Category: Reportage

Source: South Africa News Agency

Government has declared a national state of disaster to deal with the country’s drought and water crisis.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister Zweli Mkhize made the announcement on behalf of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Drought and Water Scarcity during a media briefing in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Minister Mkhize said government stands ready to provide financial assistance where necessary and subject to legal prescripts.

During the Budget Speech, it was announced that a provisional allocation of R6 billion has been set aside in the 2018/19 financial year for several purposes, including drought relief and to augment public infrastructure investment.

Minister Mkhize said measures are being put in place to ensure that requests for funding are being considered, as received from the provinces.

Drought reclassified as a national disaster

The reclassification of the drought as a national disaster was done by the Head of the National Disaster Management Centre, under Government Notice 107/2017, published in Government Gazette 41439 on 13 February 2018.

The reclassification of drought as a national disaster designated the primary responsibility for the coordination and management of the disaster to the national executive, who must act in close cooperation with the other spheres of government to deal with the disaster and its consequences. The declaration covers a period of three months.

Minister Mkhize said that three provinces including Western Cape, some parts of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape are extremely affected, and are not yet showing comforting signs of improvement.

“At this stage there is no indication to support rainfall that is more than 25 millimetres for the Western and Northern Cape Provinces, except perhaps a low likelihood along the south coastal areas,” Minister Mkhize said.

Measures to address underlying factors

Minister Mkhize said government has taken measures to address underlying factors, including amongst others, weak intergovernmental relations arrangements in development planning and implementation, ageing infrastructure, lack of operations and maintenance of infrastructure, and capacity constraints particularly with regard to technical expertise.

Actions to take place to ensure heightened drought interventions across the country include:

• The National Joint Drought Coordination Committee (NJDCC) will meet monthly and continue coordinating integrated multi-sectoral intervention measures to address the drought situation in the affected provinces.
• All sectors will mobilise their resources and implement relevant sectoral programmes to deal with drought in an integrated and coordinated manner to avoid duplication of efforts.
• The development of an integrated water conservation model will be pursued through multi-sectoral engagements under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Drought and Water Scarcity. 
• The country will work hard to enhance the weather forecasting capacity to ensure impact-based early warning services to enhance public knowledge and safety from weather related incidents. This will be done under the leadership of the South African Weather Services.
• A team of research experts will be constituted to carry out on-going research and provide evidence-based interventions taking into account the prevailing and emerging disaster risk scenarios.
• National and provincial government will continue to work with municipalities to respond effectively to the water crisis.
• COGTA will strengthen its Back to Basics Programme to support municipalities to improve water management. This includes intensifying maintenance programmes to reduce water losses as well as the refurbishment and replacement of infrastructure.
• The sectors will continue activating their climate change adaptation strategies and plans to support municipalities within the provinces.
• Government will continue with the implementation of the “War on Leaks” programme where communities report all the water leaks. Municipalities must act by repairing the leaking pipes.
• The IMTT will continue to regularly consider reports received from the NJDCC on measures being put in place to improve coordination and deployment of resources for response and recovery from the drought disaster, and to provide political guidance.

SA’s dam levels

According to a report released by the Department of Water and Sanitation last week, South Africa’s dams saw an improvement by a fraction of a percent (0.2%), compared to their levels a week before.

The department indicated that the levels went up from 63.2% to 63.4%.

The report showed that the drought-stricken Western Cape maintains the lowest dam levels in the country at 25.5%, having dropped from 26.1% in the previous week.

Despite the scarcity of rain, Gauteng has the highest dam levels at 92.8%, followed by Mpumalanga at 77.9% and Northern Cape at 67.9%.

Minister Mkhize however warned that these levels do not imply that these provinces are out of the woods in terms of drought conditions, as water scarcity remain a common condition of most of the communities calling for a change of behaviour and the safe use of water. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Management and the board of South African Airways (SAA) are working around the clock to turn the airline’s fortunes around.

“The board of SAA has noted and accepted the Auditor General’s report,” says SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana. “The majority of the airline’s operations are sound, and we are building on this to ensure we break the loss-making cycle and transform the airline into a viable and sustainable entity,” said Jarana.

Jarana said all is being done to address the issues raised by the Auditor General’s office in its 2016-17 audit report.

To turn the national carrier’s fortunes around, the board which was announced by former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba in October last year, has developed and approved a strategy aimed at ensuring success at the airline.

“The board has developed and approved a clear strategy and five-year plan to turn the airline around, and we are working closely with the board and the shareholder to ensure we succeed.

“SAA has had many previous turnaround strategies which have not been implemented before. This time it is different: we believe the vision outlined by the board is absolutely correct, and are committed to ensuring it is put into practice.

“We need a clean break with the past and a new approach to the future, and that is precisely what we are doing. We are acting with urgency to ensure the viability and sustainability of this crucial national asset,” said Jarana on Tuesday.

The CEO pointed out that the AG’s report was the first since the Auditor General was appointed as SAA’s auditors, having been appointed as part of the airline’s commitment to audit firm rotation.

The report released last week covers the financial year ending March 2017. Jarana said the report has “provided a fresh pair of eyes, particularly as the team went a number of years back where required to establish an appropriate baseline.”

Auditor General (AG) Kimi Makwetu tabled his audit reports in Parliament on Thursday showing that the airline had received a qualified report.

“The AG has given us a comprehensive diagnosis into key areas of our business and this has provided deep insights which will contribute to a fit for purpose group of businesses.”

The AG’s report forms part of SAA’s integrated report along with financial results for FY2016/2017, which are due to be announced later this month.

The airline has incurred a net loss of R5.569 billion (2015/2016: R1, 478 billion) and expects that its financial situation will not be much different for FY2017/2018.

Jarana said significant steps have already been taken as part of the turnaround strategy to take SAA to profitability in the medium term.

Details of the turnaround plan

The five-year plan and strategy require support and funding by the shareholder [National Treasury]. Meanwhile, the board and the shareholder are currently evaluating the appropriate terms for such support.

The immediate focus of the strategy is on liquidity management, balance sheet restructuring, cost management as well as revenue optimisation, which are intended to stem the losses and drive profitability.

The airline said steps taken so far include:

• Improving governance by strengthening the board and its structures.
• Injecting R10-billion capital into SAA to improve its balance sheet.
• Addressing the leadership vacuum by filling key executive vacancies.

In addition, network optimisation has been implemented on the domestic, regional and international route network to improve yields.

The London route will be served by an upgraded product and reduced to a single daily service. SAA had earlier announced that it will operate single daily flights from Johannesburg to London on a daily basis as of 20 April.

On Tuesday, the airline said the network changes are necessary as its route network remains under intense scrutiny with clear defined minimum profit margin target at route and network level.

A change hub has been set up as command centre for implementation of the change initiatives. 

The R10-billion capital injection from National Treasury late last year has helped restructure the balance sheet and improve SAA’s equity position.  

“However, it is important to note that SAA has never been properly capitalised, and any company has a defined maximum debt capacity beyond which debt becomes a burden. We need to do more and work closely with the shareholder to find lasting solutions that will materially improve SAA’s equity position,” said Jarana.

Jarana said while SAA faces financial challenges, it remains as a well-recognised and respected brand in the aviation industry.

“We have a great reputation and track record for passenger safety and our on-time performance is among the best in the aviation industry, as well as numerous air travel recognition awards.

“We can assure our stakeholders that the shareholder, the board and management are doing everything practically possible to address SAA’s financial status and to transform the airline’s financial, commercial and strategic position.” – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies is expected to address the upcoming Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission’s annual conference that will place the spotlight on improving state procurement.

Joined by his Deputy Bulelani Magwanishe and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Joan Fubbs, Minister Davies is expected to reflect on the commission’s progress in accelerating B-BBEE at the conference on Thursday.

“The Minister is expected to reflect on the commission’s progress in accelerating B-BBEE so far through its investigations and findings, and compliance work aimed at assisting entities to implement B-BBEE correctly and more effectively.

“Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Magwanishe will cover the extent to which the state has progressed in giving effect to B-BBEE, including the statistics on compliance reports submitted by state entities and departments as required by the B-BBEE Act,” said the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) on Monday.

Accounting officers, procurement officers and chief operating officers from all spheres of government, state-owned entities and the private sector are expected to exchange views on what is expected of them. This is in relation to the implementation of the B-BBEE Act.

Commissioner of the B-BBEE Commission, Zodwa Ntuli, said the conference will focus on state procurement, grants, incentives, licensing and concessions as a means to achieve real economic transformation to provide black people with access to opportunities.

It will provide a cordial platform to engage with a view to improve delivery against the objectives of the B-BBEE Act.

“The B-BBEE can be utilised to bring about economic transformation and access to opportunities and markets by black people through procurement, grants, incentives, licensing and other concessions, and processes within the state must align fully with this purpose. One of the main threats to the success of B-BBEE in addition to fronting is that most state entities and departments are far from integrating B-BBEE in these processes, creating a fertile ground for fronting practices,” said Ntuli.

The B-BBEE Commission was established in terms of Section 13B of the amended B-BBEE Act No 46 of 2013. The Commission’s mandate, amongst others, is to supervise and encourage adherence to the B-BBEE Act in the interest of the public, to promote good governance and accountability by creating an effective and efficient environment for the promotion and implementation of the objectives of broad-based black economic

The Commission, which is an agency of the dti, effectively commenced with its operations on 1 April 2016.

The conference will take place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, under the theme: “Improving State Procurement for Real Empowerment”. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

The Portfolio Committee on Police has called on SAPS station and unit commanders to take proactive steps if they see members experiencing wellness challenges.

Family members have a duty to report abnormal behaviour, the Committee said on Monday.

“SAPS members who experience stress due to operational duties and personal challenges should utilise the wellness programmes that are offered by the SAPS. Family members are also urged to report the abnormal behaviour to the supervisors of SAPS members,” Chairperson of the Committee on Police, Francois Beukman said.

The call comes after a second incident in a few weeks where a police officer has killed his partner and committed suicide.

A police officer in Ocean View near Cape Town shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself while they were at a neighbour’s house.

The incident follows the one at Lentegeur near Cape Town where a police officer killed both his girlfriend and her mother, before turning the gun on himself during a hostage situation.

Beukman said that work stress and personal circumstances are normally the drivers of these very tragic incidents.

As such, he said, service firearms should immediately be confiscated if risk factors come to the fore.

Beukman added that the Portfolio Committee will raise the matter today with the National Commissioner of Police, General Khehla Sitole, to ensure that wellness protocols are adhered to and the necessary support is given for SAPS members who experience wellness challenges. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

The house used as a brothel in Klerksdorp, North West, is set to be demolished following a successful forfeiture order granted by the North Gauteng High Court. Pretoria High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) in the North West a forfeiture order on Friday, the Hawks said on Monday. The Priority Crime Specialised Investigations… See more