Category: Educationn

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has made three changes to his Executive Council.

On Tuesday, the Premier announced that former MEC Xolile Nqata was moving from Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to Transport and Community Safety.

Nonceba Kontsiwe has moved from Human Settlements to Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture.

Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi has been moved from the Social Development portfolio to Human Settlements.

New MEC Zolile Williams will take over the COGTA portfolio.

While Bukiwe Fanta is the new MEC for Social Development, Ntombovuyo Nkopane takes over as new MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure.

Mabuyane said the Eastern Cape Provincial Government welcomes the new Members of the Executive Council and wishes them well in their new portfolios.

“Provincial government also thanks the outgoing MECs, Ms Wezike Tikana and Ms Fezeka Nkomonye, respectively, for the great work and wish them well in their future endeavours,” he said.

Last month, the Premier acceded to the request by the former MEC of Public Works and Infrastructure, who asked to be released from the Executive.

Mabuyane said: “This necessitated that I undertake an intense process of finding a long-term solution of filling the vacancy to the conclusion of this term. In doing so, I also had to consider the fact that we are halfway through the term of the 6th Administration.”

The Premier said “this team ticks the right boxes in terms of the requisite leadership skills, the 60/40 percent gender equity in favour of women MECs, and the geographic spread of the province”.

Mabuyane expressed his expectations on the deliverables that need to be achieved.

“In this regard, I have served them with draft Delivery Agreements that need to be signed before the end of this month.

“That’s how urgent the task is. I have told them unambiguously that I expect them to be amongst the communities and stakeholders we serve all the time. We are not in office to sit in air-conditioned offices. We are here to serve the masses out there. We must know what the situation is on the ground, where our people reside,” he said.

The Premier urged Heads of Departments, government officials, and all stakeholders in the affected departments to offer the new MECs maximum support in the provincial government’s collective endeavor to fight unemployment, poverty and inequality.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister Nzimande statement on the ending of the coastal TVET college administration

The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande reached a mutual agreement with the Coastal College Administrator, Mr Ndoda Biyela to bring to a close the period of Administration, by end of August 2022.

The Department of Higher Education and Training has commenced with the process to appoint a permanent college Principal in order to bring certainty and stability to the college.

An acting Principal will be appointed as from next month whilst finalising the appointment of a permanent principal, a process that is at an advanced stage.

Mr Ndoda Biyela was appointed by the Minister as an Administrator at Coastal TVET College on the 1st December 2020. The Administrator was appointed to execute both the functions of governance and management.

Minister has noted several concerns that have been raised by stakeholders on the state of functionality of the college. All these matters will be addressed as we move the college towards the appointment of permanent senior management.

Minister Nzimande wishes to thank all stakeholders including staff members, labour Unions and students for having worked with the Administrator in ensuring that the academic project is not compromised.

Minister Nzimande wishes to thank the Administrator for his willingness to serve the college and wishes him well in his future endeavours.

Source: Government of South Africa

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will be conducting zero pressure tests on the main water supply to the Claremont, Kenilworth, and Wynberg areas. This work will result in the disruption of water supply to this area from 21:00 on Wednesday, 17 August 2022, until 04:00 on Thursday, 18 August 2022.

Zero-pressure testing is part of the installation process for pressure management technology. Tests are done to see if there are any unmapped inflows that need to be taken into account before smart pressure reducing valves are installed.

Consumers are kindly advised to store water upfront 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 Water Demand Management Strategy. Managing water pressure more effectively reduces the possibility of pipe bursts and water wastage.

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Cheaper and better digital telecommunication connectivity in the country is in sight, the second quarter Operation Vulindlela report has revealed.

This comes after government in April completed the auction of high-demand spectrum.

Speaking during the release of the Operation Vulindlela (OV) report on Friday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said analogue switch-off has already been completed in five provinces.

OV was established in October 2020 as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms.

It is a government-wide approach through which Ministers, departments and entities implement reforms. A Vulindlela Unit in the Presidency and National Treasury monitors progress, addresses challenges and actively supports implementation.

OV’s five key objectives are:

stabilise supply of electricity;

reduce cost and improve quality of digital communications;

provide sustainable water supply to meet demand;

provision of competitive and efficient freight transport and

establish a visa regime that attracts skills and grows tourism.

Godongwana said while the final switch-off date for analogue transmission has been delayed by a decision of the Constitutional Court, work continues to migrate remaining households to digital signal in order to complete this process.

“Government intends to provide a subsidised set-top box to any indigent households that have not yet migrated and complete switch-off in remaining provinces.

“The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies will shortly communicate a new date for analogue switch-off following consultations with stakeholders in the sector.”

To facilitate faster deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, Godongwana said the Rapid Deployment Policy and Policy Direction has been finalised for approval by Cabinet.

“We anticipate that a standard draft by-law for wayleave approvals will be adopted for rollout in municipalities by October 2022.”

Water sector

Quarter 2 also saw significant progress achieved in the water sector, the report reveals.

During this period, government cleared the backlog of water use licence applications to close to 1 000 outstanding.

Godongwana said the challenges were cleared as a result of a turnaround plan supported by OV.

“This will unlock billions of rands in new investment in agriculture, forestry and other sectors, which was held up by outstanding licence approvals.

“Draft legislation for the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency has been finalised, and will be published for public consultation shortly. This will enable much greater investment in our bulk water resources,” he said.

In addition, a Water Partnerships Office has been established between the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to enable private sector participation in water infrastructure and management.

“The reinstatement of the Green Drop water quality monitoring system has enabled greater transparency regarding the quality of water and sanitation services at municipal level.

“Following on this report, the department is putting in place a range of measures to improve the quality of water services at municipal level. This includes intervening in municipalities that fail to meet minimum norms and standards. These reforms will have a fundamental impact on the way in which the water sector is managed, and will ensure future water security,” Godongwana said.

Tourism

In an effort to support the tourism sector, last year government rolled out the e-visa system and extended it to 14 countries.

The Minister said during the next quarter, government will explore the feasibility of a visa recognition programme, which will allow the holders of certain visas of recognised countries to enter South Africa without a new application process.

Skills shortage

Government has amended and published an updated the Critical Skills List for the first time since 2014.

This now includes additional skilled occupations in the medical field, which are in short supply.

In the last quarter, government completed a comprehensive review of the work visa system aimed at identifying improvements that could enhance the effectiveness of SA’s visa system and will work to implement the recommendations of the report by March 2023.

“Our previous modelling has showed that attracting skills that the economy needs could have the second-highest impact on economic growth after resolving the energy shortfall. Significant progress has been made and is being made to implement these reforms, and to address the urgent challenges that our economy faces,” said Godongwana.

Source: South African Government News Agency