Day: July 21, 2022

Persons who have received their primary and booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine can qualify for an additional booster dose 120 days after their last booster.

The City of Cape Town encourages persons 50 and older to get an additional booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest vaccination schedule allows for the additional booster dose 120 days after your first booster.

Vaccine or booster dose as

'It is important that we not lose sight of the fact that the rate of vaccinations was a key reason why we were able to return to life as we know it. And so I encourage everyone to continue following the prescripts of the vaccination schedule and get their second booster dose if they qualify. To persons who have not been vaccinated at all, it is not too late – you can still get your jabs and help strengthen our fight against Covid-19,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.

Vaccination remains the best form of protection against severe disease and death, even as the Covid-19 virus continues to mutate.

Getting booster doses offer protection against waning immunity, and early evidence shows that vaccination may protect persons from the phenomenon known as long Covid.

Since the vaccination rollout got under way, more than 5,5 million doses have been administered in the metropole, with 1,7 million (47%) of persons having been fully vaccinated.

'We applaud each and every person who has stepped up to be vaccinated, and encourage those who are now eligible for a second booster dose to please do so to ensure continued protection against severe disease. Covid-19 is no longer a pandemic, but it doesn't mean that it has disappeared altogether and we have to continue doing our very best to protect the status quo. I want to challenge our young people to follow the lead of their elders, and get vaccinated, for their own health and safety, but also that of their loved ones,' added Councillor Van der Ross.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The Department of Health has confirmed the outcomes of the disciplinary hearing against two senior officials involved in the Digital Vibes scandal.

According to the department, the Deputy Director-General responsible for Health Regulations and Compliance, Dr Anban Pillay and Head of Communications, Popo Maja, have been demoted one salary level and slapped with a final written warning.

This comes after Pillay, Maja and Shireen Pardesi were suspended last year following the investigations by an independent forensic audit firm and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the irregular awarding of the R150 million National Health Insurance (NHI) and COVID-19 media campaign contract, which was scored by Digital Vibes.

The Office of the State Attorney in the Department of Justice appointed an Independent Senior Counsel to preside over the disciplinary hearing following the findings in the report by the SIU on the dodgy contract.

According to the disciplinary report received last month, Pillay and Maja both faced four charges and were found guilty on one and two charges, respectively. Meanwhile, Pardesi was accused of two charges and found guilty on one.

“As part of the consultation, the Presiding Officer requested the Department of Health, through the Office of the State Attorney, to make submissions into possible sanctions and allowed the legal representatives of the employees to make representations on mitigating factors, and allowed the parties to share notes where possible.”

“The chairperson considered the evidence obtained, his findings and the representations by the parties,” the department said.

According to the department, chairperson also considered the fact that all those charged were first-time offenders and no evidence suggested they benefitted from the transactions.

Based on all the facts, the Presiding Officer confirmed that Pillay would receive a final written warning valid for 15 months and suspension without pay for three months, followed by a salary level demotion for 12 months.

Maja has also been given a final written warning, valid for 12 months and a salary level demotion for 12 months.

On the other hand, Pardesi has been allowed to resign from the department with immediate effect.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Neighbourhood watch volunteers are a key part of making our communities safer as they play an important role in the prevention of crime. This week Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, Alderman JP Smith, Ward Councillor Gerry Gordon, Metro Police and law enforcement joined the Residents Neighbourhood Watch, Thembelihle NW, Patrollers NW and New Horizons NW groups in Pelican Park. To bolster the efforts of these four NW groups, the City handed over gear such as flashlights, and Wellington boots.

'Keeping our City safe is a challenge which requires all of society to do their bit. Neighbourhood watch volunteers are a key part of making our communities safer as they play an important role in the prevention of crime. Earlier this week, I joined a patrol with four neighbourhood watch (NW) groups in the Pelican Park and New Horizons areas,' said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

During the patrol, they highlighted problem spaza shops within the community, which allegedly ignore proper trading hours, causing challenges within the community. At one of the spaza shops, a person was fined for selling cigarettes to a minor.

Additional budget to bolster NHWs across the metro

For the 2022/23 financial year, the City of Cape Town's NW Support Programme will provide these community organisations with more than R5 million in patrol support and crime prevention equipment such as torches, bicycles, body cameras, two-way radios, among other items.

The decision was also made to make a further R1 million available each year for the next five years. Currently, there are 312 accredited watches in the metropole.

'The Safety and Security Directorate has worked hard to empower these NWs. We are helping them with training and more budget. Many of their suggestions during patrols help us inform any updates to by-laws and give us insight into how we can assist them to continue to do this important volunteer work in their communities,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.

Further training initiatives

To be accredited as a NW, a properly constituted body must be formed of at least seven patrollers as members. The Directorate's Community Safety Liaison Officers can assist with this process.

The directorate is also able to facilitate any additional training that would be beneficial for these NWs so that they can assist the City with the management of disasters. This will include appropriate training by the Disaster Risk Management Centre and the Fire and Rescue Service, as well as setting up a protocol for implementation.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest of six government officials in Mpumalanga for fraud and theft of over R60 million.

The six government officials were arrested by the Hawks in Mpumalanga for various charges including fraud, theft, money laundering and contravention of section 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA Act).

In a statement, SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, said five of the accused were employed at the Mbombela Traffic Department (MTD), and one at Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM). The accused appeared in the Mbombela Magistrate Court on Monday.

“The officials were involved in over 10 000 illicit transactions and cost the Department of Transport a combined loss of approximately R60 million,” said Kganyago.

The arrested officials are Thembi Milicent Zulu-Motlohi, Agnes Nozipho Ndzinisa, Xoliswa Ngcelwane, Nompumelelo Winny Nxumalo, Allman Masuku and Nkosinathi Gumede.

Kganyago said charges that the six suspects face emanate from a SIU investigation, which was authorised in terms of Proclamation R.37 of 2017.

“The SIU was authorised to investigate, amongst others, unlawful or improper conduct by employees, officials or agents of the Institutions or any other person, which relate to the - (a) registration and licensing of motor vehicles; (b) registration of motor vehicle ownership or licensing details; (c) issuing of driving licenses, learner's licenses or professional driving permits.

“The SIU probe uncovered that the accused officials manipulated the eNaTIS system in what is known as ‘money dumping of fees’. They would recruit companies or individuals whose Motor Vehicles (M/V) are heavily in arrears in terms of M/V licensing and penalties incurred due to failure to pay licensing,” he said.

Kganyago said the suspects would then dump those fees by changing the ownership of the affected M/V to unsuspecting individuals, deceased individuals or dormant companies.

“Some fees are also dumped on government vehicles using a GG authority code. Only government vehicles are licensed using the GG authority code.

“In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU referred evidence pointing to criminal conduct that was uncovered during the investigation to the attention of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The City of Cape Town is set to commence with road upgrades along Okavango Road on Friday, 29 July 2022. The roadworks are scheduled to take place over the next four months, pending unforeseen delays and inclement weather.

The project will include the lengthening of the northbound carriageway between Langeberg Road and Hennop Street before merging back to the single carriageway just before Hennop intersection as well as a median break at the new Volkswagen (VW) development site with turning lanes in both directions.

'Our main aim with the project is to increase the roadway space to assist in the relief of traffic congestion for this section of Okavango Road. To address the increase in traffic volumes in the vicinity, we have decided to expand the capacity along this important road link in order to improve access to and from Pinehurst and the surrounding commercial area. This project forms part of the City's efforts to relieve traffic congestion in the worst affected areas in Cape Town,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

The main access to the new VW Development will also be constructed as part of this project.

The work is planned to take place from 07:00 until 18:00 on weekdays, and 08:00 till 17:00 on Saturdays, weather permitting.

Work areas will be demarcated to regulate traffic flow, and to assist pedestrians. The basic plan is to keep at least one lane open in each direction along Okavango Road at all times.

Source: City Of Cape Town

South Africa detected 550 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 4 001 444 laboratory-confirmed cases.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), most cases were recorded in Gauteng after 262 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Meanwhile, 121 cases were recorded in the Western Cape, 59 in KwaZulu-Natal, 28 in the Eastern Cape, 27 in Mpumalanga and 23 in Free State, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 20 infections.

The Department of Health said four people lost their lives to COVID-19, of which three occurred in the past 48 hours.

This means the country now has a death toll of 101 939 to date.

The latest data also show that there are currently 1 038 patients who are receiving hospital treatment, with 11 admitted since the last reporting cycle.

The department administered 13 941 COVID-19 vaccine doses of which 1 656 were given to children in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 37 077 459.

Global view

Globally, during the week of 11 to 17 July 2022, the number of weekly cases plateaued, with just under 6.3 million new cases after an increasing trend for the past five weeks.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the reported number of new weekly deaths increased by 11 000.

At the regional level, the WHO said the number of new weekly cases increased in the Western Pacific region, the region of the Americas and the South-East Asia region, while it decreased in Africa and Europe.

Meanwhile, the number of new weekly cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region was similar to the figure reported during the previous week.

“Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths should be interpreted with caution as several countries have been progressively changing COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected,” the agency explained, adding that data is continuously updated to incorporate regular changes made by countries retrospectively.

At the country level, the highest numbers of new weekly cases were reported from the United States (866 479), France (757 830), Italy (718 925), Germany (602 930), and Japan (559 111).

The highest numbers of new weekly deaths were recorded in the United States (2 345), Brazil (1 751), Italy (784), Spain (610), and China (576).

As of 17 July 2022, over 559 million confirmed cases and over 6.3 million deaths have been reported globally.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The City would like to inform residents that the Helderberg Nature Reserve is scheduled to reopen 1 August 2022. The Reserve has been closed for the last month as a result of the recent wild fire. This provided the Biodiversity team with an opportunity to attend to the most urgent erosion work and to make the infrastructure, such as the fences and picnic area, safe for public use.

'We thank residents for their understanding while our staff undertook the most urgent reinstatement work. We have scheduled the reopening of the reserve for 1 August as we believe our teams would be able to get the area to a point where the public can be safely permitted to access certain sections of the mountain by then. We would also like to thank the Friends of Helderberg members who have contributed many hours and helping hands to assist with the various clean-up and restoration tasks that were needed,' said the City's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

While the post fire clean-ups, restoration of eroded areas after the heavy rainfalls and the rebuilding of burned out trails will continue, there will be a number of routes open from 1 August 2022, which visitors will be able to use immediately. Temporary trail markers have been placed along routes, which have been deemed safe for public use. These routes have been cleared of debris and burned out infrastructure.

'We urge visitors to only walk the trails identified for use and not wander on to old exposed trails into the veld. Keeping off popular trails that will still be closed when the reserve reopens will allow our teams to continue to work on these routes uninterrupted so that they can be available for everyone to enjoy safely once ready,' said Alderman Andrews.

By 1 August most of the trails on the lower slopes within the reserve should be accessible to the public and the reserve teams will continue with the replacement of water bars and steps to preserve the trails throughout the year.

Source: City Of Cape Town