Day: September 12, 2022

The KwaMpumuza Skills Development Centre in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, is set to create about 175 job opportunities to assist in alleviating unemployment faced by the country.

Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, officiated the sod turning to mark the construction of Phase 1 of the centre during a ceremony held on Friday.

The R105 million project is the first intra-SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) collaboration infrastructure project undertaken by the Construction Education & Training Authority (CETA) and Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA).

The project will benefit the community of Vulindlela and rural communities in the surrounding areas, particularly the youth.

Speaking during the ceremony, Nzimande said the building of KwaMpumuza Skills Development Centre proves that government is committed to skills and infrastructure development, with a particular focus on young people.

He said with the construction of the centre, he sees many possibilities, including the value chain from agriculture to retail.

“This project will spur and become an anchor for this rural community development from different facets,” Nzimande said.

The centre will have administration, hospitality and retail hubs; two CETA related workshops; lecture halls; an abattoir and gatehouse.

Amongst the skills development courses to be offered are agroprocessing (meat processing and feed load management); brick laying; aircon and refrigeration; electrical; painting, and decorating.

It will also offer plumbing; heat pump; carpentry and joinery; property maintenance; geyser installation; road maintenance, and retail related trades,

The centre will further offer hair dressing; restaurant management; spa/massage parlour and beauty management courses.

Nzimande said the department, through the work of SETAs and all stakeholders involved, is marking yet another gain in the achievement of National Skills Development Plan (NSDP).

He said the National Skills Development Plan is aimed at supporting the growth of the public college system as one of the key solutions to the country’s skills challenges.

Similarly, the Minister said, the goal of the NSDP is to provide access to critical skills to as many people as possible.

“This construction of this centre will greatly benefit the work of our Decade of the Artisan programme, which is headed by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, whose goal is to produce 30 000 artisans annually by 2030.

“The programme is in line with the goal of government’s National Development Plan, which has recognised the importance of investing in artisan programmes to grow our economy,” Nzimande said.

The Minister said skills development centres are a bridge between main campuses of post-school learning opportunities, which are currently located in bigger towns and cities.

“The skills development centres are located within rural and townships communities in the main, thereby widening access to skills, learning and training opportunities, especially for our unemployed youth.

“It is also important that these facilities are used optimally to benefit as many as possible; hence importance for CETs (Community Education and Training) programmes also to be run at this centre.

“CET colleges are important in addressing the high unemployment rate among young people, which has become a time ticking bomb if not attended to urgently,” Nzimande said.

It is cool to be an artisan

Nzimande also used the occasion to encourage youth to enrol in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, reiterating that “it is cool to be an artisan”.

Nzimande highlighted some the benefits of enrolling in TVET colleges, including practical skills to prepare students for the workplace and to empower them to create jobs.

“You will complete your studies with theoretical and practical skills that will prepare you for the world of work. You will leave the college with skills that employers are looking for. TVET colleges produce highly employable graduates, as research has shown.

“There are many employment opportunities for artisans, and most importantly, to create your own jobs,” Nzimande said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy says it is urgently planning to visit Jagersfontein following the mudslide that has devastated the area.

At least one person has died, 40 have been taken to hospital and two others are missing after a dam wall of a disused mine burst, causing the mudslide, and destroying homes and infrastructure in the area.

“We are going to consult with the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Sanitation with a view to conduct an urgent joint oversight visit to the affected area because we appreciate that underground, surface and dam water resources fall under their purview.

“We reiterate our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and friends, and assure them of our support during this very difficult time. May the… deceased rest in eternal peace,” the committee’s chairperson, Sahlulele Luzipo, said.

Illegal mining

Meanwhile, the same committee, together with the Portfolio Committees on Police and Home Affairs, conducted an oversight visit to the Sekhuhkhune District in Limpopo over the weekend in a bid to determine to extent of illegal mining in the area.

Illegal mining has come to the fore since the gang rape of eight women, allegedly at the hands of illegal miners, near Krugersdorp in Gauteng.

During their Limpopo visit, the three committees were told that some community members have resorted to illegal mining as a result of unsuccessful mining licence applications.

According to community members, they enter into the illegal sphere in order to feed their families because all mining rights in the area belong to big mining groups.

Luzipo called on the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to resolve the licensing challenges.

“[While] we understand your frustration, however, we cannot promise to resolve the issue of licensing. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy must help… so that the community can also get an opportunity to participate in the mining business,” Luzipo said.

According to a statement released on behalf of the three committees, the illegal miners are targeting platinum, chrome and gold.

“In an effort to thwart illegal mining activities in the area, the committees were informed that the South African Police Service embarked on a joint operation to fight illegal mining activities in the area and there has reportedly been progress.

“The committees also heard that when illegal miners are pushed out of Sekhukhune, they often relocate to other parts of the province, in areas such as Mopani and Waterberg districts, or they move to other provinces to continue their illegal mining activities,” the statement read.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, says finding a new social compact is a work in progress, as the country grapples with the burden of socio-economic challenges and the rapid changes taking place in the workplace post COVID-19.

“We do need to engage with some speed on the difficult issues such as labour law reform, the Employment Services Amendment Bill and migration policy.

“This is still a work in progress. It has not been easy. But we can take comfort from the fact that parties are engaging and have committed to finding each other,” Nxesi said.

The Minister was delivering the opening address at the 27th National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) Annual National Summit held on Friday.

The summit was attended by representatives of government, organised business, community and labour.

Nxesi said the persistent high unemployment rate remains South Africa’s number one priority. He appealed to all social partners to continue to engage, to find areas of collaboration, to build on these, and to seek to commit their constituencies.

“While we are working on this societal social compact, we must keep in mind, that at a concrete level, there are many actually existing other social compacts in South Africa that we need to recognise and support.

“Nedlac must be at the forefront of growing the practice of social compacting as a way of working. We are witnessing this already starting to take place. Over time, we see the role of Nedlac evolving as being the apex of social compacting – supporting and collaborating with other sectors, provinces or local social compacts,” he said. 

Community Constituency Overall Convener, Thulani Tshefuta, said social compacting among constituencies is not about “pleasing each other, but dealing with socio-economic issues facing the country”.

Organised Labour Overall Convenor, Bheki Ntshalintshali, cautioned that the country must take urgent action to mitigate unemployment. 

Future of work

Reflecting on the ever evolving workplace and jobs of the future, Nxesi said there must be a focus on sustainability, just transitions from the old to the new, technological changes and the reorganisation of work. 

He reiterated his support of the International Labour Organization’s Global Commission on the Future of Work report, which calls for “a human-centred agenda for the future of work”, by placing people and the work they do at the centre of economic and social policy, and business practice.

The report calls for a human-centred agenda that is forward-looking and focuses on developing the human capabilities needed to thrive in carbon-neutral, digital age economies.

The ILO report further calls on stakeholders to take responsibility for building a just and equitable future of work.

“I think we would have to say that recent events, particularly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, have speeded up these trends and point to the need for research that is focused on solutions.

“Most obviously, we now have the widespread ‘work from home’ phenomenon. We still await findings on the long-term effects of this, although I know it has led to major reprioritisation in government and private sector budgets,” Nxesi said.

He said after the country had emerged from the worst of the pandemic and sought to rebuild, Nedlac also brought social partners together with government to develop the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Programme.

The ERRP has since developed around a series of work streams, especially on energy, transport and logistics, and small medium and micro enterprises.

Nxesi said Nedlac needs to be proactive leading on the major challenges, and it should be agile and contemporary in taking up topical issues such as the cost of living and energy.

He cautioned that Nedlac should not allow itself to turn itself into a bargaining forum when there are existing bargaining forums.

Reimaging

Organised Business Convenor and Business Unity South Africa (Busa) Chief Executive, Cas Coovadia, said there is a critical need to relook Nedlac.

Coovadia said Nedlac needs to revisit its mandate and ask itself if it is still ‘fit for purpose’. He said the institution has historically played a constructive role in dealing with socio-economic challenges, including COVID-19.

“The question we need to ask is whether we are representative and is our mandate enough. It is, however, encouraging that these are issues we are discussing at governing structures,” Coovadia said.

According to the Employment and Labour Department, the Nedlac Annual Summit provides a platform to reflect and discuss policy responses.

“Nedlac is the vehicle by which government, labour, business and community organisations seek to cooperate — through problem-solving and negotiation — on economic, labour and development issues, and related challenges facing the country,” the department said. 

Source: South African Government News Agency

Eskom says it has returned at least 37 generation units to service following what Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jan Oberholzer, called a “disastrous week” for the power utility.

Last week, Eskom announced that Stage 2 load shedding would be implemented throughout the week. However, the breakdown of some 42 generation units quickly escalated load shedding to Stage 4 by Saturday.

Oberholzer, together with Eskom management, briefed media on Monday morning on the state of the power system and the challenges it faces.

Describing a week in which Eskom suffered generation unit breakdowns and slow returns to service, Oberholzer acknowledged that the “performance of generation…is extremely disappointing”.

“If you add all of the [generation unit breakdowns] up, we had 42 units tripping during the week… just under 24 000 MW – some of them more than once.

“We managed to return 37 units [to service], totalling about 22 000MW – a really poor performance of our generation coal fleet during last week,” he said.

As of Monday morning, Eskom has some 5 319MW of power out on planned maintenance, with more than 15 000MW offline due to breakdowns.

Some 7 500MW capacity, from 13 generation units, is expected to return to service over the next three days.

“Stage 4 load shedding on Saturday and Sunday allowed us to replenish the damn levels at the pump storage power stations and there has been progress in filing the diesel tanks at the open cycle gas turbine cycles… but the diesel levels are still low.

“Stage 3 load shedding will remain implemented until 5am on Tuesday morning. For the remainder of the week until midnight on Friday, Stage 2 load shedding will be required while we attempt to return those 13 units to service. This outlook may change at short notice, should we experience unforeseen breakdowns,” Oberholzer said.

Koeberg 

Oberholzer said some 920MW of capacity at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s Unit 2 remains offline, since the beginning of this month.

The big unit – one of Eskom’s most reliable – tripped during routine testing ahead of its full return to service following maintenance outage since January.

“Industry experience indicates that this type of issue can be experienced for a period following the replacement of the control rod drive mechanism, which we did during the last outage.

“I can assure the public that the Koeberg team, together with the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), continue to perform tests on the system and are analysing the results in detail to ensure the reason is fully understood.

“Once all the tests are completed and all the measures to reduce the risk of production impact have been assessed and if possible, implemented, the unit will be returned to service,” Oberholzer said.

Source: South African Government News Agency