Day: July 20, 2022

Government is on track to return to service 10 priority corridors that were identified for rehabilitation following the vandalism and the theft of rail infrastructure that took place when the country went into lockdown.

“Through the War Room that we have established and the commitment from our employees, we envision completing the work on the key priority corridors by the end of this calendar year,” Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) acting Group CEO David Mphelo said on Wednesday.

Of the 40 corridors in the country, 17 corridors are operational. In an effort to rehabilitate the corridors that were destroyed, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) commenced with upgrading the rail infrastructure and stations in April 2021.

Ten corridors were identified as a priority based on the volume of passengers per corridor, the demand for the service, the extent of damage, and the time required to recover and rehabilitate the corridor.

“It’s been two years since the catastrophic decimation of our rail infrastructure and stations due to the theft and vandalism of our essential infrastructure, and, to some extent, neglect on our part, resulting in the closure of passenger rail services across the country.

“The recovery programme, though painfully slow, is making steady progress. Work has started in earnest to recover the services. Since implementing the Service Recovery Plan, PRASA has reached some critical milestones in the service recovery programme,” Mphelo said.

In Gauteng, the Mabopane and Saulsville lines to Pretoria and the Vereeniging – Union line are now operational. In the Western Cape, the Northern Corridor between Cape Town - Bellville Stations, the Southern Line to Simonstown as well as the Cape Flats line are operational.

Mphelo said plans to reopen sections of the Central Line that is illegally occupied are at an advanced stage.

“The KwaZulu-Natal region has reintroduced the Merebank to Durban and KwaMashu to Durban services. Work is ongoing to repair the railway infrastructure affected by the recent, devastating floods in that province.

“In the Eastern Cape we have reintroduced services in Gqebherha and East London using the diesel locomotives. On corridors where there was a huge demand for services, we reintroduced limited Diesel-Locomotive services as a stop-gap measure while we put in place plans to recover the electrical infrastructure.

“However, even in those areas, we have now reached a point where we need to start major infrastructure repair work, and as a result, we have had to close lines on some corridors that are ready for electrical repair work to introduce electrical multiple units which form part of our modernisation programme,” he said.

Three lines have been temporarily closed for major repairs on the Naledi - Johannesburg, Johannesburg - Leralla and Pretoria - Pienaarspoort lines.

“I am pleased to announce that the team has made significant strides in ensuring that we meet our deadlines,” he said.

New technologies to reduce copper content cables

Mphelo said the state of stations provide an opportunity to innovate and think outside the box to explore alternative construction technologies for the future that support the agency’s sustainability goals.

“Some stations will no longer be what they used to be as we introduce the new alternative technology. Brick-and-mortar will be a thing of the past.

“New technology is replacing old, in some cases, centuries old. For example, we have new transformer technology, which means our substations can power more trains, and we are modernising our signaling systems to do away with manual signaling, something that should please the Railway Safety Regulator. Our overhead track equipment (OHTE) is carrying less copper content now,” he said.

Mphelo said the agency’s integrated security plan, premised on intelligence gathering, is starting to bear fruit.

“Since the reopening of the Mabopane line, we have had zero incidents of theft and vandalism. Our recovery work is under siege with constant attacks and attempts to steal essential infrastructure.

“We are constantly recovering stolen infrastructure, only for it to be stolen again. The criminals are brazen, and their modus operandi evolves with each waking moment, aided and abetted by some of our employees. However, we are closing the net on PRASA employees colluding with the criminals,” Mphelo said.

To date, the recovery projects in Gauteng alone have created more than 600 job opportunities.

The acting Group CEO made these remarks during a media briefing in Pretoria.

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula, together with the PRASA Board, joined Mphelo as they gave a comprehensive account of interventions made to recover and stabilise the agency for optimal performance following years of mismanagement and allegations of corruption.

Monitoring progress on reconstruction and recovery work

The Minister and PRASA Board conducted an oversight visit of the closed corridors in Gauteng- Leralla to Johannesburg, Naledi to Johannesburg and Pienaarspoort to Pretoria - to monitor progress made to recover the lines.

“Today we are conducting oversight on the reconstruction and recovery work intended to rehabilitate our infrastructure from perway, overhead traction electricity, sub-stations, signalling and train stations in these corridors.

“We will then build on this to implementation our modernization programme and deploy the new trains across all our corridors. More than 100 of these trains have since been delivered by the Gibela factory and are being deployed on a corridor-by-corridor basis as these become ready to accommodate the new trains,” the Minister said.

He said the rehabilitation of the infrastructure is also supported by the awarding of the general overhaul contract that will enable PRASA to continue maintaining the old train fleet until it is retired and replaced with the new trains.

“The upgrade and repurposing of stations will improve commuter experience and safety,” the Minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

NELSPRUIT - Today, Wednesday 20 July 2022 at about 07:30, members of the SAPS from Delmas were conducting patrol duties on the N12 Road when they noticed a suspicious white Nissan NP300 single cab bakkie with two occupants. The vehicle, which had Gauteng registration number plates, looked rather strange as it appeared to be heavily loaded with something and was covered with a black canvas.

The members then ordered its driver to stop which was followed by a search. Surprisingly when members removed the canvas they discovered that the back of the bakkie was in actual sense, converted into a diesel tank.

As a result two men aged 29 and 34 were questioned in relation to the purchase of the diesel but failed to produce any proof. They were then detained and are facing charges of being in possession of suspected stolen diesel. The 29-year-old is also facing an additional charge of contravention of the Immigration Act as he reportedly does not possess legal documents of being in South Africa.

Police at Delmas have since confiscated about 500 litres of diesel to the estimated value of about R 13 800. To make matters worse, the members uncovered that the registration number plates displayed in the bakkie were incorrect hence the car was seized. In addition to that investigation thus far revealed that in fact the car belongs to the SAPS in Thohoyandou, Limpopo. This matter is still being investigated. More charges against the two are eminent and police cannot rule out the possibility of more arrests as the probe continues.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has been excited by the great news. "We have been saying all along that the calibre of the SAPS members that we have in the province are capable and skilled to do the work in an exceptional way hence the commendable results. We are thankful for the SAPS vehicle that was recovered and we are also adamant that there will be more clarity with regard to the police car," said Lieutenant General Manamela.

Source: South African Police Service

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced that the multibillion emergency solar power project has reached a financial close.

This means that the leading renewable power producer, Scatec, now has the green light to break ground to officially begin with the development of three combined solar and battery storage projects in South Africa.

The three Scatec projects, Kenhardt (1 – 3), with a total capacity of 150MW, signed all project agreements on 2 June 2022 and had 60 days within which to conclude financial close.

According to the statement released on Wednesday, the first three projects under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) reached financial close on 19 July 2022.

“Following the fulfilment of all conditions precedent, Scatec has reached financial close on just over R16 billion financing required for the construction and development of the three combined solar and battery storage projects in the Northern Cape, ” the statement read.

“Once completed, the three power stations will be the first dispatchable renewable energy projects in South Africa.”

Meanwhile, the department said Eskom is the designated buyer for the capacity, energy and ancillary to be created by these projects, which will be available for dispatch by the system operator between 5:00 and 21:30.

The department said the construction is expected to take no more than 18 months to reach commercial operation.

“In support of the current economic challenges that South Africa is facing, the three projects, which are 49% South African-owned, have committed to 40% local content during construction and operation phases.”

In addition, the department said the venture will boost job creation and is expected to produce 4 970 employment opportunities for South African citizens during the construction and operation phases.

Meanwhile, local communities and enterprises in and around Kenhardt will also benefit through the R444 million committed by the projects towards the supplier, enterprise and socio-economic development initiatives.

“This is truly a great milestone for Scatec and renewable energy. We are demonstrating that cost-competitive dispatchable solar power can be delivered at a large scale with a short implementation time. This confirms that renewable energy is an ideal choice for driving electricity generation growth in Africa and other developing countries,” Scatec CEO, Raymond Carlsen, said.

According to Scatec, this move will deliver much-needed power to the South African economy.

RMIPPPP

The department said the RMIPPPP bid window was released to the market on 24 August 2020, following the promulgation of the Ministerial Determination of 2 000MW, with concurrence from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

The main objective of the bid window is to close the supply gap indicated in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2019) and reduce the extensive utilisation of expensive diesel-based open cycle peaking generators in the medium to long term.

On bid submission day, 22 December 2020, 28 bid responses were received with a contracted capacity of 5117 MW, while 11 preferred bidders were announced in two phases on 18 March 2022 and 1 June 2021.

The remaining eight projects under the RMIPPPP are at varying stages of preparation to sign their agreements, and announcements for further project closures will be made in due course.

Source: South African Government News Agency

WESTERN CAPE - In a concerted effort to eradicate proliferation of unlicensed firearms and the trafficking of illicit goods, police conducted a vehicle check point on the N2 highway at Sedgefield near Knysna on Tuesday evening where they seized an unlicensed firearm and subsequently arrested a 57-year-old man who finds himself behind bars.

Last night (Wednesday, 20 July 2022) at about 19:40, Knysna Crime Prevention unit members stopped a Toyota Avanza at the vehicle check point. A search of vehicle ensued and during the search, the vigilant members found a 9mm firearm with ammunition behind the driver’s seat. The police subsequently arrested the driver. A second occupant of the vehicle fled the scene on foot. He is still at large.

The suspect (57) remains in police custody. He is scheduled to appear in the Knysna Magistrates’ court on Thursday, 21 July 2022 on a charge of possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, 17 July 2022 at about 20:20 Rural Flying Squad and Eden Crime Combatting Team members were deployed on the N12 outside Oudtshoorn where they pulled over a vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle they found 100 mandrax tablets concealed under the passenger seat. The members confiscated the drugs and arrested four suspects, two woman and two men, aged between 23 and 34 on charges of dealing in drugs.

Later the same evening, 17 July 2022, the team also arrested a 23-year-old woman on a charge of possession of drugs after 112 grams of tik was found in the vehicle she was travelling in.

Western Cape police management applauded the team for their efforts as they continue to rid communities of firearms and drugs which contributes to serious crime reported in this region.

Source: South African Police Service

South Africa’s annual consumer price inflation (CPI) reached 7.4% in June 2022, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says.

This is a 0.9% increase from the 6.5% recorded in May 2022.

Statistician General Risenga Maluleke on Wednesday said this was the highest rate since May 2009 when the rate was 8.0%.

“The consumer price index increased by 1.1% month-on-month in June 2022. The main contributors to the 7.4% annual inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing and utilities; transport; and miscellaneous goods and services,” he said.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 8.6% year-on-year, and contributed 1.5 percentage points to the total CPI annual rate of 7.4%, said Stats SA.

“Housing and utilities increased by 5.1% year-on-year, and contributed 1.2 percentage points. Transport increased by 20.0% year-on-year, and contributed 2.7 percentage points. Miscellaneous goods and services increased by 4.0% year-on-year, and contributed 0.6 of a percentage point. In June, the annual inflation rate for goods was 11.0%, up from 9.5% in May; and for services it was 3.9%, up from 3.6% in May,” it said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

GAUTENG – The Hawks’ Provincial Head, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa welcomed the eight-year sentence meted out against Chisoko Songiso (32) who is a director of Lejiko Capital (Pty) Ltd by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on 18 July 2022, for defrauding Covid-19 Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) funds (TERS) of almost R1 million.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, the accused applied for TERS funds after creating ghost employees. The application was successfully processed and more than R937 000 was paid into the company's account where it was transferred into Songiso’s personal account.

The matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation after the discrepancies were discovered. The investigation further revealed that Songiso was an illegal immigrant and a warrant for his arrest was issued by court. He was traced to Kelvin, Johannesburg where he was apprehended in January 2022. He was charged with theft, money laundering and contravention of the Immigration Act.

On 14 July 2022, Songiso who had been in custody since his arrest, pleaded guilty on all three counts and he was sentenced four days later. He received eight years imprisonment for theft and money laundering with additional three months for contravention of the Immigration Act.

Source: South African Police Service

President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed European Union (EU) Council President, Charles Michel’s pledge that commits the European Union to supporting Africa’s efforts to achieving food security.

The pledge will also help to decrease the continent’s dependence on agricultural inputs that are exported from elsewhere in the world.

“In this regard a joint project plan was agreed to assist Africa in developing its own fertiliser production capacity. The commitment follows positive reception to President Ramaphosa’s proposal to the G7 countries at the recent G7 summit hosted in Germany, that Africa be enabled to invest in developing its fertiliser to deal with food insecurity,” the Presidency said in a statement.

President Ramaphosa hosted President Michel at his official Mahlambandlopfu residence on Tuesday.

The bilateral meeting was centred around cementing the South Africa - EU strategic partnership and discussing key trade and peace and security issues.

Bilateral trade

The South Africa-European Union (EU) Strategic Partnership functions within the framework of the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA), which was ratified in 2004.

The Presidency said that the EU is South Africa’s largest trading partner as a bloc.

“Since the adoption of the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), total trade increased from R150 billion in 2000 to R843 billion in 2021. Exports to the EU increased steadily over the years, growing from R64 billion back in 2000 to R482 billion in 2021.

“During the same period, imports from the EU also increased from R86 billion in 2000 to R361 billion in 2021,” the Presidency said.

The President has also welcomed the reflection on strengthening and growing existing bi-lateral trade ties and the commitment to resolve current and urgent trade matters particularly on the export of citrus products from South Africa to the EU.

“President Ramaphosa supported the process of further discussions to be held at Ministerial level to work out a solution that will allow for sustained trade in the citrus sub-sector,” the Presidency said.

Peace and Security

On Peace and Security, the Presidency said President Ramaphosa was encouraged by the expression of EU support to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) efforts in stabilising the security situation in Mozambique.

“South Africa, the EU and the SADC share a common obligation in ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region and the rest of Africa.”

The President further applauded the positive development of the EU-Africa partnership, which continues to flourish following the AU-EU Summit held in February 2022 in Brussels.

“The close ties have facilitated more open and practical engagements on various trade, political and peace and security matters,” the Presidency said.

Source: South African Government News Agency