Day: July 5, 2022

The World Food Program warns the Central African Republic is facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity due to conflict, population displacement, widespread poverty, and underemployment.

WFP officials say they anticipate a sharp increase in commodity prices this year and extending well into 2023. They say the price of rice is expected to rise by 30%, wheat flour by 67%, and vegetable oil by a staggering 70%.

That, they note, will make staple food products unaffordable for millions of people, leading to more hunger and more distress as people are forced to resort to extreme measures to put food on the table.

WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says 2.2 million people are food insecure in C.A.R.

“The figure might not shock you out of your seats but when you look at the population size, that is nearly half the population of the Central African Republic," said Phiri. "And the country now joins the league of nations, such as Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan with the highest proportion of acutely food insecure.”

As less food becomes available, Phiri says more children will suffer from malnutrition.

UNICEF says the number of severely acutely malnourished children under age five is expected to rise in the country by 10% this year to 69,000. Children suffering from the condition are at risk of dying if they do not get the right medical and nutritional care.

Phiri says the WFP is struggling to provide the food and specialized treatment needed by children, women, and other vulnerable people in the C.A.R. and a lack of money is hindering those efforts.

“Our costs of operating are skyrocketing," said Phiri. "The United Nations World Food Program is appealing urgently for $68.4 million. Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people.”

Phiri says the challenges facing the C.A.R. are well documented and pre-date the crisis in Ukraine. But noting the impact of the war on rising commodity and fuel prices, he says humanitarian assistance will be required well beyond this year and into 2023.

Source: Voice of America

Women’s cycling has a deep and rich history and Ms Ogden is one of an elite group of women to traverse the African continent

Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Alderman Grant Twigg, was on hand to welcome solo female cyclist Eilidh Ogden on Saturday, 2 July 2022 when she arrived in Cape Town, having cycled from Cairo over the past six months.

Ms Ogden started her journey in January and travelled through various countries and cities, before ending her tour in Cape Town.

‘Women’s cycling has a deep and rich history and Ms Ogden is one of an elite group of women to traverse the African continent. Her tenacity, courage and determination to complete her solo cycling adventure is an amazing personal achievement. We are honoured that Cape Town was her final destination in an epic journey and wish her well on her future endeavours,’ said Alderman Twigg.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town regrets to inform residents that it is still working on resolving the delays with refuse collection in some areas and the disruption at drop-off sites. Recycling collection is however normalising.

Refuse collection in wheelie bins

Refuse removal has commenced in all areas that were previously affected by a backlog. The Urban Waste Management Directorate is concentrating all available resources together with contractors on clearing the backlog as soon as possible.

Residents are requested to please leave bins out until 21:00. If they are not emptied on the scheduled day, residents are urged to bring their bins out for collection again the following day (including Saturday and Sunday).

Recycling collection in bags

The service in all areas, other than Helderberg and surrounds, has commenced. The service in the Helderberg area will commence tomorrow, Wednesday 6 July, in areas normally scheduled for collection on Wednesday.

Drop-off facilities

The service at drop-off facilities is still limited. So, at times, visitors will be diverted to landfill facilities. An update on drop-off facilities will be communicated as the situation changes.

The City will continue to update residents around contingency plans as the situation unfolds.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council

The words landmark, historic and game-changer are sometimes over-used to characterise events of importance, especially in government.

But if there was ever an occasion where all these descriptions apply, it is this one.

The inaugural meeting of the B-BBEE Advisory Council is a milestone in the long journey we have traversed since the Black Economic Empowerment Commission produced its seminal report 22 years ago.

It bears testament to years of hard work by government, in collaboration with the private sector, to advance progressive legislation to transform our economy.

The establishment of this council is without a doubt a game-changer as we now look to expand the frontiers of B-BBEE as a critical enabler of economic growth and social transformation.

I want to congratulate each of you on your appointment.

You will be advising government, and guiding the trajectory of B-BBEE as we recover and rebuild from years of slow economic growth and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You will also be:

• Reviewing progress around B-BBEE

• Advising on the Draft Codes of Good Practice that the Minister will be publishing for public comment;

• Reviewing sector charters; and

• Providing advice on draft transformation charters such as the Draft Legal Services Charter that will soon be published for public comment.

Minister Patel will be providing a snapshot of areas of work that the Commission will be undertaking and how you will put your programme of work together.

We know that the terrain is vastly different from the racially-skewed economy we inherited in 1994.

With regards to B-BBEE and employment equity, there has been substantial progress with regards to the representation of blacks and women in the workplace, including in senior management, in both the public and private sectors.

The deliberate efforts of government to transform our economy has resulted in more black South Africans and women owing and managing businesses, and having stakes in large companies.

The worker shareholder regime continues to improve. Small businesses also continue to benefit from preferential procurement by the state, and receive a range of support to grow and expand.

At the same time we know we are not as far as we hope to be, and that is why the work of this Council will be critical.

When we speak about the next frontier we are talking about a new vision for B-BBEE; that builds on successes, that learns from shortcomings, and that is both agile and adaptive in response to the realities of the national and global economies.

In this year’s State of the Nation address I called for a new consensus to achieve higher rates of economic growth, social transformation and advance common prosperity.

Consolidating B-BBEE is one of the aspects such a consensus will rely upon. There can be no growth without economic inclusion. There can be no inclusive recovery and reconstruction unless B-BBEE is at the center of our efforts.

It is our expectation that this Council will assist us as government to enhance the implementation of B-BBEE and associated policy such as the Codes of Good Practice, the Sector Charters, and recent instruments like the DTIC’s Black Industrialists Programme and Worker Ownership requirements.

Between you, you have a range of experience, from working in state-owned enterprises, to private companies, to SMME’s, to public procurement, to serving as regulators on B-BBEE, competition and trade policy.

I have no doubt that this expertise will be brought to bear as you undertake your work, in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and other departments.

Next year we will mark 20 years since the promulgation of B-BBEE legislation. As we journey towards this occasion, we want to see the Council at the forefront of advocacy campaigns, especially to counter negative narratives that are gaining traction around B-BBEE.

We also want you to join us in championing initiatives like the Black Industrialists Programme. We are looking forward to hosting the Black Industrialist Conference later this month.

You assume your duties at a challenging time but I have no doubt you are up to the task. I wish you well and look forward to getting to know you better.

With these few words I would now like to invite Minister Patel to address us.

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed a ruling by the high court in the Sivuka vs Ramaphosa civil matter which relates to the events of at Lonmin Mine at Marikana in the North West where striking miners tragically lost their lives.

The matter was brought to the high court by family members of those miners and sought to have President Ramaphosa – who was part of the Lonmin Mine board at the time – bare legal duty for the events that transpired on that day.

The High Court in Johannesburg handed down judgement on the matter last week.

In a statement, the Presidency clarified pertinent matters in that judgement.

“First, the high court agreed with the President’s arguments and held that the plaintiffs had not established that the President bore any legal duty in relation to the Marikana tragedy. Furthermore, the court made no finding that the President was in fact the cause of harmful conduct.

“Second, the court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that certain email communications from President Ramaphosa sought to call for the murder of the striking workers. The judgement stated that the plaintiffs’ argument against the President ‘is not only far-fetched but also irreconcilable within the context of the email communication contents as a whole…,” the Presidency said.

Furthermore, the Presidency said the court proceedings were “not a trial and…the court was merely engaged in a legal debate regarding the plaintiffs’ allegations” against President Ramaphosa.

“[The] high court agreed with the President that there was no factual basis pleaded for the allegation that collusion between the President, the government and the senior police would have led to deaths of workers.

“[On] the allegations that the President Ramaphosa owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs due to his role as director of Lonmin, the high court agreed with the President that the allegation was incorrect as a matter of law. In the judgment the court said, “… The allegations pleaded do not show that the first defendant owed the plaintiffs legal duties, and he therefore cannot in law incur liability to the plaintiffs in delict in his capacity as director of Lonmin, or ‘in pursuit of his personal interests and those of Lonmin’,” the Presidency said.

The Presidency said the events of the tragic day remain a sorrow for the country.

“The tragic events of August 2012 in Marikana that led to the death of 34 people remain one of the most distressing moments of the post democratic era and a blight in South Africa’s contemporary history that will be forever etched in our hearts and minds.

“10 years later our hearts still go out to families who lost their loved ones. The violence and the killings that occurred should have never happened. We are still resolute and united in our condemnation of the brutal acts we witnessed,” the Presidency said.

Source: South African Government News Agency