Day: May 5, 2022

In honour of the late former member of the Presidential Panels, Silumko Sokupa, President Cyril Ramaphosa says government must remain resolute in its work to end corruption and state capture.

“He saw state capture and corruption as an assault on the poor and vulnerable. He saw it as an act of counter-revolution, eroding the democratic state and stealing the resources meant to improve people’s lives,” the President said on Thursday.

He made these remarks while delivering the eulogy at the funeral of Sokupa who passed away last Tuesday, 26 April 2022 after a short illness.

“Corruption and state capture constituted the very antithesis of what he stood for: service to the people without expectation of any personal material gain.

“We must forge ahead with the restoration of the integrity and credibility of the intelligence services, our law enforcement agencies and all our public institutions,” the President said.

He served the State Security Agency in various capacities over his long and illustrious career in the public service and was the Deputy Director-General of the South African Secret Services before being appointed Coordinator for the Intelligence Services located in the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC).

In 2018, President Ramaphosa appointed Sokupa as a member of the High-Level Review Panel on the mandate, capacity and organisational integrity of the State Security Agency.

In 2021, the President appointed Sokupa as a member of the panel of experts chaired by Prof Sandy Africa probing the July 2021 unrest.

Affectionately known as Bra Soks, the President paid tribute to him for being part of a generation that fought fiercely in the 1970s and 1980s for the attainment of freedom.

“He was one of the generation charged with translating the theoretical perspectives of his movement, the African National Congress, into policies that would make freedom meaningful.

“With the advent of democracy, Bra Soks was one of those given the task of forging a new democratic state with the capacity and the orientation to build a better life for all.

“Like many of his generation, Bra Soks was conscientised during the late 1960s in the Black Consciousness Movement led by Steve Bantu Biko,” President Ramaphosa said.

He was part of the generation that kept alive the flames of liberation that the apartheid regime sought to extinguish by imprisoning leaders or forcing them into exile.

“His political grounding in the South African Students Organisation, where he served as Secretary General, was to establish in him a life-long commitment to improving the conditions of the South African people.

“Beyond the broader struggle for national liberation, Bra Soks and his peers sought very practical solutions to the challenges that faced our people on a daily basis.

“Armed with very few resources, but driven by great conviction, they set up health facilities, law clinics, adult literacy programmes and other initiatives that had a direct impact on the daily existence of black South Africans,” the President said.

He worked tirelessly in the underground and played an important role in the ANC’s intelligence work.

“After the unbanning of the liberation movement, Bra Soks played a pivotal role in rebuilding the structures of the organisation in the Eastern Cape. Despite his preference to provide leadership from the background, he was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC Border Region in 1991.

“His election, as someone who had just returned from exile, speaks volumes about his leadership capacity and the high regard in which he was held within the structures of the mass democratic movement,” the President said.

Those who served with him in the Regional Executive Committee remarked at his quiet but firm leadership style which was highly appreciated by all.

“He was deeply principled, and never sought positions, publicity or personal wealth. These leadership features, being quiet but firm, were important because the complexities of our transition to democracy demanded nothing less.

“Bra Soks was a dedicated public servant who served with distinction in every position he occupied and every responsibility he was given. He played a particularly significant role in the transformation and development of our intelligence services,” the President said.

He said throughout this work and throughout his life – he remained true to his character and true to his convictions.

“He remained true to his movement, but most of all, he remained true to the people. It was out of his deep love of his people that was born his deep disappointment at the extent of corruption in our society,” the President said.

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

The hosting of the Fifth International Labour Organisation (ILO) Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour will aid KwaZulu-Natal’s effort to recover from the recent deadly floods.

Addressing the media at the launch of the conference on Thursday, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said following the devastating floods that ravaged KwaZulu-Natal in the last few weeks, it is important for the conference to go ahead.

“After the devastating natural disaster that befell KwaZulu-Natal in the last weeks, it is important that we go ahead and hold the conference in eThekwini as a show of support and solidarity with the people of the province and the Republic of South Africa,” he said.

This as preparations are well underway for the conference that is set to take place in Durban, from 15–20 May 2022.

In collaboration with the ILO, the Department of Employment and Labour will host the conference for the first time on African soil.

At least 2500 attendees will be present at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre with more than 5000 people following the proceedings on the virtual platform.

“We are hopeful that the hosting of this conference will bring about the needed occupancy in accommodation establishments, as well as contribute to the greater value chain of the tourism and hospitality sector, especially the meeting and conference venues which were closed for over 18 months during the COVID-19 lockdown period,” the Minister said.

In the spirit of showing solidarity, the Minister said that conference organisers took a decision to forego the usual social events that characterise these events, and donate the savings to support the people of KZN in their reconstruction programme.

The gathering is set to bring together stakeholders from all over the world that will be drawn from governments, labour, business, civil society and international organisations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank.

The event will assume a hybrid format, which will allow people to participate from wherever they are in the world.

Meanwhile, the global estimates on child labour that were jointly released by the ILO and UNICEF last year show that although there has been some progress in reducing incidences of child labour across the world, the African continent still lags behind other regions.

In line with the commitment of global leaders during the 2019 session of the UN General Assembly to end child labour by 2025, the Minister said that participants will engage, share best practices, advance policies and commit to the elimination of child labour.

He said that the main goal of the conference will be to assess progress toward achieving Goal 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The target of Goal 8.7 is to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.

“At the end of the conference, it is anticipated that they will adopt a document, entitled the ‘Durban Call for Action’, which will commit everyone to promoting decent work, expanding educational opportunities, promoting universal social protection, and financing child labour elimination,” Nxesi said.

The conference will build on four previous Global Conferences, held in Buenos Aires (2017), Brasilia (2013), The Hague (2010), and Oslo (1997), which raised awareness of the issue, mobilised resources and established a strategic direction for the global movement against child labour.

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille, says infrastructure is not just about cold, cement buildings – it is about life-saving measures.

“We always see the horror stories of how our community members and children have to cross river streams to get to school and work and many times, people and children have lost their lives drowning due to lack of infrastructure,” De Lille said.

Speaking at an official hand over of a new bridge in Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal, De Lille said since last April, all partners have worked together to ensure that they complete the 14 bridges planned for various communities in KZN.

According to De Lille, in November 2021 they handed over the 11th bridge to the community in Ndwedwe.

“Two more bridges have been completed and these will be handed over to the communities by the provincial government. These are the Nyalazi bridge in Mtubatuba Local Municipality and the Okhombe bridge in the Okhahlamba municipality,” De Lille said.

De Lille said the construction of the bridges was made possible by a partnership between different government departments and spheres of government.

“The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DOD) and the Department of Transport – KZN entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the implementation of Welisizwe Programme within the province.

“The programme is aimed at providing urgent safe access to social amenities and further respond to potential disaster areas and emergency disaster situations. The intervention is done through the construction of Modular Steel Bridges,” De Lille said.

The DPWI and SANDF undertook technical assessments in the identified potential disaster sites in KwaZulu-Natal and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport (KZN DOT) committed funds for the installation of the 14 bridges in the province.

The KZN Department of Transport allocated around R110.4 million for the construction of the 14 bridges including contingencies and R103 million was spent on the installation of the 14 bridges.

De Lille explained that the initiative forms part of government’s response to challenges of access to social facilities and forms part of the SONA commitments as announced by the President earlier this year.

“The programme contributed towards skills development as 23 graduates were appointed as the bridge assessment, project management team and maintenance team. These positions included junior and assistant engineers as well as candidate construction project managers.

“The project also provided Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) opportunities to residents from surrounding communities. In total 420 EPWP opportunities were provided during the construction of the 14 bridges in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Of the 420 EPWP opportunities, 60 of those work opportunities were provided for this bridge to residents from surrounding communities,” the Minister said.

According to De Lille, more than 30 local companies have benefited from the projects as they supplied various goods and services during the installation of the bridges over the past year.

“Apart from the 14 bridges that have been completed since May 2021, we are now working to upscale this project and bring more bridges to communities in need in KwaZulu-Natal, especially in light of the recent, devastating floods across the province,” De Lille said.

De Lille said 18 bridge sites were identified and assessed for the 2022/23 financial year and following the floods, the total number of sites where bridges need to be installed across the province now stands at 52 bridge sites which have been identified.

“These 52 bridge sites are across the province in various municipalities including; Mkhambathini, ILembe, Mvoti, UMsunduzi and in eThekwini.

“The process of adding more technical capacity has started and technical assessments for the first 18 bridges have already been completed. The technical assessments for the remainder of the 52 bridge sites is expected to be completed in the coming days,” De Lille said.

 

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Health says it would like to bring to the public’s attention an error in a media statement issued on Wednesday regarding the removal of face mask wearing by children at school.

“The department would also like to bring to the public attention of the confusion created by unfortunate and regrettable human error in the media statement issued yesterday about the removal of face mask wearing by children at school. This is not part of the gazetted health regulations, and is therefore retracted to avoid any misunderstanding of the regulations.

“Therefore, children like other people are expected to continue complying with the provisions of Regulation 16A on face masks in the classrooms and general indoor gatherings, unlike outdoors in playgrounds and sports fields,” said the department in a statement on Thursday.

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, on Wednesday announced a three-month extension for public comments on health regulations relating to the management of COVID-19. The comments relate to the Surveillance and Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions; Public Measures in Points of Entry; Management of Human Remains and Environmental Health by three months. The extension was with effect from 5 May 2022. The new closing date for submission of comments is 5 July 2022.

In Wednesday’s statement, the department said the extension was in line with statutory requirements and would afford the department sufficient time to go through and consider all comments and representations on the regulations.

These regulations mainly focus on wearing of face masks, gatherings and persons entering the country.

On Thursday, the department said it has been receiving a lot of feedback from the public since announcing the extension of public consultation process together with the introduction of limited health regulations meant to manage the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and future notifiable medical conditions.

“We would like to urge all South Africans to continue to share their feedback because we believe it will assist the process as we move forward to finalise the regulations.”

The department said face masks are an effective non-pharmaceutical intervention against the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and it is more relevant now as the number of COVID-19 positive cases is rising once again.

It reminded the public that vaccination services against COVID-19 remains available and accessible, and to mitigate the impact of the anticipated 5th wave and emerging variants.

 

Source: South African Government News Agency