Day: May 23, 2022

JOHANNESBURG— Hundreds of people have been evacuated to safety after heavy rains once again hammered South Africa’s coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal, flooding roads and houses and damaging properties, a government official said.

The province is still restoring damaged infrastructure and making plans to re-home people displaced after flooding last month, which was among the worst to have affected KwaZulu-Natal province in its recorded history. April’s floods killed 448, with 88 still missing, left more than 6,800 homeless and damaged more than 25 billion rand (US$1.58 billion) of infrastructure.

The province had received early warnings from the South Africa Weather Service, alerting it to further disruptive rainfall on Saturday in a number of towns, including Durban, the worst hit by the previous floods.

“So far the greatest impact is expected along the coastal and north-eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal,” Sipho Hlomuka, member of the executive council for Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs told journalists.

He said approximately 250 people had been evacuated from care centres in Tongaat and Tehuise in Durban, including retirement villages, to other facilities. Only one family was evacuated due to the collapse of an informal dwelling.

“This heavy rainfall has resulted in the flooding of roads, human settlements and damage to properties. We understand that some areas are inaccessible and have become islands at this stage,” he said, adding they had yet to receive a full report on the impact of the latest heavy rains.

Rainfall persisted on Sunday in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the South Africa Weather service said, as the alert level remained at the highest and most severe level of 10.

Scientists believe the southeastern coast of Africa is becoming more vulnerable to violent storms and floods as human emissions of heat-trapping gases cause the Indian Ocean to warm. They expect the trend to worsen dramatically in coming decades.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Government rejects the mischievous article by the Sunday Independent newspaper, which alleges that President Ramaphosa asked Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to leave a meeting for being unprepared and failing to read Cabinet memos. These allegations are unfounded and deliberately misleads members of the public.

Speaking on the article, Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said: “Cabinet discussions are confidential. This has been a long-standing convention and thus these allegations are unfounded.

Cabinet decisions are in a transparent manner shared with the public by the Minister in the Presidency. The allegations made by the Sunday Independent are therefore unjustified and malicious”

Members of the Cabinet are accountable collectively and individually to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions. Any unauthorised or premature disclosure of Cabinet meetings or information undermines the collective responsibility of Cabinet.

Source: Government of South Africa

The Department of Employment and Labour in Gauteng Province is set to embark on the roadshows on the 24th of May 2022 at Alberton Civic Theatre, Ekurhuleni and on the 27th of May 2022 at Vootrekker Munument in Pretoria, respectively. The aim of the roadshow is to present the draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) as part of the public consultation process in order to obtain the views of the stakeholders in the province.

The draft NLMP came into being after numerous consultations with different stakeholders in the country and abroad. The aim of the NLMP is to assist the country to address the deepening unemployment challenges whilst at the same ensuring that South Africa complies with international conventions related to the management of labour migration issues. In this context, the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi points out that the NLMP process must seek to address “the needs and expectations of its citizenry as well as those of its partners in the region”.

The Minister further indicated that the time is here and now where South Africa needs to apply innovation and enforce radical policy transformation in the area of labour migration. In this regard, Minister said that “It has become increasingly apparent, with the rapid expansion of international migration flows that South Africa needs to develop appropriate policy effectively to manage this”.

Furthermore, the Minister said that the South African labour market is currently unable to create decent employment for all citizens and for that the unemployment rate particularly amongst youth has increased drastically. This should be of great concern mostly to government and employers. 

He encouraged all South Africans and in particular social partners to take advantage of this initiative by ensuring that their voices are registered in so far as the labour migration issues are concerned, and in so doing assist the country to achieve its developmental objectives for the benefit of the country.

The media is invited.

Source: Government of South Africa

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Njabulo Nzuza will table the Department of Home Affairs Budget Vote on Tuesday, 24 May 2022.

The Budget Vote will focus on the strategic outcomes of the department which are articulated in the Home Affairs’ Strategic Plan 2020-25 and Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2022/23. It will afford the Minister and the Deputy Minister the opportunity to update the nation on plans and commitments which were articulated in the 2021/22 financial year.

The APP 2022/23, which was tabled in Parliament on 11 March 2022, contains the direction that the Department has set in order to effectively deliver on its mandate, which is management of citizenship and civil registration, management of international migration and management of refugee protection.

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa will host the Head of Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on an official visit on Tuesday, 24 May 2022, at the Union Buildings, Pretoria.

Chancellor Scholz will visit South Africa at the invitation of President Ramaphosa and will be accompanied by senior officials and business executives.

The visit is of great importance due to the strategic nature of South Africa’s relationship with Germany.

Germany is South Africa’s second largest trading partner and in tourism, the third largest single source of overseas arrivals.

Germany is also a major investment source and development partner.

President Ramaphosa and Chancellor Scholz will exchange views on a number of issues of bilateral and international concern, including ways to enhance cooperation in areas such as energy and climate change, trade and investment, and responses to COVID-19 and vaccine demand.

They will also reflect on developments on the African continent and internationally, including the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the international economy and food and energy security.

Germany also holds the G7 Presidency for 2022 and in this context the leaders will exchange views on Germany’s G7 priorities and how these could benefit emerging economies and the African continent in particular.

Trade and Investment are major components of bilateral relations. South Africa’s total trade with Germany is R266 billion and its exports, a big percentage of which consist of value-added products, account for R155 billion a year.

About six hundred German companies are represented in South Africa and are a source of investment, employment and skills development.

President Ramaphosa will also join Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the launch of a South African-German consortium that will advance technology research for the production of sustainable aviation fuels.

This engagement will be hosted at Sasol Place in Sandton.

Source: Government of South Africa

Statement issued by Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula, on the occasion of the media briefing on the adjudication of SANRAL tenders held on 23 May 2022 at 10h00

We have taken note of the reports relating to the cancellation of 5 tenders with a collective value of R17.4 billion. These are strategic projects that are critical in growing our economy as part of our investments in infrastructure. 

Good governance is a key tenet of our service delivery mandate and we will not compromise its underlying principles for expediency. 

We have learnt invaluable lessons from the advent of state capture which brought to the fore lapses that paralysed strategic organs of state through rampant corruption that was left unchecked for too long. 

We have seen at PRASA how the malfeasance and irregular contracts compromised service delivery and delayed the implementation of its modernization programme by close to a decade, with major contracts held up in the courts.  Today, we are still paying the price for those irregularities and corrupt practices.

SANRAL is a strategic State-Owned Company that plays a major role in building and managing our national road network that drives our economy and connecting our centres of economic activity to the markets.  It remains one of our best performing entities with a good track record on delivering mega projects.

The SANRAL Board, as its Accounting Authority, is bound by its fiduciary duties in terms of the SANRAL Act, the Companies Act and the Public Finance Management Act. 

The Board must, at all times, act in the best interest of the company.

SANRAL is responsible for major projects that are critical in giving forward momentum to economic recovery and growth.  The track record of SANRAL over the two decades of its existence has given us comfort that it has the requisite capacity and skills to execute its mandate.  We have no reason to believe otherwise.

I have directed the Board to provide me with a detailed report in line with its responsibilities as enshrined in the relevant laws. 

The Minister has no role in the procurement processes and we have no interest in the identity of the bidders.  Our only interest is to ensure that the Board has given expression to the letter and spirit of the SANRAL Act and other applicable prescripts in the exercise of its responsibilities. 

Furthermore, the strategic nature of the projects in question requires of us to ensure that governance principles are not undermined, and that the adjudication process can withstand scrutiny. 

We must do everything in our power to ensure that the integrity of the award process is not brought into question.  Failure to uphold supply chain management principles will result in awards being challenged in courts, holding up the implementation of the projects.  We have first-hand experience at PRASA on such litigation that has the potential to hold up projects for years.  Those who are aggrieved by the decisions of the Board in this regard have recourse in law and can approach the courts to adjudicate the matter.

It is my intention to hold the Board accountable for its decisions and to ensure that it acts in the best interest of the company and the country. 

The strategic nature of the projects SANRAL is responsible for require that the company be circumspect in handling procurement matters and ensure probity in the award of contracts.  I will therefore not hesitate to act against the Board if there is evidence that the Board was derelict in the execution of its fiduciary duties. 

It is equally my expectation that the Board will not hesitate to implement consequences management against those found culpable for the lapses that have resulted in the decision not to award these tenders.

In conclusion, it is in our collective interest for SANRAL to find a remedy to the adjudication lapses that considers the strategic nature of these projects and minimize the delay leading to the award of these tenders.  We are unequivocal in our resolve not to tolerate malfeasance for expediency in any of our entities.

The Board will take the nation into confidence on the decisions it has taken in relation to these tenders and the steps it intends to take in addressing the procurement lapses.

I thank you.

Source: Government of South Africa