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7 September 2023

Parliament Appoints Chief of Security

Location: News

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament
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Parliament is delighted to announce the appointment of General Samson Shitlabane as the new Chief of Security for the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.

Since July 2015, Parliament, classified as a National Key Point, has operated without a dedicated Chief of Security. The position was absorbed into the Household and Management Division, relegating it to a junior role and hampering its ability to make critical security decisions.

The intrusion of the Parliament arsonist in January 2022, which resulted in the National Assembly building's devastating fire, underscored the urgent necessity for a knowledgeable and seasoned Chief of Security. Security remains paramount in shaping the institution's public image and strategic integrity.

General Shitlabane's role as the new Chief of Security carries a comprehensive array of responsibilities, extending beyond the core management of security within the Parliamentary precinct and associated villages. In this critical position, he will be entrusted with safeguarding the integrity and safety of not only the physical premises but also the institution's valuable assets and personnel. This encompasses developing and implementing robust security strategies, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring the readiness of emergency response protocols.

General Shitlabane will be a crucial liaison with the South African Police Services, forging strong collaborative ties to fortify the security apparatus. Given Parliament's distinguished status as a National Key Point, his role includes maintaining constant vigilance against potential threats, both internal and external and continually evolving security measures to stay ahead of emerging challenges

This role has been elevated to a senior position, granting it direct reporting access to the Secretary to Parliament and the Executive Authority. This ensures that all security concerns will receive immediate attention.

General Shitlabane is a highly decorated career police officer whose expertise will provide the necessary leadership and management of the Security Management Division of Parliament.

He boasts a wealth of experience as a high-ranking police official, having held various key positions within the police services since 1994. Notably, he has served as Lieutenant General of Protection and Security Services since 2018. His career also includes roles such as Major General: Provincial Head Protection and Security Services, Brigadier: Acting Component Head VIP Protection Services, and Brigadier: Section Head VIP Protection Services. He is no stranger to Parliament, having been part of the SAPS leadership that has taken part in security arrangements around SONA for years.

His appointment is a much-needed intervention that will boost parliamentary security and safety, particularly during this current rebuilding project following the fire.

The Presiding Officers and the Secretary to Parliament have congratulated General Shitlabane and wished him well in his new challenging role. They expressed their confidence in his ability to lead Parliament's security services and assist the institution in fulfilling its strategic objectives and obligations to South Africans.

General Shitlabane's appointment is effective from 1 October 2023.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

7 September 2023

How Much Does SEO Cost for a Startup

Location: MyPR

When it comes to launching a startup, budgeting is one of the most critical aspects to consider. While you may have allocated funds for product development, marketing, and operational costs, have you thought about the budget for SEO? Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an essential part of any startup’s digital marketing strategy, especially if you’re …

7 September 2023

The State of SEO in South Africa

Location: MyPR

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 …

6 September 2023

Police committee vote to continue with process to consider Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) amendment bill

Location: News

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament
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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.

6 September 2023

SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts

Location: News

SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has called on National Treasuries to exclude tax administrations from across-the-board austerity measures, as it poses a threat to innovation, fiscal integrity and sovereignty.

“Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations. This goes against the intrinsic value of digitalisation in improving tax compliance and detecting tax non-compliance,” Kieswetter said on Tuesday in Cape Town.

He was addressing the 2nd Network of Tax Organisation (NTO) Technical Conference, which took place under the theme: ‘Digitalisation of Tax Administrations and Contemporary Issues’.

“As more financial transactions are taking place digitally, more third party data sources are shared with tax administrations, and central bank digital currencies are emerging, the importance of digitalisation and consequently the use of data science, and artificial intelligence have become central to revenue collection, compliance and trade facilitation.

“So, in short, whenever budget cuts are required, National Treasuries – Budget Offices are advised to avoid across-the-board cuts and ensure a more prudent approach to invest to build enabling and productive economic capacity, create employment, and thus expand the tax base.

“This secures fiscal integrity and sovereignty in the long run. Tax administrations should be excluded from across-the-board austerity measures. The investment in digitalisation should not be disrupted. The cost of recovery is simply too high in every respect,” Kieswetter said.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the modernisation and digitisation of work at SARS.

“COVID-19 inadvertently took us to the drawing board to think from first principles, and very quickly accelerated our response towards reprioritising our technology investment to enable our employees to work during the hard lockdown and to allow taxpayers to continue to fulfil their tax obligations,” the Commissioner said.

Although SARS has made progress, he explained that much more still needs to be done, as the revenue service is behind in its digitalisation journey.

“I want to pause here and focus on one element as a critical enabler of the digitalisation journey - and that relates to funding. Before State capture, SARS was a leader in digital modernisation for many years.

“However, partly due to financial constraints, but also a short-term approach, budgets were then frozen for a number of years and SARS fell behind in driving technological innovation. We have now managed to restore some additional funds to continue our modernisation, but we are still substantially underfunded to move at the necessary speed in an environment that is changing exponentially, business models are being disrupted, and tax crime proliferating at an alarming rate,” he said.

SARS faces the challenge of not only having to play catch-up after many years of underinvestment, but also of accelerating modernisation simply to remain relevant.

“We are at a point where we can again focus on innovation. The important lesson here is that the digitalisation journey is not a finite project, but a new way of being. It is an ongoing journey. Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations,” the Commissioner said. - SAnews.gov.za

nosihle
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 10:08

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5 September 2023

Water and Sanitation together with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) believe 14 days to find answers to water shortages raised in petitions

Location: News

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament
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The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has resolved to give the departments of Water and Sanitation and of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) 14 days to respond and find solutions to the water shortages in Rustenburg in the North West and Warrenton in the Northern Cape. The committee today received two petitions on water shortages in these two areas and agreed that while the committee is dealing with them, there is a need for a broader discussion on solutions to water shortages in many areas in the country.

“Petitions are an important tool to ensure oversight and the committee will use these petitions to seeks answers from all spheres of government that are constitutionally mandated to provide quality water to the people of South Africa. We will thus send the petitions to the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to get answers for the residents of those areas,” said Mr Robert Mashego, the Chairperson of the committee.

The committee highlighted that there remains a concerning gap within the water value chain, with some stakeholders such as municipalities failing to deliver on their mandate. The decision to include the Department of Cooperative Governance in solving water shortages is to ensure that there is joint accountability and that all stakeholders contribute, as per their mandate, to resolve this challenge. Also, the committee highlighted that the District Development Model, which seeks to integrate planning and delivery of services, should be exploited by all spheres of government to ensure collaboration in the delivery of quality services.

In addressing the petitions directly, the committee highlighted that the responses to be submitted to the committee must include how grants, such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, have been spent in those areas to address inadequate infrastructure, maintenance of existing infrastructure and availability of bulk services. This information will assist the committee to assess where the problems lie and to find lasting solutions to the challenges raised.

The committee remains of the view that the availability of water is a critical enabler in overcoming many socio-economic challenges. “The lack of water is negatively impacting the ability of citizens to reach their full potential. Also, quality water is necessary to unlock economic activities in many areas that are struggling under the pressure of poverty and unemployment,” Mr Mashego emphasised.

Meanwhile, the committee has committed to the petitioners that it intends getting answers to their plight before the end of the sixth parliamentary term. “We have heard you and will work towards finding you the necessary answers,” Mr Mashego concluded.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

5 September 2023

What is SEO in South Africa?

Location: MyPR

Introduction Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it’s commonly known, has become a buzzword in the digital marketing world globally. But what does the SEO landscape look like in South Africa In this article, we’ll delve into the trends, challenges, and opportunities that define SEO in South Africa. The Growing Importance of SEO In …

4 September 2023

SABC urged to resolve Rugby World Cup broadcast rights matter

Location: News

SABC urged to resolve Rugby World Cup broadcast rights matter

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa has urged the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to reach an agreement with SuperSport to secure sub-licensing of broadcast rights to the highly anticipated 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“I am concerned at how millions of South Africans may be unable to watch the Rugby World Cup should the SABC not be able to broadcast matches in the tournament. My commitment is to give South Africans access to all sports codes,” the Minister said on Monday.

He made these remarks after engaging with Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele and the SABC on the 2023 Rugby World Cup broadcasting rights.

SuperSport had announced a failure to reach an agreement with the SABC on the broadcast rights to the tournament.

The Springboks, who are three-time world champions, will be participating in the 2023 Rugby World Cup taking place in France. The World Cup fixtures run from Friday, 8 September to Saturday, 28 October.

Kodwa urged the SABC to find a solution to the matter, so that the public broadcaster can be able to fulfil its mandate to cover sport of national interest.

“I am hopeful that an agreement will be reached between SABC and SuperSport. Rugby plays a critical role in nation building and social cohesion. It is important that millions of South African can watch the Springboks continuing to lift the nation at the Rugby World Cup," Kodwa said. – SAnews.gov.za

nosihle
Mon, 09/04/2023 - 12:49

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4 September 2023

Tarsus To Sell Vertiv Infrastructure Portfolio in Sub Saharan Africa, Under New Distribution Agreement

Location: News

Tarsus To Sell Vertiv Infrastructure Portfolio in Sub Saharan Africa, Under New Distribution Agreement Vertiv Boosts Local IT Channel Focus Johannesburg [September 04, 2023] – Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has announced the appointment of Tarsus Distribution as a distribution partner for Sub Saharan Africa, with the …