Day: May 26, 2022

Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture, will convene and address Communal Land Administration and Tenure Summit, which will be held on 27 - 28 May 2022 at Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Boksburg, Gauteng Province.

The two-day summit will reflect on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, and deliberate on the progress made in the implementation of the 2017 resolutions of the Traditional Leaders Indaba.

The summit comes after an extensive nationwide consultation with relevant stakeholders that culminated into a position paper of government on Land Administration and Land Tenure in Communal Land Areas and will be held under the theme “Communal Land Administration and Land Tenure Reform as the cornerstone for development and security of tenure in rural communities”.

The Summit will be divided into three Commissions namely; Land Administration and Tenure in Communal areas, Spatial Planning and Land use Management in Communal areas and Khoi-San land related issues.

The communal land summit also provides an opportunity for government and traditional leaders to discuss issues of the administration of communal land and security of tenure and mechanisms aimed at fast tracking the implementation of socio-economic development programs in traditional communities.

It is expected that the Summit will emerge with recommendations on national policy and legislative framework for land administration and tenure reform in communal areas that advance rural socio-economic development.

Media programme

Day one: Friday, 27 may 2022

07h00 – 08h30: Arrival and registration.

09h00 – 09h20: Remarks by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza.

09h20 – 09h30: Remarks by the Premier of Gauteng Province, Mr David Makhura.

09h35 – 09h40: Remarks by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

09H50 - 10h20: Keynote Address by Deputy President David Mabuza, IMC Chairperson

10h20 - 10h30: Reflection on the position of government on land administration and tenure reform in communal areas, Deputy Minister Mcebisi Skwatsha.

11h00 - 13h00: Reflection from the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and agriculture, Ms Bulelwa Mabasa.

Day two: Saturday, 28 may 2022

07h00 - 08h00: Arrival and registration.

10h00 - 10h30: Remarks by the Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Obed Bapela.

Source: Government of South Africa

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Ronald Lamola, says the current generation of youth can honour the legacy of struggle heroes by taking ownership of South Africa’s hard fought democracy.

He was speaking at the handover and reburial ceremonies of the exhumed remains of political prisoners Bonakele Ngcogolo and Notimba Bozwana in the Eastern Cape on Thursday.

“Our generation needs to own this democracy. This democracy is in our hands... The baton has been passed onto us from this generation who have lost their lives for us to live in a free society.

“Every year, we are outraged by... horrendous gender-based violence crimes. Every year, we are outraged by yet another racist incident. Our heroes and heroines, who fought for our liberation, did not fight for men to kill women. They did not fight for racists to persist with their backward thinking,” he said.

The Minister zeroed in on the scourge of GBV that has gripped the nation, with reports of women being killed at the hands of men dominating the media space over the past few weeks.

“[We] know that, regrettably, women are still not free in our country.

“Whilst we can proclaim that we have laws in place to address this abhorrent conduct, our generation must rise up in our communities, the workplace and in all spheres of society against the rape culture, xenophobia and racism. Women must be freed from the bondages of gender-based violence and femicide,” Lamola said.

Healing apartheid wounds

Turning to the exhumation and reburial programme, the Minister said government has been hard at work ensuring that the remains of struggle icons, who died during the fight against apartheid, are returned back to their families.

“[We] have ensured that of the 130 hanged political prisoners, 47 had their remains exhumed by other parties, and the Missing Persons Task Team, supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Unit, has also to date exhumed 74 remains of deceased victims.

“This work enables families to bury their loved ones, and to honour and restore the dignity of heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle. We also want to demonstrate our firm commitment towards healing the wounds inflicted by the apartheid regime,” he said.

The Minister reflected that without the contribution of those who paid the ultimate price for the liberation of South Africa, democracy may not have been achieved.

“We are forever indebted to our liberation struggle stalwarts. We shall continue with efforts to ensure that their memory lives on. Our role is to deepen democracy and constitutionalism to ensure that their deaths were never in vain.

“We must also reach out to those who worked towards entrenching apartheid and are its beneficiaries, not to mete out vengeance, but to build a truly inclusive society and learn from our painful past,” Lamola said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

GQEBERHA - In a joint endeavour, SAPS Kwazakele Vispol Task Team (VTT) and Gqeberha Flying Squad members arrested three suspected hijackers within 30 minutes after allegedly hijacking an e-hailing driver in Kuyga last night, 25 May 2022.

It is alleged that at about 18:30, the 44-year-old complainant responded to a call-out and while driving with the three occupants in Missionvale Road in Kuyga, one of the males produced a firearm and assaulted the driver over his head. He robbed him of his belongings and his green Renault Kwid.

At about 19:00, while members were patrolling the borders of Kwazakhele precinct in search of the vehicle, they spotted a green Renault Kwid driving recklessly on the R75 Uitenhage Road. Attempts to pull off the vehicle proved futile as the driver ignored all warnings to stop and sped off at high speed. A chase ensued and the vehicle disregarded several traffic lights and as they drove over a traffic circle at Moduka Street, they crashed into a white Toyota Tazz and overturned.

The three occupants made a dash to escape but were swiftly apprehended by SAPS Kwazakhele VTT and Flying Squad. The damaged vehicle was impounded for further investigation. A replica firearm and the complainant’s cellphone was found in the car.

The suspects aged 22, 26 and 35 years old were detained on charges of possession of a hijacked vehicle as well as reckless and negligent driving.

They are expected to appear in court soon.

Source: South African Police Service

Deputy President David Mabuza has assured military veterans that government is committed to resolving their challenges and giving them quality services.

He was addressing a gathering of military veterans and their associations in the Free State in his capacity as Chairperson of the Presidential Task Team on Military Veterans.

“We are making progress. Of course I am not happy about the pace that we are taking, the speed at which we are moving and I’m sure that as we go we are going to pick up the pace. We therefore call upon military veterans of all associations to work together with us and I can assure there is a clear determination from our side to deal with your issues.

“We respect you, we honour you. As a country, we cannot afford to forget our history [and] where we come from. We cannot afford to forget the role that you have played in the liberation of this country,” he said.

The Deputy President acknowledged that the task team has been “inundated with stories” about the challenges that military veterans are facing.

“We hear a lot of stories about your suffering. We hear a lot of stories about the suffering of your dependents…who are supposed to benefit. Please bear with us, we are here. Brick by brick, step by step we are going to resolve your challenges,” he said.

Deputy President Mabuza said the task team is also seized with sharpening the work of the Department of Military Veterans.

“The department must try and up its game. There is no room for us to fail here. We will work with the necessary speed and vigour with all the stakeholders, with all the spheres of government to ensure that the quality for services that you get from us is of a good standard.

“The Department of Military Veterans will be beefed up and supported to be able to deliver the series that you require,” he said.

He explained that the task team has broadened its scope in order to deal with all the challenges facing military veterans and appealed to military veterans to undergo a verification process.

Deputy President Mabuza added that an appeals board is being set up for those who are not satisfied with the verification process.

“We request that you support this process because the sooner we get done with the verification, the better for all of us. We want to know how many military veterans [there are]…and we can only do that, know that if we allow the verification process to happen.

“We want to know…how many are from the statutory forces and how many are from the non-statutory forces. We want to know how many received benefits and how many have not. We want to know how many of your children are receiving education support, or your health support. We must know so that where we are lagging behind, we must improve,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

FREE STATE – The Provincial Head of the Hawks’ Free State, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba welcomed the sentencing of Tafadzwa Nhire (41) to twenty (20) years direct imprisonment for theft and tampering with essential infrastructure by the Harrismith Regional Court yesterday and commended the work of the investigation team.

Nhire was convicted yesterday, 25 May 2022 convicted for the incident that occurred on Monday, 11 May 2020 when Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team based in Bethlehem received a complaint from the master control centre of Transnet pipeline in Pinetown about the pressure drop from their pipeline. The police attended to the complaint and on their arrival, they found that the structure had been tampered with and diesel was stolen from the pipeline. On the same day, information was received about a truck that was stuck on Highway Junction, Harrismith. The team followed up on the information and upon arrival at the Highway, they found the suspect pulling two tankers with a truck.

Samples were taken from the tankers for analysis and it was discovered that the diesel was from Transnet pipeline. During the arrest police seized a truck and two tankers including 58 681 litres of diesel with an estimated value of more than R800 000-00.

Source: South African Police Service

Cabinet has commended great progress made by a number of government departments in institutionalising the Framework on Gender Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring Evaluation and Audit.

The framework, which was adopted in 2019 for implementation, places gender mainstreaming at the centre of public policy by putting forward a strategy and implementation plan towards gender responsiveness of existing planning, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation and auditing systems.

Briefing the media on the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele said Cabinet has received the progress report on the implementation of the framework. He said more departments have since put in place policy priorities to guide the mainstreaming programmes targeting women, youth and persons with disabilities.

“Cabinet has called for tighter monitoring and reporting, especially on some of the departments that have not yet reported,” Gungubele said on Thursday.

Mine Water Management Policy

Cabinet has also approved the Mine Water Management Policy of 2022 for implementation.

The policy provides mechanisms to protect and conserve water usage, and balances the mine economic activities with the mandate to provide sustainable water usage for the country.

Amongst other interventions, the policy clarifies the roles and responsibilities within the three spheres of government with regard to mine water issues.

“The proposed changes will resolve the challenges of instituting sanctions on polluters and make it easy to invoke the polluter pays principle. The policy is developed in line with the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998),” Gungubele said.

Report on women, youth empowerment

Cabinet has received the 2021/22 annual monitoring report on the empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities.

The report tracks the key indicators in the promotion of equity, level of employment and ownership and participation of these groups in the activities of the departments and the state-owned entities.

The report is compiled against the gender-responsive planning budgeting, monitoring, evaluation and auditing framework, which was adopted by Cabinet in 2019.

Nelson Mandela youth dialogue

Meanwhile, Cabinet has endorsed the Nelson Mandela Youth Dialogue (NMYD) to take place annually, starting in 2022.

Gungubele noted that the NMYD is a Presidential initiative to afford the youth of the continent a platform to engage in constructive dialogues on matters that affect them.

“The dialogues – which will be anchored on our international icon former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – will start conversations to inculcate the culture of an ethical leadership in Africa.

“They will afford young people an opportunity to share their rich cultural heritage. The initiative will also strengthen people-to-people relations amongst the youth of the continent,” Gungubele explained.

The inaugural NMYD will take place from 07 to 20 July 2022.

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities will provide details of the programme for the events at a later stage.

Source: South African Government News Agency