Month: March 2023

Ms Rafatu Salami, the Executive Director, Okenite Foundation for Special Needs Children, has called on government to expand inclusive health care services for women and people caring for children with disabilities.

Salami made the call at the Voices for Women’s Health high level meeting organised by the She Forum Africa in collaboration with Pathfinder International and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, on Thursday in Abuja.

She advised the incoming administration to focus on improving women’s health.

” Often neglected or perhaps not even recognised is the fact that those who have special needs children have dire need for social support as they go through unimaginable stress levels that could hinder their ability to provide proper care for the child.

“We have seen women going into complete mental breakdown, depression and totally lacking any will power to live because the task of caring for the child with disability could be overwhelming.

” So as we provide care for people with disabilities, let’s also provide the needed psychological care for the caregivers who in most cases are women,” she appealed.

Also, a panelist, Helen Beyioku-Alase, the President, Deaf Women Aloud initiative, said inspite of all legislations in the country, the health of women with disabilities was still not prioritised and health care provision was yet to be inclusive.

The Co-convener of the meeting, Ms Inimfok Etuk, explained that the event was convened to set agenda for the incoming administration.

” It is time to mobilize multi sectoral efforts to shape new priorities that would enhance quality, supportive and effective decision-making as they affect women’s health.” (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says from 1 April 2023, the department will take over the implementation of the emergency housing programme.

This will effectively see the provincial emergency housing grant and the municipal emergency housing grant come to an end. It will also result in the department being able to respond faster to assist those affected by disasters.

Announcing policy changes to accelerate performance in the housing sector at a media briefing in Cape Town, Kubayi said the increase in the frequency of natural disasters and the severity of the devastation requires a Human Settlements disaster response that is swift and appropriate for alleviating the plight of the affected.

The Minister acknowledged that the department’s response has been “underwhelming and slow”, resulting in disaster victims finding themselves without homes two to three years after disaster has struck.

“In some instances, people have been in temporary structures for more than 15 years when the policy says these structures must be replaced within six months,” Kubayi said.

She attributed the inadequate response to long delays in applications for disaster grant funding from affected municipalities and provinces due to the lack of skills for assessment of disasters at a provincial and municipal level; the dysfunctionality of municipalities due to political instability, and prolonged delays in land acquisition, which frustrates the process of temporarily accommodating people.

“We also realise that the method of the allocation of funds amongst the provinces was suboptimal, as some provinces are more prone to disasters than others,” Kubayi said.

Working with National Treasury, the Minister said, the department has determined that the response to disasters will be more effective when managed at a national level.

“This also means that emergency funds will be available for deployment to the affected areas at the time of need, rather than being appropriated to a province or municipality that does not experience a disaster during the financial year.

“We believe that this approach will enhance collaborative planning amongst the three spheres of government, in anticipation of disasters and simplify the response so that we optimise funds allocation across the country and improve the response time,” Kubayi said.

However, Kubayi emphasised that provinces and municipalities are expected to ensure that they still attend to all outstanding households, whose properties were destroyed in previous disasters and are yet to receive assistance, despite the municipalities and provinces having received funding for those disasters.

Emergency Housing Command Centre

As part of implementing the emergency housing programme in the new financial year, the Minister said the Emergency Housing Command Centre has been established to coordinate the national disaster response.

“It will have linkages to the South African Weather Service and provide the ability to receive early warning alerts to enable the proactive mobilisation of resources to respond to imminent disaster.

“This will also link to the National Disaster Centre and will not work in a competitive or contradictory manner. This allows communities direct access to report incidents via email at EHR@dhs.gov.za,” the Minister explained.

In addition, a disaster management team, which combines and leverages the skills and capacity of the department and departmental entities - including the Housing Development Agency, National Home Builders Regulatory Council, and the National Housing Finance Corporation - has been created.

“A framework has been developed, which includes the definition of the roles and responsibilities, the implementation guidelines and the Standard Operating Procedure. This team is ready to commence with the work on 1 April 2023.

“We have further decided that instead of providing Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) for disaster-affected households, we will introduce a permanent solution through alternative building technology (ABT), particularly in rural areas where mud houses often disintegrate during severe rainfall,” Kubayi said.

Other measures will include the provision of vouchers for affected households to enable them to build their own homes; the provision of building material for residents in informal settlements to rebuild in the same location or to relocate to safer land, working alongside social facilitators, and the provision of Transitional Emergency Accommodation (TEA), which could include using various identified vacant government buildings across the country that can be transformed into habitable environments.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the sentencing of four traffic officials after they pleaded guilty on multiple fraud counts.

The four officials – Joyce Selepe, Ida Mdluli, Thembi Mavuso and Mduduzi Nkutha – were sentenced to fines of between R30 000 and R80 000 or between two and five years’ imprisonment with two to five further years suspended.

The corruption busting unit said the four were arrested with four others in 2019 following an investigation into “a scam used by the officials to fraudulently dump heavy motor vehicle licence fees, arrears, and penalties which enabled operators to avoid payment”.

“The SIU was authorised -under Proclamation R37 of 2017- to investigate the allegations of serious maladministration, improper or unlawful conduct by employees, officials, or agents of the Department of Transport and unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money or property as well as registration and licensing of motor vehicles,” the SIU said.

The unit’s investigation also included various other allegations of:

Fraud in the registration of motor vehicle ownership or licensing details.

Issuing of driving licences, learner's licences or professional driving permits.

Conversion of foreign driving licences and military driving licences to driving licences, issuing of roadworthy certificates; or issuing of operator fitness cards.

“The SIU is also investigating the entering of, changing, tampering with, or manipulation of, data or information on the electronic National Traffic Information System in a manner that was contrary to applicable legislation, manuals, policies, procedures, prescripts, instructions or practices of, or applicable to the Institutions and resulted or could potentially result in the circumvention of the payment of licensing fees, penalties or any other outstanding moneys due to the State,” the SIU said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has congratulated Siya Njokweni and Thabo Sukanazo for being awarded certificates of recognition by the Global Youth Parliament in Dubai.

The two youngsters were recognised for the sterling work they are doing in uplifting the community through the South African Youth Council (SAYC).

According to the Premier’s Office, Njokweni heads the Economic Development portfolio in the KwaZulu-Natal’s SAYC provincial executive, while Sukanazo is the Deputy Chair at the same independent think tank and publishing house.

The certificates of recognition were awarded to them at the Annual Global Youth Parliament in Dubai this month, which represents more than 100 countries.

Last year, Njokweni flew the provincial flag high by winning the Global Youth Parliament Award under the category of ‘Emerging Youth Leader of 2022’ in Thailand.

“We congratulate Siya Njokweni and Thabo Sukanazo for flying the provincial flag high. Young people like Siya and Thabo make us proud to be KwaZulu-Natal and South African citizens. Winning this prestigious global award is no mean feat for these young people,” said Dube-Ncube.

She said she was grateful to Siya and Thabo for putting KwaZulu-Natal and its youth on the global map.

“We would like to see more young people from our province and the country taking a leap of faith like these young leaders, and steadfastly follow in their footsteps by making KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa a better province and country to live in,” she added.

The Premier also wished the young leaders well as their organisation will bid to host the Global Youth Parliament Summit in 2024 in KwaZulu-Natal.

“If their bid to host the Global Youth Parliament Summit in KwaZulu-Natal next year is successful, it will have a positive impact on our economy, which we are working tirelessly to revive and grow. We wish them success in their endeavour to host the Global Youth Parliament Summit and commit to supporting them throughout the process,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.

The Premier added that hosting the summit will provide infinite opportunities for the youth of the province and also put KwaZulu-Natal on the global stage.

The Global Youth Parliament is one of the largest youth ideas transforming organisations in the world that started in 2010 in Nepal.

The main aim is to motivate young minds in societal work, entrepreneurship, democracy and sustainable development for a better world.

Annually, the organisation, invite two inspiring young people from different countries to enhance the common understanding of the youths.

Their work is involved in entrepreneurship development, network building and democracy by conducting summits, projects and peace.

Source: South African Government News Agency

In an attempt to address the ever-increasing building costs, the Department of Human Settlements will increase the subsidy quantum with 29.7% for the 2023/2024 financial year, to help speed up the pace of housing delivery while also addressing the quality of homes provided to beneficiaries.

Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi made this announcement during a media briefing on policy changes to accelerate performance in the housing sector.

Among the policy changes the department is making is the subsidy quantum, the enhancements on fully subsidised housing (Breaking New Ground, commonly known as RDPs), and a new approach to the Emergency Housing Programme.

Last year the department made the decision to increase the subsidy quantum which had not changed for five years. The change has been necessitated by the inflationary impact on the cost of building material which had been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the July 2021 riots.

“With the Ukraine/Russia conflict and the electricity supply challenges, the economic situation has shifted such that the cost of material has gone up again, and the changes we introduced last year are no longer viable for the sector.

“Nevertheless, the situation is such that we are compelled to effect another increase; otherwise, more projects will be left incomplete and construction companies will find it hard to survive,” Kubayi said at the briefing held in Cape Town on Friday.

Kubayi also announced that, from 1 April 2023, the department’s housing programmes will be adjusted as follows:

Breaking New Ground (BNG) services and top structure will move from R196 887 to R255 364;

Houses for persons with disabilities will move from R209 071 to R271 166;

Military veterans' houses will move from R240 607 to R312 069;

First Home Finance will move from R130 505 to R169 265; and

Social housing will move from R327 667 to R424 984.

The amendments will enable the department to accelerate housing delivery, and avoid projects being abandoned.

“We continue with our call to our implementing agents, contractors and developers to deliver quality work on time and within budget.”

BNG enhancements

Enhancements on BNG projects that will start from 2023/24 financial year onwards.

Additionally the change in the quantum is exclusive of the enhancements that are being introduced and is at a reasonable cost that will be kept.

The enhancements include solar panels, where every BNG unit will be fitted with a solar kit so that households can have access to basic electricity. This change will ensure that households who are far from electricity infrastructure can get access to electricity.

“This will also help reduce the network load. We are cognisant of the concerns raised around security and the rising incidence of theft of solar and associated components. We are planning to work with the security cluster and the community forums to find a way to secure these units.

“We have been in contact with the team at the University of Johannesburg that has done work in the provision of solar solutions in village/rural settings. We believe there are lessons to be learned and we can only improve going forward.”

Another enhancement is the fitting of burglar bars in all the units delivered to people with disabilities. This follows reports received by the department that houses provided to persons with disabilities are vulnerable to burglaries and other security issues.

“We will also provide rainwater harvesting devices in rural areas. This will mainly ensure that rural communities have access to essential water services, “said the Minister.

Source: South African Government News Agency

¬President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed South Africa government’s commitment to fighting poverty and providing support to those who are unemployed as a core responsibility of the State.

“As we work to build the economy and create employment, we remain committed to finding appropriate mechanisms to support all those people who need assistance from the State within the resources available,” he said.

The President on Thursday responded to questions for oral reply submitted by Members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the Social Relief Grant and the impact of load shedding on service delivery, among other matters.

This is the President’s first Q and A session in the NCOP since the State of the Nation Address on Feb 9.

Ramaphosa said the implementation of the Social Relief of Distress Grant since 2020 has been one of the important achievements of the sixth administration.

“It has lifted millions of South Africans above the food poverty line at a time of great economic disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made a significant difference in the lives of many people.

“Social grants support economic growth from the bottom up, enable business activity and strengthen social solidarity and stability,” the President said.

According to research, the President said that approximately 50% of the purchases made by SRD grant recipients are groceries.

He highlighted that informal traders in various parts of the country have reported to researchers that the SRD Grant stimulated customer spending, provided capital to purchase stock, and enabled the new businesses to be initiated.

“This grant will be maintained until March 2024 while the economy continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Various options are being explored, taking into account affordability, financing options and efficacy in addressing poverty.

“There is a concerted effort within government to link current grant beneficiaries to various economic opportunities such as skills development, sustainable livelihood programmes and job creation initiatives,” Ramaphosa said.

Source: Nam News Network (NNN)