• 검색 결과가 없습니다.

Thursday 12 August - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2022

Share "Thursday 12 August - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY"

Copied!
30
0
0

로드 중.... (전체 텍스트 보기)

전체 글

(1)

Thursday 12 August - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY

The Citizen (www.citizen.co.za) Page 1/3 – ‘I fought from within’

Page 2 – Call for digitized jab certificates Page 7 – Call to ease restrictions

Page 8 – Vaccines ‘for whites only’

Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za)

Page 4 – Pupils take a stand against sexual abuse The Star (www.iol.co.za)

Covid-19 mass media campaign should be aired during TV prime time, says SOS Coalition

Places across the world where you might have to show proof of vaccination Western Cape presents the first ever draft provincial Inclusionary Housing Policy Business Day (www.businesslive.co.za)

Joe Phaahla urges to get backup vaccines for Pfizer and J&J

Cyril Ramaphosa gives lukewarm response on why Guptas were not flagged sooner Changes to clear way for private energy producers due in days

KZN goes on charm offensive to attract business after riots

Government aims to help 1,200 riot-hit businesses with R3.75bn fund Debate rages on over controversial Copyright Amendment Bill

(2)

‘I fought from within’

RAMAPHOSA: PRESIDENT TELLS ZONDO OF THE FEW CHOICES HE HAD TO FIGHT THE ANC GRAFT

The Citizen (Gauteng)

12 Aug 2021

Brian Sokutu

Picture: GCISDEBONAIR. President Cyril Ramaphosa after he appears on behalf of the ruling

ANC at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture yesterday in Johannesburg.

President Cyril Ramaphosa admits to the Zondo commission that the ruling ANC is rife with graft, but claims he decided to fight the rot from within. Had he not done so, the results of the looting by Zuma, the Guptas and their allies ‘could have been far worse’.

‘A confrontational approach would most likely have led to my removal from office.’

Serving as deputy president of a government deeply embroiled in state capture under the Jacob Zuma presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday made an unprecedented revelation to the

(3)

Commission of Inquiry into State Capture: despite being close to resigning – he chose to work from within the system to realise change.

In his testimony before acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Ramaphosa, who was confronted by the scourge of state capture under the Zuma administration, told of his five options:

► Resign.

► Speak out.

► Acquiesce and abet.

► Keep quiet and remain silent. Remain and resist, hoping that we could turn things around.

Ramaphosa chose to remain in his position as deputy president to work with others in the executive “to resist abuses and bring about change where we could and to sustain the work of social and economic transformation”.

Should he have resigned, Ramaphosa said he would have earned praise from many quarters, but “this action would have significantly impaired my ability to contribute to bring about an end to state capture”.

“It would have caught the big headlines, but that would have been the end of it,” he said.

“Had I and like-minded individuals resigned from the executive, we would have had no ability to resist some of the excesses that were taking place – and there was a clear danger that without some measure of resistance, there would have been even fewer impediments to the unfettered expansion of the state capture project.

“It was also important to pursue and sustain the many government programmes that were vital to the transformation of our society and the improvement of people’s lives.

“The second option was to be more confrontational – to speak out publicly against certain decisions or actions of the government. While there were instances where I did make public statements, there was a limit to how confrontational I could be in the position I held.

“A confrontational approach would most likely have led to my removal from office, with the same consequences as a resignation in that my ability to effect change would have been greatly constrained, if not brought to an end.”

Ramaphosa’s third option was to “acquiesce and thereby abet the committing of misdeeds”.

“This I would not and could not do. It would have been a violation of my principles and a profound betrayal of my responsibility to the government, my own organisation and the people of South Africa.

“The fourth option available was to remain in my position as deputy president and keep silent.

“This may have been the easier path but it was, in my view, not much different to acquiescing.

“The final option, which was what I chose, was to remain in my position as deputy president – not to resign, not acquiesce and not to be confrontational – but to work with others in the executive to resist abuses and bring about change where we could and to sustain the work of social and transformation.

“It was the course of action that had the greatest likelihood of bringing state capture to an end, restoring the institutions of state and defending our democracy,” said Ramaphosa.

“I’ve said it before, there was a systems failure. We should have been more alert in actively enforcing accountability. But we have now drawn a line in the sand, making sure the wrongs of the past are being corrected.”

Coming out in support of the stance taken by Ramaphosa, University of Johannesburg politics professor Siphamandla Zondi said: “There was no way he would have remained deputy president if he spoke out openly against corruption under his predecessor – just as no

(4)

member of Cabinet today can speak about any ill supported by the current government and keep the job.

“Presidents expect loyalty a lot more than honesty and integrity. As a deputy president, Ramaphosa was expected to demonstrate loyalty and he did, to be able to serve out his term of office,” Zondi said.

“The standing up principle would have led to what happened to Makhosi Khoza, with the political elite wolves closing rank and defining him outside the collective. That would have been the end of a political career.”

Resigning would have significantly impaired my ability to contribute to bring about an end to state capture.

– brians@citizen.co.za

(5)

Call for digitised jab certificates

CARD-BASED: SA FALLS BEHIND INTERNATIONAL TREND

The Citizen (Gauteng)

12 Aug 2021

Reitumetse Makwea reitumetsem@citizen.co.za

Picture: Nigel SibandaWELL DONE.

PK Farming Enterprises Abattoir employee Smangele Tshabalala is congratulated by Gauteng premier David Makhura, in a reflector jacket, after getting her vaccination during his visit with health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi to the abattoir in Devon, Sedibeng, yesterday.

Many nations may resort to vaccine passports for entry.

Various experts and organisations have urged government to digitise its Covid vaccine and testing certificates in a standardised way which will make it easier for travellers going overseas.

As international travel has been slowly reopening to people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid, South Africa’s card-based certification has fallen behind the global digital trend.

Although some European countries have given the green light for visitation without having to spend weeks in quarantine or hours in airports, some travellers could be denied entry to some countries, while some may be delayed for hours, or even days, due to manual processing at airports.

According to Dear SA’s Rob Hutchinson, although the digitising of the vaccination database was doable, government was trying to delay and keep the database within its control.

Hutchison said there were policies interfering with government’s online initiatives, as it has been looking to launch its own cloud-based network.

Countries with high vaccination rates that are approaching herd immunity have slowly started to ease travel restrictions and many may resort to vaccine passports as tickets of entry.

(6)

Although digital records may be the most convenient way to prove your Covid vaccination, government has said it is working on it, but has not yet provided any further updates or timelines.

“A decision has not been taken but the thinking is firmly there,” said the department of health’s spokesperson Popo Maja.

“The entire world seem to be heading towards that direction.”

Meanwhile, Discovery Life has acknowledged the need for a digital version of the Covid vaccination card, particularly for international travel purposes, but also for long-term reference and fraud prevention.

According to Discovery’s Nthabiseng Chapeshamano, the company has developed a solution for a digital version of the Covid vaccination card and was awaiting approval from the national department of health before implementation.

(7)

Call to ease restrictions

COVID: RESTAURANT INDUSTRY URGES GOVT TO REVISIT VENUE CAPACITY

The Citizen (Gauteng)

12 Aug 2021

Narissa Subramoney – narissas@citizen.co.za

Picture: AFPGETTING READY. A waiter sanitises a chair in a restaurant at the Montecasino complex in Johannesburg.

The casino has reopened its doors as lockdown regulations have been eased.

Vaccinations ‘need to be accelerated to remove SA from travel red lists’.

The Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) wants government to revisit restrictions placed on restaurants and hotels. It’s proposing that businesses be allowed to operate at 50% venue capacity instead of 50 people maximum.

Fedhasa chair Rosemary Anderson said although it’s essential to contain the spread of Covid, some of the bigger businesses, currently hanging by a thread, also need to operate under financially viable restrictions.

Anderson’s comments came after Stats SA revealed that business liquidations increased by 46.2 % in the second quarter of 2021, a 30.7% jump compared with this time last year.

Fedhasa said the current regulations put larger establishments out of pocket because it’s not worth operating with fewer patrons. “Unfortunately, the rules are not feasible for bigger restaurants,” said Anderson.

“An average Spur can seat 350 patrons, and some of the Spurs can accommodate up to 600 patrons. It doesn’t make financial sense for a restaurant this size to operate with a [maximum]

of 50 patrons.”

Easing venue capacity restrictions could be a lifeline for businesses amid indefinite and varying levels of lockdown restrictions.

She added South Africa’s vaccination roll-out had been slow and the discovery of new variants in recent months would undoubtedly complicate efforts to restore economic activity to pre-Covid levels.

“There are hotels, employing thousands and they have been closed since March last year because their target market is international tourists,” said Anderson.

(8)

She added that the vaccination process needed to be accelerated to remove South Africa from international travel red lists.

Fedhasa is not the only association calling for a review of trading restrictions. SA Breweries (SAB) said 22 weeks of alcohol sales prohibition (calculated over four bans) put 233 000 jobs at risk and cost R10.2 billion in excise tax. SAB has reiterated its call for notice before

shutting down the industry.

The brewery’s president of corporate affairs, Zoleka Lisa, criticised government’s approach, saying “with immediate effect” is just plain irresponsible considering over one million livelihoods are put on the chopping block whenever a ban is instituted.

“It shows a disregard for the people working in this industry,” she said.

(9)

Vaccines ‘for whites only’

CLAIM: NORTH WEST HEALTH OFFICIALS ALLEGEDLY WITHHOLD JABS FROM BLACK PEOPLE

The Citizen (Gauteng)

12 Aug 2021

– siphom@citizen.co.za Sipho Mabena

It’s worrying when people cannot be vaccinated on basis of colour, says Nehawu.

Three health officials in the North West are in trouble for allegedly withholding Covid-19 vaccines from black people, while mobilising white people to get vaccinated at the

department’s Tswaing subdistrict last month.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said that, if true, this would amount to attempted murder – and even murder – if any of those affected contracted Covid and died.

The senior officials, including the subdistrict manager, allegedly denied vaccines to black patients at a local vaccination site, claiming they were out of stock.

Tebogo Lekgethwane, spokesperson for the North West department of health, said the trio then allegedly mobilised members of the local white community for vaccination which, he said, was very serious.

Nehawu alleges that the officials are all white but the department was yet to confirm or deny this.

Lekgethwane said the motive for their actions may very well be racial because there were enough vaccines in the subdistrict, yet a number of people went to the vaccination site for scheduled inoculations but were turned back as there was “no stock”.

“But those who were observing said there were white people who came later and those were whisked into private rooms to be vaccinated,” Lekgethwane told the SABC.

Nehawu provincial secretary Patrick Makhafane said it was very worrying when people could not get vaccinated on the basis of their colour, saying this was akin to extermination of

another race.

He said the union was shocked by the alleged incident.

“Nehawu learns that these allegedly white officials turned back people who were due for vaccination while they have purportedly planned and scheduled a special vaccination day for white residents…” said Makhafane.

“It amounts to the highest level of misconduct and a crime to humanity insofar as access to health is concerned – particularly considering the brutality of the Covid pandemic to humankind.”

He said the union expected nothing but decisive action for this alleged behaviour so that the health department cleansed itself of any racial character and any act of segregation in healthcare.

“This is an embarrassment, to say the least, noting the years of our democracy which is not at the maturity stage,” said Makhafane.

“Such racial acts should be eliminated immediately when they raise their ugly heads.”

(10)

He added that they would request an urgent meeting with the provincial health department to ensure systems were in place to get to the bottom of this matter. They also intend to report it to the SA Human Rights Commission for investigation.

Those observing said there were white people who came later and were whisked into private rooms to be vaccinated.

Nehawu

(11)

Pupils take a stand against sexual abuse

Pretoria News

12 Aug 2021

GOITSEMANG TLHABYE goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za

JACQUES NAUDEPUPILS at Filadelfia

Secondary School in Soshanguve closed the gates and took to the streets to protest against alleged sexual abuse of girls at the school. l African News Agency (ANA) PUPILS at Filadelfia Secondary School in Soshanguve are demanding that sexual abuse be taken seriously by management and the Gauteng Department of Education.

The Gauteng Department of Education said there was no evidence of the alleged sexual abuse.

The pupils from the special educational needs school yesterday decided that enough was enough.

They closed down the school and hostels, burnt tyres and blocked some of the roads with rocks and rubble.

Last week they also shut down the school – unhappy about the poor food quality they were receiving at the hostels, which they complained had not changed, despite their repeated pleas and even after some pupils fell sick after eating the food.

This time around, however, the pupils also convened next to the main road, adjacent to the local mall, holding up placards that read “Sexual abuse has become a habit in our school”,

“Why should teachers take advantage of our background” and “No sexual relationships between pupils and teachers”.

Lesedi Mathibela, deputy president of the representative council of learners (RCL), said they had returned to protest as they felt the school management seemed to be sitting on a case of sexual harassment which had been reported to them during the previous term.

Mathibela said even though schools had been closed for a month after the pupil had tried to confide in some teachers regarding being groped at the school, not much had been done.

“It looks like the principal is not taking this seriously as he even tried to hide it from the school governing body (SGB), which is supposed to help the school. He brought evidence that they tried to talk to the pupil but none of the stakeholders were consulted about this issue,” said Mathibela.

(12)

Another pupil, Tshepiso Mabusela, said they were dismayed that despite taking steps to report their issues to teachers – who they regarded as parents – no one was taking them seriously.

Mabusela said they were then forced to strike, as they felt as though the government was not actively involved in special schools. They also felt they were being sidelined, especially when it came to important issues.

“We all want to be heard and we want our grievances addressed. So if they waited for us to take the stand, we will do it if that’s what needs to happen for action to be taken.

“We want everyone to know that they should not minimise our capabilities because we are disabled. If we cry about something, just help us as you would help anyone else who is not disabled,” said Mabusela.

She said what also aggravated them was the lack of facilities to accommodate them at the school as, even when counselling was provided, in most cases the social worker did not even understand sign language, which made communication difficult.

“This is a sensitive issue, so it’s violating to have to get another pupil to interpret and obviously there will be concerns about the pupil's privacy and getting the right information out,” Mathibela added.

They vowed to continue with their protest until action to address their issues was made.

(13)

Covid-19 mass media campaign should be aired during TV prime time, says SOS Coalition

By Kelly Jane Turner 50m ago

WITH the Covid-19 fourth wave looming in South Africa, several organisations have called on the government to launch a mass media campaign aimed at informing citizens of the benefits, safety and availability of the vaccine.

The SOS Coalition, which represents trade unions and TV production sector

organisations, said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the campaign should be aired during prime slots as it was the best way to reach the most people.

“Recent surveys have shown uncertainty and resistance to getting vaccinated. One of the ways we think this can be tackled is via a mass media campaign,” said the coalition.

The call to the government is backed by the South African Screen Federation (Sasfed), the Health Justice Initiative, C19 People’s Coalition, People’s Vaccine Campaign, Media Monitoring Africa, Right to Know, the Independent Producers Organisation, Section 27, Open Secrets, and Freedom of Expression Institute.

Airing public health messaging during prime time could deal with misinformation around vaccine hesitancy and reduce confusion.

“Misinformation, hesitancy, confusion and lack of credible advice… (are) hampering the recovery, leading to needless deaths, economic devastation and ensuring that the virus has reservoirs of unvaccinated individuals in which to create new and more dangerous mutations,” said the organisations.

While the national lockdowns may have impacted advertising revenues, the SABC, as the country’s public broadcaster, bore the greatest responsibility to inform citizens about the Covid-19 vaccine, said the SOS Coalition

Social media could also be a tool for relaying accurate Covid-19 information. The organisations hold that platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube should contribute free advertising space to reach more people, more often.

“Credible, effective content is already available and more can be generated quickly.

As content creators, we can assist. We can offer studios, cameras, edits suits and other resources pro bono. But if that content does not reach the majority of the country who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated, then it will be useless.”

(14)

Places across the world where you might have to show proof of vaccination

By Kelly Jane Turner 4h ago

SEVERAL countries across the world are starting to implement proof of vaccination systems whereby people’s ability to travel, attend certain events, eat at restaurants, return to work or school, may require them to prove they’ve had their shot.

In South Africa and globally, the Covid-19 vaccine is not mandatory, however, demonstrating your Covid-19 status in the places below may be required in some circumstances.

Here’s where vaccination cards or passes are being introduced around the world.

The US

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues vaccination cards to those who have received their shots.

The CDC vaccination card tells you what Covid-19 vaccine you received, the date you received it and where you received it.

Earlier this month, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that from August 16, customers and workers at indoor restaurants, gyms and performance venues would need to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enter the venues.

The UK

In England, the National Health Service COVID Pass shows your Covid-19 vaccination details or test results.

Citizens may be asked to show their pass to travel abroad, or at events and venues in England asking for proof of their Covid-19 status, according to the NHS.

Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that by the end of September, when the over 18s have had a chance to receive their shots, night clubs were encouraged to “make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather".

The EU

The EU Digital COVID Certificate is being introduced across all 27 member nations, among them Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.

(15)

The certificate will indicate whether a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the virus.

Fully vaccinated individuals will be exempted from travel-related testing or quarantine 14 days after having received the last dose of a Covid-19 vaccine approved for the entire EU.

The digital certificate contains a QR code with a digital signature to protect it against falsification.

Israel

The Covid-19 “green pass system” was introduced earlier this year in Israel.

The pass allows those over the age of 12 who are vaccinated, recovered from Covid- 19 or who present a negative test result to attend certain events and enter public spaces.

According to The Times of Israel, government officials have agreed that the Green Pass will apply to most events and leisure activities.

Israelis will have to show proof they are vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19 or tested negative for the virus in the past 72 hours, in order to enter most

businesses.

(16)

Western Cape presents the first ever draft provincial Inclusionary Housing Policy

By Kristin Engel 56m ago

Cape Town - The provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) released the first ever draft Western Cape government

Inclusionary Housing Policy Framework to facilitate affordable housing in high-valued areas.

Andricus van der Westhuizen, DA's Western Cape committee spokesperson on Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, said the framework essentially provided overarching guidance to assist municipalities with the formulation of policies for inclusionary housing.

“Over the years, due to the lack of critical policy framework, the gap between subsidised housing or public rental stocks and opportunities from the private sector has grown immensely,” said Van der Westhuizen.

He said intended beneficiaries of this framework were those with stable incomes that surpassed the thresholds to be considered for current housing assistance

programmes.

DEA&DP spokesperson Rudolf van Jaarsveldt said the framework will incentivise private developers to include affordable or social housing options in their respective market-driven developments by granting additional land use rights.

“The draft recommends that municipalities introduce overlay zones to pro-actively increase available land use rights, this will save developers time and money in obtaining land use permission,” said van Jaarsveldt.

Housing activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi welcomed the policy framework and the clarity that inclusionary housing was a tool for spatial transformation and justice.

“It provides some considerations for some diversity of people who will benefit, including saying that municipalities should look at how their policies can benefit women, the youth and people living with disabilities. However, the policy framework fails to clearly articulate the need for inclusionary housing to be racially targeted to break down persistent apartheid segregation,” said Ndifuna Ukwazi’s Robyn Park- Ross.

Mayco member for human settlemets Malusi Booi said the City welcomed and supported this development as they were in the process of developing their own

(17)

inclusionary housing policy which will be premised on the principles as captured within the provincial framework.

Van Jaarsveldt said they hoped that a final draft could be ready before the end of March 2022 as extensive engagement was still required to consider the comments received and any associated consultations required.

(18)

Joe Phaahla urged to get backup vaccines for Pfizer and J&J

Effort must be made to secure AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech vaccines in the event of a potential shortage of the Pfizer and J&J doses

1 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 3 : 4 2 L I N D A E N S O R

Health minister Joe Phaahla. Picture: FREDDY MAVUNDA

The ministerial advisory council (MAC) on vaccines has recommended to health minister Joe Phaahla that efforts be made to secure AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech vaccines in the event of a potential shortage of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) doses that are being rolled out in SA.

MAC member Prof Greg Hussey of the UCT Vaccines for Africa Initiative said at a media conference led by Western Cape premier Alan Winde Thursday that it was important to have a backup of vaccines.

Hussey said SA would probably have enough J&J and Pfizer vaccines for all South Africans by the end of 2021 or early 2022, however, there had been recent issues with regard to manufacturing. An example was the halt of the manufacture and distribution of the J&J vaccine due to the contamination of ingredients at its US plant in Baltimore.

The world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, the Serum Institute of India, also stopped exports of vaccines in late March when Covid-19 infections rampaged across India and the company came under pressure to direct all its vaccines for domestic use.

“There has been a consideration about getting a third vaccine into the supply chain and the ministerial advisory committee on vaccines has looked at this and has looked specifically at AstraZeneca and Sinovac, and they have made a recommendation to the minister of health as to the possibility of getting one or two of these vaccines as potential backups in case there is a problem with the supply chains of either J&J or Pfizer,” Hussey said

(19)

Hussey said there was a global demand for vaccines and very few companies making them, so shortages might occur. From past experience, it was clear that sometimes things went wrong, he said.

“I don’t think anyone is anticipating that there will be shortages in respect of the supply of J&J and Pfizer, but you never can say so having a third or fourth vaccine potentially available would make good sense,” he said.

Aspen Pharmacare’s J&J vaccine manufacturing plant in the Eastern Cape will support the supply of vaccines for SA and Africa.

SA sold 1-million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine it acquired in February from the Serum Institute of India to the AU as it was found to be less effective against the coronavirus variant prevalent in SA at the time.

Early in July, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority approved the use in SA of the Coronavac vaccine produced by Chinese firm Sinovac.

The Western Cape is still in the peak of its third wave of the pandemic and is expecting a fourth wave. Winde said in some regions of the province, such as the Garden Route and the West Coast as well as parts of the Cape Town metro, the third wave was higher than the second.

Keith Cloete, the head of the Western Cape health department, noted that the province was in the peak of the third wave but there were signs of stabilisation. There had been a stabilisation of reported Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations were beginning to flatten, but the use of daily oxygen had increased.

“We strongly believe we are in the plateauing phase,” Cloete said, but emphasised that the health sector was under pressure.

The number of Covid-19 deaths had also flattened, he said.

The rate of reproduction of the virus had fallen below the crucial 1 level (where one infected person infects one other person) for the first time in a while, and was now 0.9.

This could be a good sign if it holds as it would presage a decline in the number of infections in coming weeks.

There were now 3,100 new cases daily in the Western Cape based on the average of the past seven days. There were 44,506 active Covid-19 cases in the province, about 5,000 more than the previous week.

A total of 68% of hospital admissions and 87% of deaths in the third wave had been in the 50 years and older age group, which indicated the urgent need for that cohort to get

vaccinated, Cloete said.

(20)

Cyril Ramaphosa gives lukewarm response on why Guptas were

not flagged sooner

The president is testifying for a second day on Thursday, which will be his final appearance at the state capture inquiry

1 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 1 : 2 1 E R I N B AT E S

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appears to testify before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 11, 2021. Picture: Reuters/Sumaya Hisham

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assurances that the government was moving forward from the “bad lessons” of state capture into a “positive future” were met with a question about why those in power did not take action against the Gupta family.

On Thursday morning, Ramaphosa began his final day of testimony at the commission, which has been running public hearings since August 2018, six months into his

presidency.

Advocate Anton Myburgh, an evidence leader at the state capture inquiry, first asked Ramaphosa about allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud at state-owned rail, port and pipeline company Transnet.

He pressed Ramaphosa for answers on the inaction of those in power when it came to the Guptas’ alleged interference in state-owned entities (SOECs) under former president Jacob Zuma.

Most of the questions Ramaphosa had been asked during the past two days concerned alleged state capture at SOEs while he was Zuma’s right-hand man. Ramaphosa has provided many lacklustre answers, which have largely gone unchallenged by the commission’s chair, Raymond Zondo, and members of the legal team.

(21)

Thursday morning included a moment of direct questioning in the context of the Guptas’

reported looting of SOEs to the tune of a forecast R7bn. Shadow World Investigations director Paul Holden cited the figure during his testimony.

Myburgh cornered Ramaphosa on the apparent inaction of leaders in government when evidence mounted against the Guptas, and became more and more widespread in the media.

He said: “For those people that weren’t complicit, how is it possible that this was not identified? This grand-scale looting that it’s clear […] was a programme. It went on for a number of years, and the Guptas literally did not miss an opportunity. This happened in the light of day. It was co-ordinated a literally a few kilometres up the road.”

Ramaphosa agreed while sitting in the witness chair at the Johannesburg Council Chamber in Braamfontein, which is less than 6km from the Guptas’ compound in Saxonwold, from which the family allegedly ran a parallel state.

Here, brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh “Tony” Gupta met Zuma and son, Duduzane Zuma.

It’s alleged they groomed government ministers, including former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba, to do their bidding.

Zondo has heard several witnesses' testimony asserting the Guptas paid alleged kickbacks, and in cash (for example, to Gigaba) and offered bribes (for example, to Mcebisi Jonas, which he testified he shunned) from their home.

“How is it possible that no-one in a position of power identified this and raised the red flag? How is it conceivably possible?” prodded Myburgh.

Ramaphosa replied it was possible in the context of the state capture environment where it was co-ordinated through numerous structures.

“Those who will put everything into action have got protection and they’ve got the connections, the access and make sure that people who are going to implement this are also appointed people. That’s why moving forward we have got to be rigorous in the appointment of people,” he said.

On Wednesday, Ramaphosa defended his conduct, saying he considered resigning as Zuma’s deputy in the face of state capture but chose not to, saying there would have been

“fewer impediments” to stop Zuma’s administration and it would have continued unhindered.

He said he stood up to Zuma when he fired former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene and his deputy, Jonas.

“I raised my concern that the minister and the deputy minister were being removed based on an unsubstantiated intelligence report,” testified Ramaphosa.

(22)

“I told the former president that I disagreed with his reasons and that I would publicly state my objection,” he added.

After Thursday’s questioning on Transnet ended, the legal team’s leader, advocate Paul Pretorius, asked Ramaphosa about state security. The president scrapped the ministry of state security in a cabinet reshuffle last week. Then, he announced the establishment of an additional ministerial post in the presidential office.

He appointed Zizi Kodwa as a deputy minister in the presidency responsible for state security.

(23)

Changes to clear way for private energy producers due in days

1 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 0 5 : 1 0 C A R O L PAT O N

Picture: 123RF

The official publication of schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, which will enable private entities to generate up to 100MW of “distributed”, or self-generated, electricity without a licence is finally imminent and could be gazetted on Friday.

However, the department of mineral resources & energy did not respond to queries to confirm this. It is a week later than promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who said when he announced that the cap on licensing would be increased from the government’s initial 10MW proposal that the change would be gazetted within 60 days. That

announcement was widely hailed as a clear signal that reforms to improve the economy’s competitiveness were gaining ground.

The exemption from licensing of electricity generation projects up to 100MW is viewed as a critical measure to bring more megawatts onto the national electricity grid to relieve SA’s energy constraint. Allowing embedded generation to thrive has been a central request from organised business to the government for at least the past three years.

However, minister of mineral resources & energy Gwede Mantashe resisted raising the cap.

This week’s delay arose due to confusion over whether the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) needed to conduct a fresh public participation process on the 100MW notice.

Departmental officials and Nersa believed that another round of public participation hosted by Nersa was necessary before the amendment to the schedule could be finally published.

But this has now been clarified and Nersa, which conducted a public participation process on the first iteration of the schedule when the cap was 10MW, has said it now believes it does not have to repeat this process.

(24)

Nersa member Nhlanhla Gumede told Business Day on Wednesday that following the regulator’s engagement with Mantashe on Tuesday and after a careful review of the act, it was decided that more public hearings were not required.

“The minister is actually amending the existing schedule 2 and not determining a new schedule,” said Gumede.

While an amendment to schedule 2 does require a stakeholder consultation process, this had already been done.

The new schedule 2 is keenly awaited by business not only because it will accelerate the building of distributed generation by multiple producers but because it will also outline the rules around trading and wheeling of embedded energy. The extent to which

producers will be able to move electricity around using the national grid and the costs for doing so are important factors for producers wishing to establish the business case for distributed generation.

Should the new schedule 2 amendments not include the ability to wheel and to trade, says business, then it is less likely that the change will significantly accelerate private

investment, diversity and competition in the power sector to eliminate load-shedding.

(25)

KZN goes on charm offensive to attract business after riots

Provincial delegation sets out to reassure investors economy is back on track

1 1 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 9 : 2 3 M A R Y PA PAY Y A

KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala. Picture: RAJESH JANTILAL

After July’s unrest and violence, which left scores of people dead and infrastructure destroyed, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government is embarking on a charm offensive to attract big business and international investors back to the province.

A delegation from the province is in Gauteng on a two-day trade offensive that started on Wednesday to assure investors that its economy is back on track.

The delegation is led by premier Sihle Zikalala and includes MEC for economic development, tourism & environmental affairs Ravi Pillay; his health counterpart, Nomagugu Simelane; agriculture & rural development MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi;

MEC for transport, community safety & liaison Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni; and co- operative governance & traditional affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka.

Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu and the CEO of Trade and Investment KZN Zamo Gwala also form part of the delegation.

The delegation intends to drive home the message that the province is stable and open for business.

“Our view is that in postconflict situations, employment is a major factor in achieving short-term stability, socioeconomic progress and sustainable peace,” said Zikalala.

(26)

The programme includes strategic engagements with international trading countries culminating in a dinner co-hosted with the diplomatic community in Pretoria that ambassadors and high commissioners from more than 42 countries will attend.

“We want to show the investors that KZN is ready for business. The province is still reeling from the unfortunate events of the past couple of weeks which threatened to bring its economy to a halt.”

The destruction ravaged all sectors of the province’s economy including ports, malls, shopping centres, hospitals, schools, warehouses, factories, banks, ATMs, liquor outlets, liquor distributors and delivery trucks.

Zikalala said that at the height of the unrest, which broke out on July 9, the shutting down of arterial routes from the ports of Durban and Richards Bay had a devastating effect not only to the provincial economy but it disrupted the country’s supply chain logistics.

Meanwhile, provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi warned on Tuesday of a group peddling rumours of an imminent second wave of protests, saying they are fake and mischievous.

Mkhwanazi said the province remained calm and no incidents of looting or unrest have been reported.

“Unless the information is verified it should not be shared. These messages are being sent by people who want to prey on the fear of citizens. It is regrettable that some will exploit this fear to instil more fear in others, while sitting in their fancy homes eating prawns while others starve in communities they have looted.”

Imtiaz Sooliman from the Gift of the Givers Foundation said the situation on the ground across the province is now calm. “We must not fall prey to people on both sides of the conflicts and those who fuelled the tensions to foment further fear,” he said.

(27)

Government aims to help 1,200 riot-hit businesses with R3.75bn fund

Affected companies will receive interest-free loans for 24 months to rebuild infrastructure

1 1 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 8 : 3 5 T H A N D O M A E K O

A resident sweeps debris during a cleanup operation at a Shoprite USave supermarket following looting in Soweto. Picture:

BLOOMBERG/WALDO SWIEGERS

The government aims to reach at least 1,200 businesses through a relief fund of almost R4bn set up to aid firms affected by the July unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, says the department of trade, industry & competition.

The number of businesses targeted was determined by the number surveyed by the

department shortly after the unrest, which wiped out an estimated R50bn from GDP. This includes the 900 businesses surveyed by the department that were directly affected by the riots in terms of damage to property, stock theft and broken supply chains, it said.

(28)

The preliminary survey estimates show that the damage was more than R5bn and that at least 10,200 jobs were affected across different sectors in the two key provinces,

including manufacturing, retail and service businesses.

The department has earmarked R2bn to go towards the fund, while the Industrial

Development Corporation (IDC) and National Empowerment Fund (NEF) will contribute R1.5bn and R250m, respectively.

The aim is to provide industrial loan support at an initial zero percent interest rate to affected companies towards rebuilding of infrastructure, including equipment, fittings for premises, stock and working capital, the department said.

An additional R400m has been set aside under the Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) Economic Stabilisation Fund. The fund will support businesses in the manufacturing sector that have been affected by the unrest and will be administered by the IDC.

This fund will offer concessionary funding to affected companies through interest-free loans for the first 24 months, and at 2% thereafter. This is to preserve and grow jobs as well as to restore value chains, the department said on Wednesday.

Companies will have to prove that they were directly affected by the unrest to qualify and that they were operational at the end of June. The funding will address rebuilding efforts including the replacement of damaged assets or goods, working capital shortfalls

(maximum six months) due to supply chain disruptions and the refurbishing of offices or business infrastructure damaged in the riots.

Though all businesses affected by the unrest may apply for relief through the fund, acting deputy director-general Susan Mangole said the funds earmarked by the department and its development finance institutions are targeted at small businesses in township and rural areas that are not covered by state-owned insurer Sasria.

“We are working with Sasria as they process the claims hence we are also extending the facility to the companies that have [lodged] claims with Sasria,” she said.

The applications for interested businesses open on Wednesday and will remain open indefinitely, depending on the availability of funds, Mangole said.

(29)

Debate rages on over controversial Copyright Amendment Bill

Opponents say bill should be scrapped and sent back to the drawing board, while supporters say only tweaks are needed

1 1 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 7 : 5 0 L I N D A E N S O R

Picture: GCIS

Controversy over the Copyright Amendment Bill continued to rage in parliament on Wednesday, with opponents arguing that it should be scrapped in its entirety and sent back to the drawing board and supporters saying that only tweaks are necessary.

Parliament’s trade and industry committee is holding public hearings on the bill which has been in process since 2017.

The original bill was fundamentally redrafted by the previous trade and industry committee itself, but in June last year President Cyril Ramaphosa referred it and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill back to parliament because of concerns about the constitutionality of certain provisions and that it had been incorrectly processed by

parliament.

The bill was dealt with in terms of section 75 of the constitution, which does not involve the provinces, instead of in terms of section 76 that Ramaphosa believed was the

appropriate process.

Ramaphosa also had reservations that several sections of the Copyright Amendment Bill could constitute “retrospective and arbitrary deprivations of property” in that copyright owners would be entitled to a lesser share of the fruits of their property than was previously the case. The retrospective application of the bill was unlikely to survive constitutional challenge, he said.

(30)

Another concern was that the fair-use provision was not subjected to public comment before the final version of the bill was published.

The introduction of the fair-use principle used in the US is one of the controversial issues fuelling debate. Fair use is the right to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions without permission of the copyright owner.

Tech giants such as Google are supportive of fair use as it gives them free access to material. Also supportive are educators such as the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) and librarians in the Library and Information Association of SA (Liasa) which seek greater and easier access to works of all kinds. On the other hand, authors, artists, filmmakers, publishers and the recording industry among those opposed to it. The European Commission and the US have also objected to aspects of the bill.

MultiChoice head of corporate affairs Collen Dlamini said the bill would not take the creative industries forward and would undermine investment in film and TV. Aynon Doyle, the company’s head of policy research, noted that the bill did not comply with international instruments as it prejudiced the interests of creators and rights holders who buy the work of creators. He said if the bill was enacted in its current form it was likely to be challenged in court.

Sadulla Karjiker, Stellenbosch University Anton Mostert chair in intellectual property law, was scathing of the “deeply flawed” bill which he said would be damaging for the economy by eroding the rights of copyright holders and artists who would be at the mercy of big tech companies. It undermined the incentive to creativity. He said the bill should be scrapped and referred back to the department of trade industry and competition for a comprehensive review.

SA Institute of Intellectual Property Law’s Stephen Hollis recommended that the committee engage the services of senior counsel to analyse the bill to ensure that it complied with the constitution and international treaties. He stressed that a favourable copyright regime was crucial to attract foreign investment to the country.

Hollis said both bills were had material flaws which could not be corrected by mere

“quick fixes”. “We identified 19 sets of provisions affecting up to 50% of the text introduced to the Copyright Act that may have constitutional implications or amount to treaty compliance issues,” he said. “No adequate socio-economic impact assessment was conducted to measure the impact of the bills on the creative industries and the subsectors therein.”

North West University associate law professor Klaus Beiter came out in strong support of the fair-use principle, insisting that the bill complied with international conventions. A group of nine academics led by Malebakeng Forere supported the bill, noting that it could be made constitutionally compliant with a few technical amendments. She noted that the current Copyright Act violated the bill of rights.

참조

관련 문서

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed7.

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed5. The

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed..

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed5. The

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed5. The

As the automatic weather observation has been implemented at all surface synoptic stations from 1 January 2000, the station index at some stations has been changed5. The

This is according to TransUnion Africa, which said the latest vehicle pricing index (VPI) for used vehicles rose sharply to 4.9% from 1.6% a year ago and is expected to soon

The significance of this study is that a robot programming language has been developed that addresses the concepts of both procedure and reactivity in such