Day: September 6, 2022

Back to School season starts, but not for millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa

As the school year gets underway in many parts of the world, the Global Education Monitoring Report and UNESCO Institute for Statistics release chilling new estimates of children out of school: their figures reveal that 244 million children and youth aged 6-18 worldwide missed out on school in 2021. And numbers are on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa.

The results are published online on the VIEW website. They are based on a novel estimation method, which combines administrative and survey data. This new estimation of the out-ofschool rate marks a significant improvement to the robustness of the estimates that responds to the UN call for a data revolution.

This trend is even more pronounced for the most vulnerable children, especially for the 5.5 million forcibly displaced children, including over 850,000 refugees, in the West and Central Africa region, the vast majority of whom face great difficulties in returning to school.

Only days before the Transforming Education Summit, these figures remind us that the global education crisis is having a devastating impact on the future of children and youth around the world. It is hoped that this summit will elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and mobilise concerted action for real equity and inclusion in access to quality education for all children, including the most marginalised.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will conduct emergency repairs on the main water supply pipeline to the Welcome Glen area. This work can result in the disruption of the water supply to this area on Thursday, 8 September 2022, from 09:00 until 16:00.

This work will ensure that the main water supply to the area from the local Welcome Glen Reservoir, is maintained through the introduction of a pipe section for an alternate water supply as well as replace a faulty non-return valve. This will also simplify future maintenance of the water supply network.

Some parts of Welcome Glen may experience low water pressure and others no water during this period.

Residents are kindly advised to store water in clean, sealed containers for use during this period and to ensure that their taps are closed to avoid water loss and/or damage when the supply is restored.

This work forms part of the City’s maintenance and upgrade programme which ensures that the water supply infrastructure is maintained to benefit its consumers.

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Land availability for human settlements and improving the planning and coordination systems in government came under the spotlight at the Human Settlements and Exhibition Indaba held in Durban.

Giving a report back on plenary sessions held on Monday, Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, reported that delegates reached a consensus on the areas where focus is necessary, and these included the availability of land for human settlements.

“The availability of land for human settlements is an issue that requires urgent attention. I am often reminded as the Minister of Human Settlements that [the] law empowers me to expropriate land without compensation, if necessary, provided that such land is suitable and needed for human settlements.

“I think what is important is that we need to utilise all the tools at our disposal to ensure that we satisfy land hunger in both urban and rural areas. The land issue is closely linked to planning, as we want to ensure that our planning systems are more coordinated within government institutions and between government and the private sector,” Kubayi said.

The issue of how projects that have secured funding and are ready for implementation collapse because government institutions do not make land available on time due to internal government inefficiencies came out strongly during the planning commissions.

Kubayi said the department will take this up through intergovernmental mechanisms, including the District Development Model (DDM), to deal with some of these issues.

She noted that the lack of availability of urban land is hampering government’s efforts to deal with the apartheid spatial development, and this has led to projects moving away from inner cities to the periphery, commonly referred to as urban drift.

“Urban drift is costly because it requires more investment in bulk infrastructure in greenfield projects. However, the inner city is also dealing with issues of ageing bulk infrastructure. The provision of serviced pieces of land can rapidly increase the number of housing opportunities.

“Planning is also central to ensuring that the monies are allocated to the right projects and that budgets are spent on impactful projects. We need innovative approaches to delivering houses, so that money is not returned to Treasury,” Kubayi said, adding that it should not take so long to unlock land for human settlements in various localities.

The Minister emphasised that town planning in municipalities needs to improve the turnaround time in unlocking land, warning that projects cannot collapse due to poor intra-government planning coordination.

“An accountability mechanism should be put in place at each level to ensure that we facilitate faster project development,” the Minister said.

She reiterated that government alone cannot mobilise enough resources to fund the housing sector, and that partnership with the private sector is an absolute necessity for government to be able to meet the set housing targets.

Community participation critical in sustainable housing

Kubayi further noted that community participation remains critical in creating sustainable human settlements.

“In the end, what makes human settlements is the people. That is the reason we believe that creating sustainable human settlements is just about building top structures and houses that will reduce the backlog. Our approach needs to have the active participation of communities,” Kubayi said.

Other areas identified as critical for getting the sector going include creating an ethical, capable developmental State to drive projects; crowding-in funding for projects; creating accountability mechanisms for monitoring the performance of all stakeholders, as well as the need for innovation in project development, funding and technical capacity utilisation.

The two-day indaba ended on Monday.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister Cele must implement Western Cape Government’s latest Policing Needs and Priorities report.

At a Cabinet lekgotla held in Pretoria this week Premier Alan Winde handed over the Provincial Policing Needs and Priorities (PNP) report, compiled by the Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety Ministry, for the 2021/22 financial year.

As it was the first lekgotla to be held in person since all Covid-19 restrictions were dropped, the Premier had the opportunity to hand over the document directly to Police Minister Bheki Cele.

“I hope the Minister will take the time to study the report,” said Premier Winde, “and seriously consider its contents and urgently implement its recommendations.”

The PNP is compiled annually to help the Provincial Government and South African Police Service (SAPS) identify and address challenges. It is based on the constitutional and legislative obligations placed on the National Minister for Police and the Provincial Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety. Minister Reagen Allen said: “Not only is the report a legislative responsibility of my Department, but it also assists with ensuring we are able to alert the SAPS as to what the actual needs are in their domain.”

“You matter, your safety and well-being matter,” stressed the Premier referring to Western Cape residents. This is the reason why the report is compiled each year to gauge successes and gaps in policing generally.

Among the more cogent findings in the PNP report are:

• The continued skewed policing resource allocation, especially in poorer neighbourhoods;

• Gender-based violence, substance abuse and gangsterism remain among the most serious issues plaguing Western Cape communities.

Among the recommendations contained in the report to resolve some of these problems include:

• Renewing and amending the formula used by the SAPS to allocate deployments at station levels;

• All SAPS members must be adequately trained on how to handle GBV cases;

• A harms-reduction approach to policing needs to be adopted to tackle substance abuse;

• The SAPS’ Anti-gang Unit needs to be better capacitated to conduct intelligence driven operations;

• Confiscated firearms must be destroyed on a more regular basis.

Closer collaboration between the Police Service and other law enforcement entities, such as the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) – an initiative of the Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town – underpins all these recommendations, along with basing crime-fighting strategies on data and evidence.

The Premier said: “As the Provincial Government together with the City and our other crime-fighting partners, we are doing everything possible to make communities safer and to give back citizens their dignity and hope.”

He added: “Our interventions are clearly working.” According to the latest quarterly crime statistics, there was a drop of over 8% in murders in areas in Cape Town where LEAP has been rolled out.

Minister Allen continued: “This report provides the SAPS with factual information so that it, as a national entity, is able to deploy resources where and how they are required. SAPS deployment cannot continue in the same manner. Sanity is required and the National Police Minister should act immediately.”

Last month the Premier had the opportunity to interact with community members while he was accompanying a group of LEAP officers on patrol in Bonteheuwel. He recalled: “A number of residents came out of their homes to tell us about the good work LEAP members are doing. But more needs to be done. Minister Cele must take seriously the PNP recommendations. More importantly, he must listen to ordinary citizens affected by crime.”

The Provincial Government has a constructive relationship with Western Cape Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Thembisile Patekile. “Our issue is not with the hardworking women and men in the South African Police Service who put their safety on the line daily,” The Premier and Minister Allen emphasised, “We intend building on this relationship in the interests of improving policing.

Premier Winde concluded: “The most significant impediment to this is Minister Cele, who does not seem to appreciate that many communities continue to live in fear. To date we have seen poor adherence to the PNPs we issue, and this must change. We will be keeping close tabs in the interests of our residents’ safety”.

Source: Government of South Africa

A 38-year-old man has been denied bail in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court where he is facing charges of raping a 17-year-old girl.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, Ilunga Kalasa allegedly raped the victim when she went to his so-called medical practice for a medical examination.

“It is alleged that on 15 August, the 17-year-old victim went to the accused’s surgery for medical consultation and was raped during the medical examination. The victim left the surgery and the following morning, informed her aunt about the incident. A case was opened with the police and the accused was arrested and charged later,” he said.

During his bail application, it was revealed that Kalasa – who was at first thought to be a medical doctor – has another case pending against him with a similar modus operandi.

“The court heard that the accused was not registered with any medical council to operate as a medical practitioner, and he did not have legal papers to work in South Africa, as he entered the country on a Visitors Permit, and he is an illegal immigrant. The NPA opposed bail, given the seriousness of the charges against the accused.

“When presenting the bail judgment, the Magistrate informed the applicant that there were no circumstantial reasons that warranted him to be granted bail, and that it was in the best interest of justice that he is not granted bail. The prosecution requested that the matter in which Ilunga Kalasa is facing a charge of sexual assault be joined with the rape case,” Senokoatsane said.

That application to join the two cases was granted.

Kalasa is expected back in court on 26 September 2022 for the possible addition of more charges and a decision from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

Meanwhile, the bail application of 45-year-old Jon Dimoso, who is suspected of smuggling some R2.2 million worth of cocaine into the country – has been postponed in the Zeerust Magistrates’ Court.

NPA Regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said the matter has been postponed to 12 September.

“The matter was set for formal bail application, however, the State is yet to verify his residential address in Cape Town, as it intends to oppose bail owing to the serious nature of the offence. He was verified to be legal in the country.

“Dimoso was arrested in Mahikeng by members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and officials of the Swartkopfontein Port of Entry for allegedly smuggling cocaine worth approximately R2.2 million through the border between the North West province and Botswana on 28 August.

“The… multi-disciplinary team was conducting cross-border operations… which resulted in the arrest of the suspect in a taxi travelling from Botswana to South Africa. He was searched and three bags of cocaine were allegedly found hidden in false compartments of his two backpacks,” Mamothame said.

Dimoso will remain in police custody until his next court appearance.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Improvements at Port of Cape Town could generate R6bn and almost 20 000 additional jobs

An efficient Port of Cape Town with sufficient capacity and investment in key infrastructure, has the potential to contribute an additional R6bn in exports, roughly 20 000 direct and indirect jobs, over R1.6 bn in additional taxes by 2026, and an additional 0.7% contribution to the Western Cape Gross Domestic Product.

This information is the outcome of a high-growth scenario contained in a research report, which was presented to stakeholders from across the entire port logistics value chain in a workshop hosted by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism this morning.

The purpose of the workshop was to understand the impact of the Port of Cape Town, to present various models and scenarios, and ultimately to build consensus on how to increase efficiency to realise the full potential of the entire port eco-system.

To achieve this high-growth scenario, the Western Cape Government is committed to working together with all levels of government and the private sector to unlock the Ports full potential. It remains a top strategic priority and collaboration will be essential.

We also believe that enabling private sector participation at the Port of Cape Town, as is currently the case for the Port of Durban and Ngqura, will be key.

I congratulate Transnet Port Terminal for the recent improvements we have seen, specifically in the waiting time to berth being one day or less for the last 5 consecutive weeks, for the average total turnaround time for vessels coming in under the target time for the for last 4 weeks, and especially for breaking the highest weekly volume of TEUs moved in early August with moving roughly 19 500.

I would like to thank all stakeholders who joined the workshop today, and we look forward to engaging with the rich content produced in the research reports as we work together to rapidly grow the economy and create jobs in the Western Cape and South Africa.

Source: Government of South Africa

MPUMALANGA – Nkosana Francis Zwane (35) and Lucky Nhlanhla Zwane (47) appeared before the Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 6 September 2022 after they were arrested by the Nelspruit based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation. They were charged with money laundering in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

The duo allegedly received proceeds of crime after R100 000 and R25 000 was deposited into their bank accounts respectively by the owners of a company that allegedly defrauded the South African Revenue Service.

The duo appeared along with the other four accused, Emmanuel Xolani (39), Phindile Ngwenya (39), Charmaine Kalogwile (36) and Clifford Phill Kalogwile (29) who were arrested in July and released on R5000 bail each.

It is alleged that in July 2018, the accused submitted fraudulent documents to SARS on behalf of their two companies, Maestro Arts cc and Priscino Trading Enterprise Pty Ltd involving an estimated amount of R1.8 million.

The matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation and the accused were linked to the case. They were charged with contravention of Tax Administration Act, Value Added Tax Act 89/ 1991, Prevention of Organised Crime Act and money laundering.

The case against the six accused was postponed to 4 October 2022 for further investigation.

Source: South African Police Service