Day: May 3, 2022

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ronald Lamola, says the department is strengthening the National Prosecuting Authority’s human and financial capacity is critical to entrenching the rule of law and fighting fraud and corruption.

The Minister was giving Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services an overview of the ministry’s performance plans for the current financial year.

“We are in full flight mode in the rebuilding of the National Prosecuting Authority. We are – as much as possible – directing critical resources to the NPA to ensure that it has the human resource capital and the financial resources to respond to the many crimes which afflict our communities, despite the challenging fiscal environment that we find ourselves in.

“Furthermore, this new injection of resources must enable the NPA to combat organised crime, white collar crime and corruption. We know that it is not enough but at least, it is in the right direction to enable them to rebuild and to plan ahead,” the Minister said.

Lamola told the committee that since its establishment, the NPA’s Investigating Directorate is making strides in high level prosecutions.

According to the Minister, the directorate has declared 82 investigations and enrolled at least 20 cases with 65 accused. It has also prioritised nine corruption matters for enrolment within the next six months.

“In their own words, [National Director of Public Prosecutions] Advocate Shamila Batohi and her Deputy Anton Du Plessis, have said that we are nearing a moment of high level prosecutions being executed without fear or favour. We shouldn’t second guess them. They are better placed than all of us to tell no lies and claim no easy victories,” he said.

Turning to the Special Investigating Unit, Lamola said there is objective proof that the corruption busting unit is a “vital cog in our accountability and consequence management framework as a State”.

“To date, the SIU has enrolled cases worth R77 billion in the Special Tribunal and High Court. We are now seized with how we strengthen co-operation between the SIU and other law enforcement agencies, such as the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation and NPA, having learnt lessons from the methodology adopted in the fusion center,” he said.

Furthermore, the Minister told the committee that the department is ready to cope with any influx of work as a result of the release of the State Capture Commission’s report.

“We are… mindful of the imminent and the already released Zondo Commission reports. Special Commercial Crimes Courts have been established in every province and the ones in Palmridge and Pretoria have been expanded to enable them to cope with the work that might come their way.

“We also have a team working on the implementation plan of the various findings of Zondo recommendations, which fall within scope of their work. This plan will be presented at the appropriate time to enable us to respond appropriately to the corruption cancer,” Lamola said.

 

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

Some motorists will feel some relief at the fuel pumps from tomorrow when the price of all grades of petrol decreases.

This, however, will not extend to diesel, paraffin or gas consumers with all of those expected to increase.

The expected fuel and gas tariffs adjustments for May are:

• A 12c decrease in all grades of petrol
• Diesel 0.05% Sulphur is expected to increase by 98c per litre
• An increase of 92c per litre is expected for diesel 0.005% Sulphur
• Wholesale illuminating paraffin is on the up by at least 79c
• The retail price for illuminating paraffin will increase by some R1,49
• The Maximum LP Gas retail price will go up by at least 69c per kilogram.

This means that a litre of 95 ULP in Gauteng, which currently costs R21.96 will now cost R21.84 as of Wednesday.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe explained that several factors have contributed to the price adjustments.

“The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 109.37 US Dollars (USD) to 104.78 USD during the period under review.

“The average international product prices of petrol decreased while diesel and Illuminating Paraffin increased during the period under review. This is because there is still a shortage of diesel supply which is due to lower exports from Russia as a major exporter of distillate fuel, low inventories globally as well as higher demand for distillates,” he said.

The Minister also announced that the implementation of revised zones differentials into the price of fuel will become effective as of Wednesday.

“The annual adjustments to road transport tariffs applicable in petrol, diesel and [illuminating paraffin] price structures will range from a decrease of 33.4 c/l in Gordonia South Magisterial District Pricing Zone to an increase of 3.0 c/l (Zone 9C-Gauteng).

“The primary transport tariffs applicable to the transport of petrol and diesel mainly by means of the pipeline network will increase. Because of the different transport tariff adjustments to be effective on [Wednesday], price changes to similar products will differ in the 54 Magisterial District Pricing Zones,” he said.

 

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) have signed a new unlisted developmental investment mandate.

The GEPF is the largest pension fund in Africa, with assets in excess of R2.1 trillion, which are managed by the PIC.

The GEPF first introduced the unlisted developmental investment mandate in 1997 under the name Isibaya Fund and subsequently renewed it over the years.

The developmental investment funds are aimed at generating financial and socio-economic benefits by addressing structural imbalances in the economy to facilitate transformation, economic growth, job creation, and environmental and financial returns.

The developmental mandates focus is on South Africa and the rest of Africa.

“The target of developmental investments for South African is between R300 million and R500 million per entity although attractive investments starting at R100 million will be considered per entity. The Rest of Africa developmental investment portfolio shall mainly comprise of investments between USD20 million and USD40 million,” said the PIC.

The PIC has encourgaed interested institutions to submit proposals to this portal: https://www.pic.gov.za/apply-for-funding/isibaya.

Proposals will be assessed in accordance with the prescripts of the funding guidelines of each mandate.

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa has used his weekly newsletter to reassure South Africans that government is committed to improving the lives of the working class and the poor.

This after the President could not address a May Day rally at Rustenburg’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Sunday due to protesting mineworkers.

“The workers at the [stadium]… made plain what nearly every South African knows: the working class and the poor of our country are suffering.

“They made the firm point that we must do more, and act with greater urgency to address issues of unemployment, poverty, deprivation and hunger. At the same time, we must establish more efficient mechanisms to enable workers to participate more fully in the formulation and implementation of policy and programmes.

“The wage grievances of the workers in Rustenburg deserve the attention of all stakeholders, employers and labour so that a fair and sustainable settlement can be reached. As government, we are committed to play our part,” President Ramaphosa said.

He added that government is committed to “take the necessary action to improve their lives and their working conditions”.

The President outlined some of government’s interventions to alleviate the financial pressure of the poor and working class are currently experiencing which has also been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are undertaking fundamental economic reforms that will improve the competitiveness and economic contribution of the energy, water, telecommunications and transport industries. These reforms, together with increased investment in infrastructure, will enable faster economic growth and employment creation. In the long term, these reforms will unlock much higher economic growth. And as businesses grow, they will create more jobs, helping workers and unions in a virtuous cycle.

“However, the workers that gathered at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium and millions of other people across our country cannot wait for the impact of these reforms to be realised. That is why, as we implement these measures, we are seeking – within our constrained public finances – to provide a basic level of social protection to the most vulnerable,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said while these economic reforms take time to bear fruit, government is also making plans for more immediate relief.

“Some measures, like the R350 Social Relief of Distress [grant], remain in place. The grant now reaches more than 10 million recipients. With the end of the National State of Disaster last month, we are engaging with various stakeholders on how to ensure that the grant continues to reach those who most badly need it.

“This is happening alongside measures to promote employment, like the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which has provided work and livelihood opportunities to more than 860 000 since it was started,” he said.

The President emphasised, however, that the state cannot create meaningful change on its own.

“It needs both labour and business, and indeed the whole of society, to work with government to implement an agreed set of measures to grow and transform the economy.

“It was such a partnership that led to the introduction of a national minimum wage in 2019, a process that I was privileged to lead, giving effect to a demand that had been made more than 50 years before at the Congress of the People in Kliptown. And it is these partners that are, at this moment, once again engaged in deliberations on how to accelerate growth and create employment,” he said.

The President acknowledged that as the country forges ahead with its economic reconstruction and recovery plan, “much more that needs to be done to unleash the potential of our economy and provide the employment opportunities” for the people of South Africa.

“The challenges that workers face this Workers Day are many and the hardships they endure are great. The road ahead will be difficult and there is much work to do. That is why we need to rebuild trust and confidence, and why we need to forge a social compact that not only has the support of workers, but also delivers meaningful benefits to them,” President Ramaphosa said.

 

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency