Month: April 2022

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Minister Senzo Mchunu: Release of Green drop report

Notes for the Minister at the Green drop report release and awards ceremony on 1 April 2022

Thank you, Programme Director, Mr William Moraka from SALGA, Good morning to:

MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning – Mr Anton Bredell, MEC Local Government Western Cape, Mr Anton Bredell

Executive Mayor: Witzenberg Local Municipality (Host City Mayor) Cllr Hendrik Smit Executive Mayor: Mgungundlovu District Municipality, Cllr Mzi Zuma

Executive Mayor: Ilembe District Municipality, Cllr Philani Shandu

Executive Mayor: The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Cllr Tania Campbell Executive Mayor: Lesedi Local Municipality, Cllr Mluleki Nkosi

Deputy Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Alderman Ian Neilson

Executive Mayor of Bitou Municipality, ( Rep: Act Director Engineering Services, Michael Rhode) Executive Mayor of Mosselbay, Cllr Dirk Kotze

Executive Mayor: Saldhana Local Municipality, Cllr Andre Truter Executive Mayor: Drakenstein Local Municipality, (Rep MMC Infrastructre Theunis Bester)

Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Dr Sean Western Cape Local Government HOD, Mr Graham Paulse BreedeGouritz Catchment Management Chair, Mr Bongani Mnisi BreedeGouritz Catchment Managemeent CE, Mr Jan Van Staden SASOL Representatives

Stakeholders from various sectors, Members of the community,

All media present, Ladies and Gentlemen, All protocol observed.

We are gathered here today to, not only release the Green Drop report but recognise and award those who have heeded the call and subscribed to ensuring that both citizens and the environment are protected – with the hopes of amplifying the call for all municipalities to join in.

In 2008, the Department of Water and Sanitation (the then Department of Water Affairs) introduced the Blue Drop and Green Drop certification programmes. The Blue Drop Certification Programme seeks to protect citizens from the hazards associated with contaminated drinking water and the Green Drop Certification programme seeks to protect the environment from the hazards associated with polluted wastewater/sewage. It sets standards higher than minimum requirements and challenges Water Services Authorities to go the extra mile in a quest for excellence. Whilst there is primary legislation which deals with these aspects, it needs to be understood is that these programmes are intended to augment and compliment the normal legislative and regulatory provisions.

What these two programmes also seek to do is get municipalities to measure themselves against international risk standards for drinking water quality management and wastewater quality respectively.

The first Blue Drop and Green Drop reports were released in 2009 and each year thereafter until 2014. It is unfortunate that there was a break in our undertaking but we have since resuscitated the programmes.

To this end, the Department has revitalised the Green Drop Certification programme to ensure the overall improvement of municipal wastewater management and today, the 1st report since 2014 will be released after which the audit of drinking water quality will be prioritised to inform the Blue Drop Report which is due in March 2023.

As we prepare for the release of the Blue Drop Report, there is also the National Water Quality Monitoring programmes to inform on the status of river water quality. All of this information is being used to inform a National Water Quality improvement plan which includes a Waste Discharge Charge system, to apply appropriate penalties in parallel to enforcement activities to stop all non-compliant discharges into the water courses.

The Department is focused on ensuring that compliance to legislation takes cause and remains dedicated to ensuring that risks revealed through these programmes are managed and abated in order to enhance the work of the Department as a water sector regulator.

Ladies and gentlemen, today we award 23 awards – 22 to municipal systems and 1 to a private system. Now I must say, the competition was quite tight with 30 municipalities scoring between 88-89%, making them serious contenders! This then means that those of you who will be accepting awards today need to stay ahead!

It was quite alarming however, that 334 systems out of 850 are classified as critical.

We had our National Water and Sanitation Summit in February this year, and one of the Commissions focused on ‘Water Shortages – Delivery Mechanisms by Municipalities and Water Boards’.

One of the key challenges we observed during our working sessions in the country, and which was further cited by Mayors, was ageing / aged infrastructure and this Commission sought to provide solutions as to how municipalities should be capacitated to ensure that they carry out their constitutional mandate.

The President spoke of a social compact. Private sector partners expressed their commitment to partnering with the Department through their support to launch the Green Drop Report. Mining Houses such as Lebalelo Water User Association (with whom we are partnering on the Olifants project in Limpopo), Samancor Mining and SASOL – thank you for your commitment – we look forward to working with you!

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the media, we as the Department of Water and Sanitation are committed to ensuring that all the citizens of the country are granted access to water – CLEAN water at that, but that also, the environment is not harmed in our operations as we do so!

As I step down, I would like to thank and congratulate all of the today’s award recipients – thank you for truly being in service of the people. To those who are still left behind, we call upon you to step -up!

Thank you!

Source: Government of South Africa

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Routine electricity maintenance for 4 to 10 April 2022

The City of Cape Town thanks customers for their patience as we do necessary routine maintenance on our electrical infrastructure next week in various areas of the metro. This is how we ensure reliable electricity supply and good management of our public infrastructure. We encourage residents to always double check on the City’s social media channels to see if their area will be affected by the regular electricity maintenance during the week. Where customers are affected by supply interruptions due to normal maintenance, they should receive a door-to-door notice ahead of the planned work.

*Information is complete and correct at time of publication, but subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen conditions.

*It is standard practice to notify customers of planned maintenance via a pamphlet delivered door-to-door ahead of work.

Tips:

• Where possible, please switch off appliances at the wall socket ahead of maintenance to reduce the risk of damage caused by power surges.

• The supply could be restored at any time, therefore residents should remember to treat all electrical installations as live for the full duration of the interruption.

Source: City Of Cape Town

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City commences with reconstruction of road in Philippi

The City of Cape Town’s Road Infrastructure Management Department has commenced with the reconstruction of Doig Road between Strandfontein Road and Springfield Road in Philippi. The work commenced this week and is planned to be completed by 31 May 2022, pending unforeseen delays and inclement weather.

‘Our Roads Infrastructure Management team identifies key portions of roads within areas that require complete reconstruction, rehabilitation or resurfacing to ensure the longevity of the road network. They have done so recently in the Philippi and surrounding area. This piece of work was much needed and I have no doubt that once complete, this reconstructed road will be enjoyed by motorists in the area,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

The City would like to advise residents and businesses in the area that the work will take place Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. Although traffic flow will be impeded, residents and businesses will be granted local access to their properties. Vehicles however, may not be parked in the demarcated area during the roadwork operations.

The project will also include the installation of a new stormwater system, as well as kerbs and sidewalks on both sides of the road.

Flag personnel will regulate traffic in one direction at a time by means of a stop-and-go system.

Source: City Of Cape Town

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Citrusdal drug dealer due in court

WESTERN CAPE – In their pursuit to fight crime and to protect the community from ruthless drug dealers, members of Citrusdal took to the streets when they received a tipoff about a suspect who was heading towards their town with drugs on the N7 early this morning. The suspect was found and apprehended in possession of mandrax tablets and tik with a combined value of R29 000-00. He is scheduled to make his court appearance on Monday to face charges of dealing in drugs.

In an unrelated matter members of Durbanville police arrested four suspects between the ages 26 and 38 for the possession of presumed stolen property in Boabab Street, Greenville when they were caught with aluminium cables with an estimated street value of R50 000-00. The members were busy with patrols when they spotted a suspicious vehicle and when the driver of the vehicle saw the police vehicle he sped off. A short chase ensued and the vehicle was brought to a halt. The vehicle was searched and the cables confiscated.

The suspects will appear in the Bellville Magistrates court once they have been charged.

Source: South African Police Service

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Latest regulations a guide for sectors to promote vaccination

Deputy President David Mabuza says government will continue to encourage employers to develop and implement policies that promote the uptake of vaccination.

He also said the recently published regulations by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma provides an over-arching framework that guides various sectors to promote vaccination.

The Deputy President said this when he responded to oral questions at the National Assembly on Thursday as government moves to ensure the country reaches population immunity.

“The regulations recently published by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs provide an over-arching framework that guides various sectors to promote vaccination as part of incentives to participate in specific gatherings and sporting activities.

“All these protocols are intended to persuade people to vaccinate in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections,” he said.

This as Cabinet has put afoot plans to end the National State of Disaster as early as next week. Earlier this week, Dlamini Zuma announced the gazetting and publishing of some regulations that should remain, in accordance with Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act, provides for the management of the post disaster management and rehabilitation.

The Deputy President said government will continue to encourage employers to implement policies aimed at encouraging workers to vaccinate.

“On the issues of workplace vaccine mandates, workplaces, especially those with large numbers of employees, have actively played a role in providing vaccination to employees as well as in encouraging workers to vaccinate.

“We will continue to encourage employers to develop and implement policies that promote the uptake of vaccination within workplaces.”

As of the 28 March 2022, government has administered 33.5 million COVID-19 vaccines to 20.9 million individuals. This, the Deputy President said, translates to 48.6% of adults having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“The coverage is not equal across all age cohorts with more than 68% of people 60 years of age having been vaccinated, compared with only 35% in those between 18 and 34 years.

“Of course, whilst reaching unvaccinated older people and providing ongoing protection to this group through provision of booster doses remain a priority, increasing coverage in younger cohorts especially in 18 to 34 years olds, is also key to increase coverage at the population level.

“This strategy, which is, protecting those most vulnerable and increasing overall population coverage, is important if the effects of any future waves are to be mitigated especially given the easing of restrictions as announced by the President on 22 March 2022.

“It is critical that more people are vaccinated in order to reduce the number of infections, especially the number of hospitalisations and deaths associated with COVID-19 infections. This will also help a great deal to reduce the impact of any future waves.”

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Western Cape Treasury publishes Procurement Disclosure Report: 01 February 2022 to 28 February 2022

The Provincial Treasury is pleased to publish the twenty first monthly edition of the Procurement Disclosure Report for the period 01 February 2022 to 28 February 2022. This is in line with the requirements of section 217 of the South African Constitution and demonstrates our continued commitment to good governance and transparency in public procurement in the Western Cape.

Total COVID-19 procurement expenditure for February 2022 amounted to R53.536 million of which R53.530 million was spent by provincial departments and R6,250.00 by public entities.

Cumulative COVID-19 expenditure for 2021/22 financial year now amounts to R803.246 million of which R802.585 million was spent by provincial departments and R661,473.31 by public entities

Most of the expenditure for the month of February 2022 was incurred by the Departments of Health, Transport and Public Works and Premier. The expenditure of the Department of Health focused on personal protective equipment (PPE), non-PPE expenditure and the vaccination rollout programme; the Department of Transport and Public Works focused on the hire of Brackengate hospital facilities management fees, medical waste security; transport services and storage; and the Department of the Premier on COVID-19 related communication and advertising services in respect of prevention; awareness and behaviour change.

Detailed monthly reporting on all COVID-19 procurement expenditure transactions is made available via the COVID-19 dashboard of the National Treasury. This report summarises provincial information, and the dashboard is also replicated on the Provincial Treasury at the following link: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/provincial-treasury/procurement-disclosure-report.

Provincial Treasury also produces a quarterly and annual summary report on all COVID-19 procurement expenditure. These additional reports provide beneficial insight into COVID-19 expenditure over a longer, consolidated period. Monthly reports are produced in summarised format, with additional information available on the weblink indicated above.

Please note that all previous reports are available on the Provincial Treasury website.

I would also like to warmly congratulate one of our Provincial Treasury employees’, Jenine Mostert, for winning a Gold Award for the ‘Inspirational Support Employee’ in the ‘Best Researcher of the Year’ category at the 2022 Batho Pele Excellence Awards this week.

Ms Mostert has been instrumental in contributing to the now regular production of the monthly, quarterly, and annual Procurement Disclosure Report (PDR), which is the gold standard of procurement transparency in South Africa.

She has also been the lead team member who designed the soon to be launched Provincial Treasury PDR dashboard.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Government Communications calls on media to apply for accreditation for the Presidential Imbizo

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) calls on members of the media to apply for accreditation for the Presidential Imbizo which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 09 April 2022 at Dr Molemela Stadium, Bloemfontein in the Free State Province.

The Presidential Imbizo will assist to highlight challenges and unblock any blockages to service delivery in line with the District Development Model (DDM) which is an all of government and society approach that enables integrated and responsive planning, implementation, and budgeting through the ‘One Plans’.

Preceding the Imbizo, there will be a number of build-up outreach activities by various Ministers, MECs and Mayors in parts of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality and across the Free State Province.

Members of the media are invited to apply for accreditation to cover the Presidential Imbizo by completing the form in full and submit it to Takalani Mukwevho on Email: takalanim@gcis.gov.za(link sends e-mail) or Pulane Tsupane on Email: pulane.tsupane@fspremier.gov.za(link sends e-mail) by no later than Wednesday, 06 April 2022 at 16h00.

Source: Government of South Africa