News

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu is expected to file a detailed affidavit outlining all the measures taken by the department in respect of the Vaal River pollution intervention.

This follows a court order on the application filed by a non-governmental organisation, Save The Vaal Environment, against the Water and Sanitation Minister regarding concerns about “the discharge of raw or inadequately treated sewage by Emfuleni Local Municipality from its wastewater care and management system into the Rietspruit River and/or the Klip River and/or the Vaal River and/or the Vaal River Catchment Area”.

The department said the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg) has, as per the agreement between the parties, ordered that Mchunu file an affidavit outlining all the measures taken to date in respect of the Minister’s Vaal River intervention, in terms of Section 63 of the Water Services Act, 1997. 

“The agreement was made an order of the court and the notice thereof was given on 26 June 2023,” the department said in a statement.

Under Section 63 of the Vaal Intervention, one of the ministry’s priority projects in Gauteng includes the upgrading of water infrastructure, refurbishment, operations and maintenance, sustainability, water conservation, water demand management, and advocacy within the Vaal area. 

“This is meant to deal with urgent matters relating to security of supply and more urgently, matters relating to the pollution of the Vaal River, and enhancement of capacity for the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality.

“Rand Water, as the implementing agent, was formally appointed on 5 October 2021,” the department said. 

The department said Mchunu will be filing a detailed affidavit, including progress updates on the various elements of the intervention, amongst others. – SAnews.gov.za

The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed 78 newly trained constables deployed in various police stations in that province.

The welcoming session was held at the Landbank Building at the Provincial Commissioner’s boardroom.

Hadebe officially welcomed the new constables to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and prepared them for the new environment of policing and protecting the residents of Limpopo.

The constables are graduates from colleges and universities with different qualifications obtained at diverse faculties.

In her address, Hadebe congratulated everyone and thanked them for choosing to share their expertise with SAPS, as they will contribute towards the growth of the organisation.

She praised 10 constables with Master's degrees from different faculties such as Physics, Animal Production and Chemistry.

Hadebe advised the new constables to be humble and disciplined when sharing their ideas with their superiors, saying they should not allow their qualifications to stop them from learning the SAPS's functioning methods.

“As they perform their duties, they must always be alert and keep in mind that criminals are not kind but they should still abide by their mandate when faced with such challenges,” SAPS said in a statement.

Hadebe warned them not to be involved in corruption and abuse their powers as police officers.

She encouraged them to excel in their legal obligations and be proud of their new responsibilities of ensuring safety and security of the people of Limpopo. – SAnews.gov.za

President Cyril Ramaphosa will next week hold the 8th Presidential Imbizo in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality under the Sekhukhune District in Limpopo.  

The Presidential Imbizo is scheduled to take place on Friday, 14 July 2023, at Motodi Sports Complex, Ga Motodi village in Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality. 

The Imbizo will be preceded by a series of build-up outreach activities led by Ministers, MECs and Mayors in parts of Sekhukhune District Municipality and across the Limpopo Province. Media advisories will be issued for each of these activities. 

The Imbizo follows a commitment the President made to engage with communities throughout the country in his 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The imbizo platform builds on the District Development Model (DDM), which calls for greater cooperation between citizens and public representatives.

The DDM embodies an approach by which the three spheres of government and state entities work in unison in an impact-oriented way, and where there is higher performance and accountability for coherent service delivery and development outcomes. 

Last week, President Ramaphosa led the 7th Presidential District Development Model (DDM) Imbizo at the Oqungwini Sport Field in Alfred Duma Local Municipality, under Uthukela District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

To date, President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited seven provinces, namely the North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal where he interacted with residents. – SAnews.gov.za
 

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), in partnership with the City of Cape Town, will host a workshop on the implementation and operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

The workshop, which will be held on Friday, is also in collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and the Western Cape Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Wesgro).

This follows the successful hosting of workshops in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The primary objective of these gatherings is to apprise South African companies and export-ready Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on the benefits of trading under the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA seeks to establish a large single continental market, encompassing a population of approximately 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately USD 3.4 trillion.

By participating in preferential trade beyond the Southern African region, South African companies can unlock significant progress and benefits for their respective businesses.

According to the Chief Director of Africa Multilateral Economic Relations at the dtic, Sandile Tyini, the workshop seeks to communicate and engage with the private sector, SMEs, as well as women and youth-owned export-ready businesses on the status of the implementation of the AfCFTA, including opportunities for South African companies to participate in preferential trade beyond the Southern African region. 

“The workshop will focus on six sector master plans, namely steel and metal fabrication; agriculture and agro-processing; retail-clothing, textiles, footwear, and leather (R-CTFL) value chain; automotive industry, sugar value chain and forestry.

“These workshops will also identify companies, within the provinces in the targeted sector master plans, as well as other priority sectors that wish to export to the rest of the continent. 

“In addition, the workshops will expose export ready companies to the benefits of exporting under the AfCFTA,” Tyini said.

The AfCFTA presents tremendous opportunities for South African companies to expand and diversify their export base beyond traditional markets in Southern Africa.

By exploring new markets in North, West, Central and Eastern Africa, businesses can tap into previously untapped potential.

The continental free trade area also includes mechanisms to support emerging producers, SMEs, as well as women and youth entrepreneurs, enabling them to participate and benefit from the opportunities it offers. – SAnews.gov.za

A Bloemfontein pastor has paid back some R1.9 million in funding fraudulently received from the Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority (AgriSeta).

According to a joint statement by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Lerato Mokoteli and accomplice Anthony Dywili applied for funding at AgriSeta under the guise of providing training and mentoring in food garden operations in Kimberley.

The corruption busting unit said the two claimed that the application was a joint venture between Business Against Crime and another AgriSeta-accredited service provider, Dipalemo – a joint venture which did not exist.

“Upon receiving the R1.9 million funding, Mokoteli and Dywili concluded a Memorandum of Understanding between Business Against Crime and Northern Cape Empowerment Academy led by Dipalemo, knowing very well that the academy exists only on paper.

“Mokotedi submitted to AgriSeta a close-up report on behalf of Dipalemo knowing very well that Dipalemo did not render any training. 50 learners were trained and received certificate of competency in food operation. They were paid a stipend of R219 000…

“R381 564.86 was claimed to have been used for the administration of training. Dywili did not disclose to AgriSeta that R600 000 of the funding was unspent, in violation of the terms of the agreement,” the statement read.

In July 2016, some R317 000 of the funding was then paid to a non-profit organisation chaired by Dywili.

The SIU has referred evidence of criminality to the National Prosecuting Authority for criminal prosecution.

“The duo, together with Jeremia Madiba, AgriSeta CEO between 2008 and 2017, were charged with various counts of fraud and money laundering. Madiba allegedly awarded the tender without the required decision by the Board of Directors of AgriSeta, therefore, in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). He will be appearing in court on a PFMA charge on 28 August 2023.

“On 26 May 2023, Mokoteli entered into a guilty plea agreement with the State. In terms of the agreement, Mokoteli pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering and agreed to pay back R1.9 million to AgriSeta,” the statement read.

Mokoteli was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for fraud and a further five years for money laundering, wholly suspended for five years. – SAnews.gov.za

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) continues to record success in its fight against corruption with the arrest of an examiner of motor vehicles licences and a driving school instructor in Vrede, in the Free State.

In a statement on Tuesday, the RTMC said the two face charges of fraud relating to the issuing of learner driving licenses.

“For the past eight months, members of the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit and the Hawks have been investigating operations at the Vrede driving and learner licensing centre.

“Their investigations revealed that a specific driving school instructor was colluding with an examiner employed at the licensing centre for his clients to be fraudulently assisted to obtain learner licences.

“The instructor allegedly recruited and introduced learner licence applicants to the examiner who then assisted applicants by surreptitiously indicating the correct answers to the questions while in the process of writing the test,” RTMC said.

Unsuspecting applicants were made to pay a bribe of R1 500 for the fraudulent service.

The suspects are scheduled to appear in the local magistrate’s court soon.

Last week, four individuals were arrested at the Temba licensing centre in Tshwane while trying fraudulently attempting to take learner licences tests on behalf of absent applicants.

Twelve examiners of motor vehicles were also arrested in Polokwane last month for issuing vehicle roadworthy certificates for vehicles that were never presented to testing. – SAnews.gov.za