional to threat, Cele tells police officers
Police Minister, General Bheki Cele, has called on police officers across the country to be the first to act when they have to use "force proportional to the threat”.
Cele made the call when he was addressing hundreds of mourners and police officers at the funeral of Sergeant Kediemetse Masilo in Schweizer Reneke, North West, on Sunday.
Sergeant Masilo and Constable Okaetse Mandindi, who were both attached to the Kimberley Flying Squad, were fatally shot earlier last week while tracing a stolen vehicle in Kimberley.
Masilo allegedly died at the hands of her perpetrator, a 38-year-old Daniel Alberts, who according to records is a repeat offender.
Alberts has already appeared before the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on two counts of murder, three of robbery with aggravating circumstances, one of motor vehicle theft and one of theft.
During the funeral, speaker after speaker decried the killing of police officers, on and off duty.
Thirty-one police officers have died on and off duty in the last three months.
Cele supported by the South African Police Service (SAPS) management, and representatives of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) have all urged police officers not to hesitate to act.
“Be vigilant and operationally ready to act in any circumstances. If force is required, it must at all times be necessary, reasonable and proportional.
“I plead with you don’t die with the resources and tools that we have given you,” Cele said.
Constable Mandindi will be laid to rest on Saturday, 02 September 2023, in Pampierstad, Northern Cape.
The commemoration of 34 police officers will also be held on Sunday, 03 September 2023, at the Union Buildings where the SAPS will pay tribute to its fallen heroes and heroines who died in the line of duty in the 2022/2023 financial year. – SAnews.gov.za
GabiK
Mon, 08/28/2023 - 15:08
320 views
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Linen for the Hospitality Industry
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MENtalities Summit to address violence against women
MENtalities Summit to address violence against women
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, will on Tuesday host the Inaugural Transforming MENtalities Summit, which is aimed at engaging men and boys to address the root causes of violence against women.
The Transforming MENtalities Summit is based on United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Transforming MENtalities initiative, launched in 2015 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and later spread to a number of other countries.
The department said, the multistakeholder campaign and partnership, aims to champion a world free of gender biases, stereotypes, violence and discrimination, by changing cultural and societal norms through policies, advocacy and capacity-building initiatives.
“A 2013 United Nations Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence reveals that 10% to 62% of all interviewed men reported having raped a woman or girl in their lifetime, and in some places, more than 75% of women aged 15 to 24 thinks that there are conditions under which a man has rightful reasons to beat his wife.
“Socialisation processes are intrinsically linked to structural gender inequalities: violence, aggressiveness and sexual entitlement are too often considered as appropriate expressions of “how to act like a man” in different societies,” the department said in a statement.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2013, the lifetime risk of experiencing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) for South African women is 45.6%; well above the global average of 35%.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), originally known as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Furthermore, also states that sexual Gender-Based Violence, and intimate partner violence are amongst the most prevalent forms of GBV affecting young women aged 16-25 years as they are vulnerable.
The summit is hosted by HIGHER HEALTH and the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) on behalf of the Department of Higher Education and Training and the Department of Science and Innovation. – SAnews.gov.za
GabiK
Mon, 08/28/2023 - 15:26
114 views
Health dialogue on margins of BRICS Summit
On 28 August 2023, the Ministry of Health in South Africa, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Africa Health Business and the South African Chapter of the BRICS Business Council co-hosted a successful dialogue on the margins of the BRICS summit to deliberate on a potential African Union and BRICS framework of cooperation for Pandemic, Preparedness, Prevention, Response and Recovery (3P2R).
The meeting brought together BRICS member states- including a fortuitous presence of the newly invited members, Ethiopia and Egypt- business, civil society, development finance Institutions, global health agencies and AU specialised agencies (AUDA-NEPAD, AfCFTA, ARC Group).
The dialogue sought to elicit a collaborative framework for AU and BRICS 3P2R that is actionable and implementable by tabling concrete suggestions, drawing from the AU and BRICS collective experiences of dealing with COVID-19 and other pandemics, identifying the existing capabilities and acknowledging the gaps that would need to be closed for adequate pandemic preparation and response.
Stakeholders acknowledged that many fora are dealing with global and regional pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPPR), including the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for the Global Pandemic Accord.
However, they highlighted the reality of the shifting centers of global power, pointing out that the expanded BRICS family now represents 4,8 billion people, which is over half of the global population. Increasing human and animal interconnectedness, climate change and an increasing frequency of infectious disease outbreaks mean that the AU and BRICS' ability to contain infectious diseases has a fundamental bearing on global health security.
The realisation of this growing responsibility compelled AU and BRICS stakeholders to convene and begin a process towards a declared collaborative framework.
In the interest of pursuing equitable and timeous access to medical countermeasures in the event of the next pandemic, participants acknowledged the merits of the “Johannesburg Process” in providing an informal platform for stakeholder engagements on an interim medical countermeasures' coordination mechanism.
The “Johannesburg Process” was seen as an effective complementary tool contributing to the work of the World Health Organization and other formal processes.
Participants were further encouraged by the collective capabilities identified in medical and digital technologies, human resource potential (particularly in Africa), and pharmaceutical manufacturing. For instance, it was observed that the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturing Network (DCVMN), which is comprised of manufacturers from BRICS member states, contributed to 60% of the COVID-19 vaccine products. The meeting considered the merits of opening-up the entire expanded BRICS and AU market to all pharmaceutical manufacturers in the BRICS and AU regions.
Dr Stavros Nicolaou, member of the BRICS Business Council stated, "The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant and vast global health inequities, particularly on the African continent and unnecessary lives and livelihoods were lost, with African post pandemic economic recovery still proving to be challenging. Collaborative efforts across the African and BRICS geographies can enhance surveillance, research, infrastructure and resource allocation to ensure a swift and coordinated response to future pandemics underpinned by a resilient African pandemic prevention, preparedness and recovery system."
Stakeholders also acknowledged that the inequities that persist in many low- and middle-income countries, fragile health systems and inadequate financing for 3P2R for the AU and BRICS families were a threat to pandemic preparedness and overall global health security. More work must be done to diversify manufacturing, support Africa's manufacturing targets, ensure primary health care is fully developed as a foundation for pandemic preparedness, and to support last-mile delivery. The convening emphasised the importance of placing people and communities at the heart of all 3P2R deliberations.
Some concrete actions that were tabled were the necessity of predictable 3P2R financing by establishing a BRICS PPPR fund through the New Development Bank (commonly referred to as BRICS Bank) and the need to convene at the Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2023) to agree on an AU and BRICS cooperative framework, inviting the newly announced additional members of BRICS and all the AU member states to deliberate on a proposed collaborative framework.
“Emerging in the wake of a recent global pandemic, this dialogue arrives at a pivotal juncture. It underscores a collective need to fortify health security and adaptability, extending beyond respective national boundaries,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC.
Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla said, “as BRICS Member States, we need to solidify our efforts to promote digital health technologies across our health systems to strengthen sharing of information that may be useful for PPPR. At country level, there is a commitment to develop and implement legislative measures for PPPR. I am glad that BRICS member states have reaffirmed and committed to implement global, regional, and national actions to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and fully address the direct and indirect consequences of current and future pandemics.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of Health.
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Now is the Time for a Fresh Election for a Stable Joburg
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