Government

Cabinet will deliberate on the outcomes of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) which will meet next week, Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said on Thursday. Mthembu announced during a media briefing on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held yesterday. Speaking during the media briefing on Thursday, Mthembu said President Cyril Ramaphosa will then brief the nation on the developments of the country’s risk-adjusted strategy to mitigate the spread of the virus, save … [Read more...] about President to address the nation next week

This week’s torrential rains in major parts of the country are expected to boost the average dam levels by a percentage or more. In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Water and Sanitation said the current levels stand at 60.7% and the storage of water in reservoirs was recorded at 19 448.6 cubic metres of water. “Last weekend rains in KwaZulu-Natal and North West have resulted in flash floods. In North West and Gauteng, the South African Weather Services (SAWS) has warned of more … [Read more...] about Heavy rains expected to improve country’s dam levels

In line with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s new plan to flatten the COVID-19 alarming new infections, the City’s Metro Police officers clamped down on various establishments found to be non-compliant to COVID-19 regulations and NMBM water restrictions in place. The operation intensified from Friday, 30 October 2020, when Metro Police officers inspected car wash businesses to ensure compliance with the water restrictions put in place to save water. To curb the increasing COVID-19 … [Read more...] about Law enforcement agencies clampdown hard on Covid-19 regulation transgressors

Presidential employment initiative project receives major boost President Cyril Ramaphosa’s enthused ambition to funnel much-needed jobs into the South African economy has received a major shot-in-the-arm with an additional R12.6 billion unveiled in the 2020 Mini-Budget. Delivering the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, colloquially called the Mini-Budget, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the allocation was in addition to the R19.6 billion announced in the Supplementary Budget in June, … [Read more...] about Mini Budget – 28 October 2020

New COVID-19 infections in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality have surpassed the 1000 mark, resulting in alarming numbers of new infections among children, hospitalisations and an increase in deaths. The new statistics were discussed during the Joint Operating Centre meeting on Tuesday, 27 October 2020 after the Department of Health highlighted that as at 26 October 2020 the City has 1185 active cases. Although the second wave was anticipated to hit the City around December, the … [Read more...] about The Ides of October – COVID Cases Up

The Department of Water and Sanitation has allocated R230 million to Amatola Water for a period of three years to assist the Eastern Cape to mitigate the effects of drought. This follows a visit by Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, to the Eastern Cape in January 2020, where she met with the provincial government to discuss plans to mitigate drought in the province after the Premier had declared a Provincial State of Disaster. During her visit in January … [Read more...] about Funds allocated for East Cape drought relief

While Eskom expects to have performed adequate reliability maintenance on its aged power plants to significantly improve reliability by September 2021, the risk of loadshedding will still not be eliminated going forward. This frank admission was made by the power utility’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andre De Ruyter during a virtual Quarterly State of the System media briefing on Thursday. “We have stepped up our reliability maintenance programme to the point that we have some 14% of our … [Read more...] about Loadshedding risk to lower after September 2021

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Koedoeskloof waste disposal site has suspended its operations today (21 October 2020) after a fire broke out last night. Currently the site is unusable for the day until the fire has been put out. Investigations are still underway as to what started the fire on Tuesday night. Waste vehicles will be diverted to Arlington waste disposal site and residents are advised to do the same. The City will communicate later today if the site will reopen on Thursday … [Read more...] about Koedoeskloof disposal site closed due to fire outbreak

The Department of Home Affairs has revised the list of high-risk countries based on a risk categorisation model. “We continue to be reminded that the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us and we need to continue to take precautions,” the Department of Home Affairs said in a statement on Monday. The latest list of high-risk countries is: Argentina Bangladesh Brazil Belgium Canada Chile Colombia France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Italy … [Read more...] about Government revises list of high-risk countries

President Ramaphosa on human capital Dear Fellow South African, The launch of the Presidential Employment Stimulus last week marks a fundamental shift in our approach to tackling unemployment. We are undertaking a far-reaching and ambitious public investment in human capital, with the state as both a creator and an enabler of jobs. The Presidential Employment Stimulus is unprecedented in its scale and breadth, involving a public investment of R100 billion over the next three years. We … [Read more...] about R100 Billion Public Investment over Three Years in Pursuit of Jobs

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government will shortly publish an expanded list of international countries from where travel will be permitted. The President said this when he tabled South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on Thursday. The Coronavirus pandemic has left the tourism and hospitality sector on its knees, with some establishments failing to re-open after the economy was restarted gradually. “Although … [Read more...] about Government to publish expanded list of nations allowed to travel to SA

National State of Disaster extended by another month The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has gazetted the extension of the National State of Disaster by another month. The country has been on a National State of Disaster since March, due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension follows consultations and approval by Cabinet, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs said in a … [Read more...] about I suppose it is better than 40 Days!

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to appear before Parliament this afternoon to outline the country’s much-anticipated economic recovery plan. The President last week wrote to National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chairperson Amos Masondo about his intention to call a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. The President can call a joint sitting in terms of Section 84(2)(d) of the Constitution, read together with Rule 7(1)(b) of the … [Read more...] about Setting SA on the path to economic recovery

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says it will work together with the Eastern Cape government to help it develop ICT strategies that are in line with the Government ICT framework, norms and standards. This comes after reports emerged that the provincial government had allegedly plagiarised its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy document. DPSA DG Yoliswa Makhasi said as the custodian of the government ICT policy and strategy in the public … [Read more...] about DPSA to help E Cape craft ICT strategy