Category: Reportage

Source: South Africa News Agency

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) says eight additional Listeriosis cases have been reported in the past week.

“Since the last situational update on 3 March 2018, 11 additional cases that occurred in 2017 have been identified through laboratory review, and eight additional cases have been reported to the NICD over the last few days,” said the NICD in its situation report on the Listeriosis outbreak released on Thursday.

Last Sunday, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi called an urgent media briefing where he announced that the source of Listeriosis had been traced to ready-to-eat, processed meat products from Enterprise Foods.

While another facility, known as Rainbow Chicken Limited (RCL), tested positive for Listeria, samples from this facility are not same strain that is causing the outbreak. The cause of the outbreak strain ST6 was confirmed in 16 environmental samples collected from an Enterprise facility.

Processed meat products such as polony, viennas, russians, frankfurters, sausages and cold meat products were listed as no go zones by the Minister.

Since 1 January 2017 and up to Thursday, 967 laboratory confirmed Listeriosis cases have been reported to the NICD from all provinces. Of the 967 cases, 749 cases were reported in 2017 and 218 cases in 2018.

According to the NICD statistics, Gauteng leads with the number of reported cases with 59% of cases from the province.

The Western Cape is second, with 12% of reported cases and KwaZulu-Natal with 7%. Other cases are spread out across other provinces.

Listeriosis has been diagnosed in both the public health sector with 65% of cases reported and 35% in the private health sector.

Minister Motsoaledi called for the public to avoid all processed meats as there is the possibility of cross-contamination among products.

While government has issued a recall on the Enterprise Foods from the market, healthcare workers have been urged to remain alert for new cases that may surface.

“Health care workers are urged to continue with vigilance for new cases, as persons who have consumed implicated processed meat products over the past few weeks may continue to present with Listeriosis,” said the NICD.

The disease is preventable and treatable and people can look out for symptoms which include flu-like symptoms, headaches, general body pains, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach aches.

In a bid to keep track of the outbreak, the NICD has requested that healthcare workers complete case investigation forms, or CIFs, for patients with Listeriosis and submit these to the NICD on outbreak@nicd.ac.za.

“Healthcare workers can also access guidelines on how to manage clinical Listeriosis on the NICD website on www.nicd.ac.za. The NICD continues to operate its 24-hour hotline for healthcare,” said the NICD. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sectors created an additional 39 000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2017, says Stats SA.

According to the Statistics South Africa Quarter Four Labour Force Survey released this week, agriculture made a commendable contribution to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 3.1%.  Stats SA said agriculture grew by a significant 37.5%, followed by strong growth from the trade sector at 4.8%

Despite challenges with animal and pest disease outbreaks and the persisting drought, the survey indicated that the industry’s growth was mainly the result of higher production of animal products.

The size of the commercial maize crop is reported at 16 820 million tons, 76 000 tons higher than the previous forecast of 16.74 million tons.

For white maize, the recalculated crop size is 9.916 million tons (0.24% higher than the previous forecast), while yellow maize is reported at 6.904 million tons, up by 0.77%.

Within the beef market, total beef slaughtering declined by 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2017, and it is expected that slaughtering will continue to decline in 2018 as herd rebuilding continues after the recovery of good rains and improved grazing conditions.

In his State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about the importance of the sector and the 14% budget increase, which will see the sector increasing its contribution to the economy.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said the department will reprioritise R581.7 million for the black producer commercialisation programme.  

“This will see increased production across all commodities… contributing significantly to poverty alleviation and development for rural economies and the sustainability of food supply,” Minister Zokwana said.

Notwithstanding all the challenges the sector faces, the Minister said the sector continues to contribute positively to the economy, and “this is only possible when all stakeholders work in partnership.”

He thanked all stakeholders in the three sectors for the role they played to grow the economy.

“Working together we can achieve more production, create more jobs and open new markets for South African produce,” Minister Zokwana said.

Agriculture remains critical for employment and food security 

As identified within the National Development Plan (NDP) and New Growth Path, agriculture remains critical for employment and food security.

Agriculture delivers more jobs per rand invested than any other sector, and NDP estimates that agriculture could potentially create one million jobs by 2030. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Pamela Tshwete says the national department has been providing support to the City of Cape Town during what has been its worst drought in years.

The Deputy Minister said this when Members of Parliament debated the impact the current drought in the Western Cape, particularly Cape Town, has had on the country.

Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane announced that Day Zero – the day on which the city will close the taps and residents will have to collect water from central points – was not likely to happen in 2018.

“There is this untrue narrative about the City of Cape Town not receiving assistance from national government. This is inaccurate.

“The Department of Water and Sanitation, through its Western Cape office, serves not just the City of Cape Town but the whole province. The drought is not just localised but provincial; exactly the same as what has happened in other provinces,” she said.

The Deputy Minister said the province has received assistance through the work of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Drought.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has also availed one of its top managers to be part of the City of Cape Town’s advisory committee that keeps the city up to date on all matters related to the drought on a weekly basis.

The Deputy Minister told Members of Parliament the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs had, through a letter dated 22 August 2017, allocated several amounts for drought relief in the Western Cape, including:

• R20,8 million to the City of Cape Town;
• R10,9 million to the Bitou Local Municipality;
• R3,1 million to the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality;
• On the 25 September 2017 a further R40 million was allocated to the Department of Agriculture for animal feed.

“The total sum allocated to the Western Cape therefore totalled R74.8 million,” she said.

In providing support to the Western Cape, and Cape Town in particular, the Department of Water and Sanitation has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the City of Cape Town. Borehole positions have been established on the Department of Water and Sanitation’s premises in the Theewaterskloof Dam basin and the department has assigned additional staff to compliment the maintenance team.

Also, the department has assisted in the management of Cape Town’s systems dams through the application of restrictions which were recently increased. Restrictions on domestic and industrial use increased from 40% to 45% and agricultural use increased from 50% to 60%.

Following meetings with the Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, a directive was issued to Umgeni Water on 11 December 2017 to procure a 10 million litres per day plant as an emergency intervention for City of Cape Town.

“The procurement process has been concluded. Despite the City of Cape Town wanting the project to be delayed in order to find an alternate site for the plant, we continue with preparation for implementation,” she said.

The department has recently provided support to provinces heavily impacted by drought, including KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Free State, North West and the Northern Cape. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Barriers to trade will be under the spotlight at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) annual meetings to be held in Gauteng next week.

South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will co-host the 33rd Annual Meetings of SADC Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Cooperation Structures at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg.

The weeklong deliberations will commence on Sunday with workshops and committee meetings.

The gathering is expected to lay the framework for the continued implementation of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Annex to SADC Protocol on Trade.

The SADC Protocol on Trade aims to progressively eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade among the SADC members and other regional and international trading blocks and promote an infrastructure for quality.

“In July 2014, the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade approved a revised Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Extension. This then led to the formation of a formal framework wherein cooperation among regulators, stakeholders and the national institutions for standardisation, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology can take place,” said Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies on Thursday.

SADC member states attending the meeting will be represented by officials with expertise in the standards, accreditation, technical regulations, metrology and the legal metrology fields. 

The meeting coincides with South Africa’s Chairpersonship of the SADC Council of Ministers, which commenced on 17 August 2017.

The week’s deliberations will build up to a SADC Annual Quality Awards dinner which will take place on Wednesday.

The awards will recognise companies from SADC member states for their robust use and implementation of standards and quality procedures in their operations that have positively contributed to the growth of their businesses.

“This ceremony will also create increased awareness of the importance of a quality culture in pursuit of product competitiveness and increased trade,” said the dti. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Eligible South Africans have been urged by government to register to vote and update their addresses on the voters’ roll this weekend.

“Government calls upon all eligible South African voters to visit their voting stations this coming weekend,” said Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will on Saturday, 10 and Sunday, 11 March, open 22 612 voting registration centres across the country.

In June 2016, the Constitutional Court handed down an order directing the IEC to have a record of addresses for all registered voters before the next General Elections in 2019.

“For the country to have a successful 2019 General Election, the IEC must ensure that its voters’ roll is legitimately updated. We therefore call upon all citizens to play their part by registering and updating their addresses on the voters’ roll,” said Minister Mokonyane.

First time voters, who have been known to be sluggish when it comes to registration, have been particularly called.

“Those who are 17 years old or who will be voting for the first time are called to register. It is your democratic right to vote and make your voice heard. Your contribution to the election process plays an instrumental role in the future of our country,” said Minister Mokonyane.

Voters must visit the voting station in their voting district. The voting stations will be open between 8am and 5pm to assist new voters to register.

To find the correct voting station, members of the public can call the IEC’s contact centre on 0800 11 8000 or go to https://www.elections.org.za/MyIEC/. 

The Department of Home Affairs will also be open during the weekend to assist with issuing of temporary identity documents.

“The registration process is significant, as it is the culmination of the values and beliefs of two great struggle stalwarts, namely former President Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, who fought for a democratic South Africa.

“During this centenary year, let us ‘Be the Legacy’ and protect our hard fought for freedom. We call on all the citizens to go out in their numbers to ensure that their details are correct so that they can exercise their right to vote,” said Minister Mokonyane.

The IEC has 30 June 2018 as its deadline set by the Constitutional Court to ensure that over 26 million voters are registered correctly. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Gauteng Premier David Makhura has followed through on the commitment he made during the State of the Province Address last week to shut down illegal businesses in the inner cities and townships. 

Premier Makhura, together with the MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane and the provincial Police Commissioner, Major General Deliwe de Lange on Thursday, conducted operation O Kae Molao (Setswana meaning “where is the law”) in the Johannesburg CBD. 

During the raid, counterfeit goods were confiscated by the police, while other illegal shopkeepers abandoned their stalls. 

Premier Makhura said a major problem facing the inner city is the mushrooming of unregulated businesses owned by foreign nationals. 

“Counterfeit goods are manufactured and labelled to mislead customers. This is a matter we must address boldly and decisively by enforcing by-laws and trading regulations. 

“Counterfeit goods undermine the local economy. Trading regulations must be adhered to in order to strengthen our economy,” said Premier Makhura. 

During the raid, Premier Makhura said, the South African Police Service had made a number of arrests related to drugs and stolen goods. 

The provincial government, working with national government and municipalities, has added an additional 1 266 police personnel and 859 high performance vehicles to improve police response and visibility in crime-prone areas. – SAnews.gov.za