Day: September 14, 2022

The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services has learnt with a sense of deep sadness of the passing of Magistrate Romay van Rooyen over the weekend.

Ms Van Rooyen started her career as a prosecutor in 1997, prosecuting in the district and regional courts before becoming a State Advocate in the Western Cape High Court. She became an acting Magistrate in 2016 where she presided at various Magistrates Courts in the Western Cape and was, with effect from 1 October 2021, permanently appointed as additional Magistrate for the Vredenburg Magistrates Court.

The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, in expressing his sadness, called on criminal justice system role-players to bring the perpetrators swiftly to book.

“The safety of our judicial officers remains an utmost priority. Magistrate’s Van Rooyen’s untimely passing is a devastating loss to our judiciary and our courts. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends and colleagues,” said Minister Lamola.

Source: Government of South Africa

Inspection and Enforcement Services to host employer advocacy session in Swellendam – Western Cape Province

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) in the Western Cape Province, is inviting employers and stakeholders to an advocacy session with the purpose to share information regarding the IES Agriculture project which will be embarked on in Swellendam and Bonnievale from 19-23 September 2022.

The Agriculture project which will take place in a form of blitz inspections is due to the overall high non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulations that need to be monitored, and the recently increased national minimum wages especially in the farm worker sector. Several complaints have been received of illegal and underpaid foreign national employed in the area.

The advocacy session will discuss among others; requirements in terms of various labour legislations i.e. Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Sectoral Determination 13: Agriculture, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, Unemployment Insurance Act and Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act.

Furthermore, the session will provide information on the benefits of the Departments’ Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) portal, foreign national employees, and address any labour-related enquiries.

Source: Government of South Africa

Mpumalanga stakeholders make inputs for sustainable water resources management

The Department of Water and Sanitation engaged key water sector stakeholders to make inputs into the National Water Resource Strategy 3 (NWRS-3) during a Consultative Workshop held at Capital Hotel in Mbombela on 13 September 2022. One of the key objectives of the consultative workshop was to obtain commitment and support for the NWRS-3 in order to improve the management of water resources in the country. The primary key focus of the NWRS-3 is to ensure equitable and sustainable access to and use of water by all South Africans while sustaining the water resource.

The Cabinet approved the National Water Resource Strategy 3 for gazetting and public consultation.

In his provincial overview presentation, the Mpumalanga Provincial Head of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Mr Fikile Guma reminded the delegates that the Mpumalanga Province is bordered by two countries, the Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini and that all rivers are part of the internationally shared basins. He outlined that the Komati-Usuthu basin is shared with the Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Mr Guma further outlined the water resource challenges in the province which include stressed catchments where demand exceed availability / allocation of water resources due to climate variability and anthropogenic activities, deteriorating water resource quality due to water and waste management at local government, unauthorised water abstractions, non-payment of water resource management charges resulting in huge water debt, and the need for transformation of water allocation to address the historical disparity in allocation across all race groups.   

The NWRS-3 workshop broke into four commissions which looked and deliberated on issues of increasing water supply, managing water and sanitation services, regulating the water and sanitation sector, reducing water demand, redistributing water for transformation, promoting international cooperation, creating effective water sector institutions, addressing legislative and policy gaps, managing water and sanitation under a changing climate, improving raw water quality, protecting and restoring ecological infrastructure, data collection, analysis and information management for effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting, building capacity for action, ensuring financial sustainability and enhancing research development  and innovation.

Inputs from the commissions included the need for government to enforce documented legislation, the need to speed up the transformation and capacitation of water user associations, the need to regulate all sectors equally, the review of the licensing fees, increase public-private partnerships, climate change adaptation strategies, the fastracking of the verification and validation process and the need for improved intergovernmental relations.

The outcomes of the Mpumalanga NWRS 3 consultative workshop will go a long way in ensuring sustainable water resource management for the socio-economic development of the country.

For more information, contact Sputnik Ratau, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 082 874 2942

Source: Government of South Africa

The Electoral Commission invites members of the media to a research seminar, themed: Safeguarding Electoral Democracy in the Age of Growing Mistrust.

Between 2009 to 2021, the Electoral Commission commissioned numerous election-related surveys to gauge levels of public perceptions and trends in the attitudes and interests of South African voters in electoral democracy and voting.

These studies were conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). 

The HSRC was recently requested by the Electoral Commission to undertake an analysis of the long-term trends in all the election-related surveys conducted to date. 

These findings will now be presented at a public seminar, intended to create a dialogue between the Electoral Commission, its partners and stakeholders to reflect on the broader implications of the findings not only for the work of the institution,

but for the future of South Africa’s electoral democracy. 

Source: Government of South Africa

Between 29 August 2022 and 4 September 2022, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers have achieved the arrest of 147 individuals for a variety of crimes. LEAP is an initiative of the Western Cape Government (WCG) and is run in partnership with the City of Cape Town.

In this same time period, LEAP officers have amongst others: 

• Searched 6 612 persons
• Searched 244 houses
• Conducted 6 612 patrols in hotspot areas
• Conducted 186 roadblocks
• Searched 665 vehicles
   

Of the 147 persons that were arrested, 1 was for the possession of an illegal firearm, 3 for the possession of illegal ammunition, 1 for the possession of an imitation firearm, 112 for the possession of drugs and 9 for the possession of dangerous weapons. Confiscations and all other arrests occurred in the various areas where LEAP is deployed. 

As LEAP officers work with a multitude of law enforcement agencies, they conducted 147 joint and Integrated operations with other City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Agencies and SAPS.

Minister Reagen Allen said: “These operations undertaken by LEAP are vital, as they are serving to reduce murders in key hotspots in the province. The 1st quarter crime stats of the 2022/23 financial year show how important LEAP is, as during this period, there has been an 8,2% reduction in the murder rate when compared to the same period of the 2021/22 financial year, at SAPS stations where LEAP officers are currently deployed. This shows how important it is to have the extra boots on the ground, as they ensure that extra visibility.” 

LEAP officers stem from the WCG’s Safety Plan, which was initiated in September 2019. The Safety Plan, which is the brainchild of Premier Alan Winde, came about as a result of the WCG’s commitment to address the high murder rate in the province. The primary aim is to reduce the murder rate by 50% by 2029. The Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town work in partnership to deliver LEAP.

These officers are deployed in a strategic, data-led and evidence-based manner to those locations where they can make the biggest difference in turning around negative crime statistics. This includes our top 10 murder areas in the Western Cape, such as Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Khayelitsha (Site B policing precinct), Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga, Philippi East, and Samora Machel. Other high crime areas in which they are deployed are Atlantis, Bishop Lavis and Hanover Park, along with Lavender Hill, Steenberg and Grassy Park.

LEAP incorporates information from the WCG’s Safety Dashboard. This dashboard is providing real-time data to provincial safety stakeholders and helps identify exactly where the LEAP officers are most required. This strengthens our hand to anticipate where new hotspots may appear so that we can deploy the necessary resources to prevent crime and save lives. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) data is set to be integrated with the Safety Dashboard, to provide us with a more complete picture of violence and trauma in the province, upon which we can launch our LEAP response.

Minister Reagen Allen added: “We want to manage SAPS in the same manner, and this is why we continue to call for the police to be devolved to a capable province and government such as ours. I urge the National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele to enact this, as the facts paint a clear picture. Under us, SAPS will once again become a service that residents trust wholeheartedly.”

“It’s critical that we all continue to play a role in creating a safer Western Cape. I urge all sectors of society to join us in the fight against crime, as neither LEAP, nor its partners in the City of Cape Town or SAPS alone would be able to achieve this,” concluded Minister Allen.

Source: Government of South Africa