Friday, 31 July - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za) Page 1 – PPEs deal drama worsens
Page 2 – Mall collapse claims man’s life
The Star (www.iol.co.za)
Page 1 – Three, including teenager, shot and burnt in a shack Page 4 – Lockdown hits hard on pockets of GPs
Business Day (www.businesslive.co.za)
Page 1 – Government gives some respite to decimated tourism businesses Page 2 – NGO challenges government over its IRP energy blueprint
Citizen (www.citizen.co.za)
Page 3 – Lockdown chains loosened a little Page 4 – Sick nurses are forced to work Page 6 – HIV, TB impact modest
Mail & Guardian (www.mg.co.za)
Page 2 – It’s worse than we thought: The state of the SABC and Page 5 – Solar stuck where sun don’t shine
연합뉴스 (www.yonhapnews.co.kr)
남아공 아파르트헤이트 '마지막 투사' 음랑게니 안장
PPEs deal drama worsens
ANC urges SIU to expedite probe of the 102 rogue firms that tried to fleece Gauteng
Pretoria News
31 Jul 2020
BALDWIN NDABA
| African News AgencyHEALTH MEC Dr Bandile Masuku.
THE ANC in Gauteng has lambasted rogue and fly-by-night companies that tried to fleece billions from the provincial government by demanding to be paid without delivering protective equipment to the Health Department.
This was the outrage expressed by the ANC Gauteng provincial secretary Jacob Khawe in his plea to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to speed up its investigation against 102
companies that may have tried to defraud the Gauteng government.
“Allegations that have since surfaced about questionable amounts paid to companies alleged not to have met the minimum requirements to first do business with the government and some scoring contracts to provide personal protective equipment when they are not in the business of medical equipment supply cannot be taken lightly,” Khawe said.
He added his party had rejected the opportunistic behaviour of companies that had never supplied even a pen or any health equipment to the Gauteng Department of Health but suddenly emerged claiming they were owed, saying the provincial government should exercise vigilance and protect the public purse.
Premier David Makhura, despite agreeing with his party’s sentiments, said it would be premature at this stage to name the companies.
Makhura yesterday was adamant that the forensic investigation by the SIU would reveal the rogues to allow all “corrupt individuals to go to jail”.
He vowed to act against all health department officials who masterminded the alleged fraud and corruption.
The premier remained steadfast in his position while facing a barrage of questions about Andile Ramaphosa – the son of President Cyril Ramaphosa – being one of the recipients of the tenders from Gauteng health department.
The questions to Makhura followed reports that Andile’s company was awarded (a) R6 million (tender) to supply protective equipment to taxis in the province.
Andile has since denied involvement in the allegations against him.
Makhura said it was premature to give details, but the rot was deep and serious.
According to Makhura, trouble began when the National Treasury issued a circular that the procurement of protective equipment should be centralised in the
Gauteng Health Department.
“As a result of the circular, certain officials distributed purchase orders to various companies for them to procure the equipment. It does not mean that the amounts which are reported in the media were actually paid to the companies.
“It became an opportunity for abuse. Their opportunistic behaviour has profoundly eroded the public confidence in the government I lead. It has undermined the tremendous work done by healthcare workers to fight the Covid-19 pandemic,” Makhura said.
Despite placing Health MEC Bandile Masuku on special leave for four weeks, Makhura ironically said Masuku and his head of department Dr Mkhululi Lukhele were instrumental in reporting the illegal acts.
He, however, said the Gauteng Treasury alerted him to the abuse of the procurement processes in the department following their preliminary audit report.
Makhura said the Gauteng Audit Services red-flagged several companies that were awarded tenders without being in the government database.
He said its intervention led to the cancellation of all the contracts and his government managed to save R1 billion from abuse.
Masuku’s placement on leave, however, followed a Sunday Independent report which stated that he was allegedly involved in the award of a R125m tender to supply protective
equipment to Royal Bhaca Project – a year-old company wholly owned by Amabhaca King, Madzikane 11 Thandisizwe Diko – the husband to Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko.
The Masukus and Dikos are close family friends.
Khawe said the ANC special PEC welcomed Diko’s decision to take leave of absence from her government duties as presidential spokesperson.
He said the ANC further resolved that Masuku should also take leave of absence as MEC and his wife Loyiso Masuku who is deployed as the City of Joburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Group Corporate and Shared Services should also take leave of absence.
“The taking of leave of absence by the three comrades from their official responsibilities is in keeping with the resolutions of the 13th Provincial Conference and the 54th National
Conference and is a demonstration of their unwavering commitment to place the ANC and the people of Gauteng first,” Khawe said.
Mall collapse claims man’s life
Pretoria News
31 Jul 2020
JAMES MAHLOKWANE james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za
JACQUES NAUDE African News AgencyPart of the four-storey building that collapsed on construction workers at Jakaranda Centre in Rietfontein, leaving one man dead and injuring 14. |
ONE PERSON was killed and 14 rushed to hospital yesterday morning when a four-storey building under construction plunged on construction workers at Jakaranda Centre in Rietfontein.
Deputy Chief of the Tshwane Emergency Services, Charles Mabaso, said the injured were taken to Meulmed Mediclinic Hospital and Pretoria West Hospital.
At the scene, it was established that of the people who needed to be rushed to hospital for medical attention, only four appeared to have serious injuries.
The rest had moderate to minor injuries.
Speaking from the scene while emergency services personnel were creating a safe passage to remove the body of the dead, Mabaso said it was important that safety was prioritised to ensure the wreck could not harm anyone else.
Mabaso said: “The deceased is a 46-year-old man. His identity has been withheld as his family have not been informed.”
He said a roll call was conducted to confirm that nobody was left behind before emergency services left the scene. “The police will continue their own investigations, and obviously the Department of Labour will also come in and conduct its own thorough investigation.”
The mall was extending its structure and there were indications that workers had been pouring cement on the top floor, which gave way.
Three, including teenager, shot and burnt in a shack
The Star Early Edition
31 Jul 2020
BOITUMELO METSING boitumelo.metsing@inl.co.za
| TIMOTHY BERNARD African News Agency (ANA)MATSIDISO Ndlovu (inset) and two of her friends were shot dead and the shack they were in burned out in Braamfischer phase 4, Soweto, on Monday. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Kaoa, explained how painful it has been for the family.
AN 18-YEAR-OLD Soweto teenager shot and burnt to ashes in a shack has become the latest victim of the gruesome war on defenceless women.
Matshidiso Ndlovu met her painful death on Monday night when she was visiting her boyfriend in Lufhereng.
According to Ndlovu’s family, their daughter lost her life alongside her boyfriend and another friend who were also shot and burnt in the shack.
According to the family, the bubbly young woman left home on Monday to visit her friend in Green village. She then proceeded to visit her boyfriend, only known to the family as
Njabulo, where she met her untimely death.
The Star yesterday visited the distraught Soweto family.
The deceased’s grandmother, Elizabeth Kaoa, said: “She was burnt beyond recognition, her mother and I could only identify her by her teeth, as she has the same set as her mother, and her toes, as they look like mine, but beyond that we couldn’t identify her. All three bodies were burnt beyond recognition.”
Gabisile Ndlovu, aunt of the deceased, said she was traumatised when she learnt of Matshidiso’s death.
“Matshidiso’s friend called to inform me of her death on Tuesday morning. I was so shocked when Matshidiso’s friend called me with the news, I rushed to the area and what we found was very devastating, the shack was burnt to the ground.
“We are all in pain. Matshidiso was such a lovely girl. She wanted to be a social worker to assist people from disadvantaged backgrounds. My niece had no issues with anybody, we don’t understand how she could be killed so cruelly. What we ask is for justice,” said Ndlovu.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said police have opened three cases of murder and arson for investigation.
The aunt further detailed that information on how their daughter lost her life was sketchy.
“The landlord of the burnt shack said he heard loud knocking outside on Monday evening.
When he peeped through the window, he saw five men with guns outside Matshidiso’s boyfriend’s room.
“He claims when one of the tenants went outside to find out what was happening, the five men told him to get back inside as they did not come for him.”
After a while he heard five gunshots before the men left the yard but they came back a few minutes later to burn the shack.
The family said according to the information they heard, it was alleged that the three were tied up before being executed.
Matshidiso’s mother Lindiwe Ndlovu said she still can’t wrap her head around her daughter’s death.
Lockdown hits hard on pockets of GPs
The Star Early Edition
31 Jul 2020
EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za
HUNDREDS of medical practices were on the verge of collapse because of a fall in the number of visits due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nedbank national manager for Medical Professionals Coenie Smith said yesterday.
While the number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa continues to climb at a rapid rate, and those on the front line work tirelessly to treat those affected, others such as general
practitioners, specialists and dentists have seen demand for their services reduce significantly.
This had led to a cash crunch, forcing some providers to scale back their businesses and lay off health workers, Smith said.
Recent South African Medical Association (Sama) statistics showed that private practices had, on average, seen a 60% decline in patient numbers during the hard lockdown, and although patient numbers had increased since then, they had remained 40%-50% lower than normal.
The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism reported the
South African Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Association, which has roughly 2000
members mainly in historically under-served townships, had seen business halved on average during the pandemic.
Sama said on its website it had been engaging on multiple platforms to find solutions for the sustainability of private medical practitioners because of the dip in revenues for private practices.
In addition, the Council for Medical Schemes earlier this month had declined a proposal by private health sector practitioners, which would see medical aid schemes tap into funds, to help private healthcare practitioners stay afloat.
The lockdown has been especially harsh on businesses that require close contact, like dental surgeries, while others that have been able to remain open, had found that operating costs such as rent, staff overheads and additional cleaning materials had placed a significant demand on resources, Smith said.
Public confidence in making visits and the reduced capacity to adhere to social distancing measures in small spaces, had also affected private practice owners.
Smith said as lockdown eased, monitoring and protecting cash flow should be a priority for medical practice owners.
They needed to revise financial plans to ensure ongoing liquidity in the event of less clinical revenues and whole or partial closure of practice locations. A contingency plan based on minimum cash flow to stay afloat should be considered,
Medical practices have struggled financially also due to increases in expenses related to Covid-19, such as technology to support telehealth needs, remote providers or staff, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The pandemic had created worldwide shortages of essential medical supplies, including PPE, which in many instances were now sold at marked-up prices.
Smith said it was essential for private practices to stay in touch with their financial services providers.
Government gives some
respite to decimated tourism businesses
Business Day
31 Jul 2020
Luyolo Mkentane Political Writer mkentanel@businesslive.co.za
GCISRespite: Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has spelled out a lockdown easing, but liquor sales remain banned. /
In a bid to provide relief to the country’s battered tourism and hospitality industry, the
government has eased some of the restrictions that hammered parts of a sector that was one of the few bright spots, growing and creating jobs, before the outbreak of Covid-19.
According to new regulations, people will now be allowed to book hotel accommodation for leisure in their own provinces, while restaurants can stay open later after the curfew imposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier in July was moved to start an hour later than at first announced.
When the country moved to level 3 lockdown in June, the industry was largely left out.
Accommodation and travel were allowed only for business trips.
The tourism and hospitality sector has been one of those hit hardest by Covid-19, leading to an estimated loss of more than R50bn so far, as international and domestic borders were closed in March.
Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane’s latest announcement is not likely to be enough to end the crisis in the sector, which is facing the loss of more than 400,000 jobs and more than R80bn in foreign receipts.
When the country moved to level 3 of the risk-adjusted lockdown strategy in June, some reprieve was given with the opening of restaurants and accommodation for business travel, among other things.
Kubayi-Ngubane said on Thursday that the cabinet agreed to extend the 9pm curfew to 10pm to allow for “uninterrupted dinner service at restaurants”. She said this would go a long way in increasing the sector’s revenue. Liquor sales, however, remained prohibited.
Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Association of SA, said the industry had been
“decimated”, and she called on the government to listen to stakeholders who wanted to contribute “viable solutions” to arrest job losses and end businesses closures.
“The lines of communication must be opened so that we can save as many jobs and
businesses as possible,” said Alberts. The sector needed the liquor ban to be lifted to prevent enterprises from going out of business, she said. The minister said that when the new
regulations had been gazetted, people would be allowed to travel for leisure within the provinces where they lived, but travelling between provinces would still be banned.
The relaxing of restrictions included allowing tour operators to conduct guided tours in open safari vehicles with strict adherence to social-distancing and
“maximum ventilation” rules. The tourism department had set aside R200m — a drop in the ocean for a sector that accounted for more than 8% of GDP in 2018 — in Covid-19 relief funding for businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.
Kubayi-Ngubane said that of the 7,284 valid applications for assistance, the department had only enough resources to assist 4000 businesses. Applications from enterprises with annual turnover of R5m and more had been turned down, as were applications from nontourism enterprises.
“The relief fund doesn’ t go a long way, but when businesses are running they become more sustainable,” she said.
The allocation of funds had been made in line with government policies, and ensured that there was an equitable share of the resources across all regions, including rural areas and small towns.
Kubayi-Ngubane said that her department had agreed to formalise its working relationship with the tourism and hospitality sector by forming a task team that brought together “a broad spectrum of private-sector players and officials from the department to work towards
reopening the sector and resolving other sector challenges”.
With regard to the R30m relief package for freelance tourist guides that she announced last month, Kubayi-Ngubane said that the department had received 9,380 applications.
The relief was for two to three months.
NGO challenges government over its IRP energy blueprint
• GroundWork goes to court in search of explanations
Business Day
31 Jul 2020
Lisa Steyn Mining & Energy Writer steynl@businesslive.co.za
/ReutersRiding the wind: Giant wind turbines dot
the landscape at the Darling wind farm, which is located about 70km from Cape Town.
A non-profit environmental justice group is taking the government to court to demand greater transparency over SA’s long-term plan to meet its electricity needs.
GroundWork, a non-profit organisation, supported by activist law firm the Centre for Environmental Rights, this week launched a court case against the mineral resources &
energy department and the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) to force them to provide reasons behind the promulgation of the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
The IRP is an important policy document which guides the rollout of electricity infrastructure in SA. It was first published in 2010. Though intended to be updated every two years, the second, updated version was published in October 2019 and provides for the slow phasing out of old coal-powered electricity in favour of more renewables, especially wind power.
Since its release, groundWork has asked the minister, Gwede Mantashe, multiple times to furnish it with the reasons behind the promulgation of the updated IRP. It specifically requested the reasons behind new coal projects and the limits placed on green technologies.
The organisation has to date received no response, which it said was “patently unlawful”.
It has also asked Nersa to explain, among other things, why it did not consult the public before concurring with the minister’s approval of the IRP.
Nersa responded to groundWork in May, but the organisation said the response was
“unhelpful and obstructive”.
“This application is to compel the minister and Nersa to furnish reasons for their decisions in relation to the promulgation of the updated IRP on October 18 2019,” it said in the court papers.
Because the IRP deals with the provision of electricity and determines what amount of electricity will be generated from what source of electricity in every year, it “has a material
and direct impact on the rights of the people of SA, including on the right to an environment not harmful to health or wellbeing” as is provided for in the constitution, groundWork said.
The department of mineral resources & energy on Thursday confirmed receipt of the court papers and said it would still decide how to respond.
The department slammed any suggestion that the process to develop and approve the IRP was not transparent. It said it was an inclusive process with the public participating through a number of platforms.
In addition, the department had released data used in the modelling of the IRP, including public comments received, as requested by a number of organisations.
“There is, therefore, no doubt that the IRP 2019 was developed in a transparent, consultative and accountable manner,” the department said.
Lockdown chains loosened a little
SLIGHT EASING: RESTAURANTS CAN OPERATE AN HOUR LONGER, HUNTING STILL OFF LIMITS
The Citizen (Gauteng)
31 Jul 2020
Nica Richards – nicas@citizen.co.za Also see Page 10
With the lockdown regulations relaxed ever so slightly, restaurants get the crumb of an extra hour before curfew and leisure accommodation is permitted within your provincial borders – but hunting is still restricted and booze banned.
Game farmers say they can’t lose more income and will defy government.
Restaurants may now stay open a whole hour longer, and leisure travel is now permitted … but only as far as the borders of your province. To enable restaurants to stay open longer, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane announced yesterday Cabinet had extended the curfew to 10pm.
This would allow an extra hour for restaurants to clean up, close, and allow for staff to get home by the time the curfew began.
“We believe this change will go a long way towards increasing their revenue generation,”
Kubayi-Ngubane said.
The new curfew would only take effect when the new regulations were gazetted – and alcohol remained prohibited.
One crumb Kubayi-Ngubane did toss to the tourism industry was to permit leisure accommodation – as long as travellers did not cross provincial borders.
However, in a Dickensian move, game farmers and the hunting industry were left outside peering through the glass following the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries’
amended Level 3 lockdown regulations.
These stated that “any form of accommodation for hunting purposes is not permitted”.
Wildlife Ranching South Africa’s (WRSA) impact assessment of Covid-19 on the industry produced worrying figures, especially considering the sector’s significant contribution to the economy.
The report indicated an 86% decline in hunters and tourists visiting game farms and lodges in March and April, a 52% drop in live game sales, and that 67% of permanent employees have been adversely affected by salary cuts, unpaid leave and retrenchments.
Cancellations from March to December are projected to cause game farmers an estimated R2.5 million in losses, with WRSA’s survey indicating a total loss of at least R1.5 billion until December.
The decline in new bookings for the rest of the year will cost farmers an additional R1.2 billion. The lack of live game trade, which brought in R3.5 billion in 2019 and 2020, will cost the sector a further R1.68 billion.
The estimated loss due to a lack of game meat sales is estimated to amount to a loss of R255 million – at an average of R150 771 per respondent in the WRSA survey.
Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries spokesperson Albi Modise said they were aware of the industry’s problems, but there would be no exceptions.
“We understand that there is frustration at all levels in society, including hunters. Being worried about one’s financial situation and having movement inhibited is difficult, but this is a learning curve. The pandemic is less than a year old,” Modise said. Asked how the gap between hunting as a leisure activity and as a wildlife management tool could be bridged, tourism department director-general Victor Tharage said: “Wildlife management queries should be directed to relevant authorities. We are not responsible for that.”
AgriSA commodity chamber head Jolanda Andrag explained that hunting was more than a hobby, but an essential tool for wildlife management. “Hunting is an integral part of managing the number of animals on a farm and the ecology in that area.”
Herein lies a blindspot within the sector: the blurred line between shooting for fun and managing wildlife, the latter of which is an essential service listed in the National Disaster Management Regulations.
Transvaal Agricultural Union president Louis Meintjes said the drought was wreaking havoc in hunting regions such as the Northern Cape and Limpopo, with most farmers only
recovering now. In addition to managing biodiversity on game farms this meant certain animals had to be culled to prevent overgrazing and overpopulation.
For Meintjies, it’s a question of “hunting, or letting animals die”.
“Farmers said ‘damn government, we’re going to hunt’. They cannot afford to lose their income.
“Farmers are responsible – we wear masks, keep our distances and do everything we can because we don’t want to contract or spread the virus.”
It’s a question of hunting, or letting animals die
Sick nurses are forced to work
The Citizen (Gauteng)
31 Jul 2020
Sipho Mabena
Panic and anxiety has gripped the Naas community in Mpumalanga after a nurse continued to interact with staff and patients while awaiting her Covid-19 test results, which came back positive three days later.
The health department yesterday shut the Naas Community Health Centre for disinfection and activated the national Covid-19 track and trace protocols to find those who came into close contact with the nurse.
The nurse did not inform the facility about testing positive and the department was notified by the national health laboratory that there was a positive case in the facility.
In another incident, the results of an official at the Boschfontein clinic in Malelane returned positive on the final day of the 14-day quarantine – which the department has blamed on the initial results backlog.
Fellow staff members were alarmed when the health worker arrived for work even though the test was positive and two colleagues subsequently also tested positive, forcing the department to shut and disinfect the clinic yesterday.
This could be a blow for the province, which has the third lowest Covid-19 cases, in spite of claims about nurses being forced to work while awaiting their results and concerns about infections among nurses.
HIV, TB impact modest
COVID: JUST 2% OF VIRUS DEATHS ATTRIBUTABLE TO TUBERCULOSIS
The Citizen (Gauteng)
31 Jul 2020
Picture: Tracy
Lee StarkEASY ACCESS. Covid Xpress medical staff conduct tests at a new drive-thru facility in Randburg this week. They can process up to 3 000 tests a day. Tests can be booked online at covidxpress.co.za at a cost of R1 100.
Diabetes has severe effect, with 52% of coronavirus deaths caused by the condition in SA.
Preliminary results from a study of 12 987 Covid-19 patients in South Africa indicate HIV and tuberculosis (TB) have a modest effect on Covid-19 mortality, scientists Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Salim Abdool Karim say.
According to experts, 12% and 2% of Covid-19 deaths in SA are attributable to HIV and TB respectively, compared to 52% of Covid-19 deaths attributable to diabetes.
“The small contribution of HIV and TB to Covid-19 mortality is mainly due to these deaths occurring in older people, in whom HIV and active TB are not common.
“Integrated medical care for these three conditions is important, as Covid-19 patients coinfected with HIV or TB start attending healthcare services in larger numbers.”
Professor Salim Abdool Karim is the director at the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa and the country’s chief coronavirus scientist. Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and associate scientific director at the centre.
They lpublished a paper in Science Magazine on how SA’s TB and HIV infrastructure helped facilitate a rapid response to Covid-19.
However, they believe the focus on Covid-19 has an “opportunity cost” for the enormous gains made against these conditions.
Access to medical care and medication for non-Covid-19 conditions was limited during the hard lockdown.
“In South Africa, 1 090 TB patients and 10 950 HIV patients in one province have not collected their medication on schedule since the start of the lockdown.”
Meanwhile, 13.2% of the 19 330 people surveyed said their chronic disease medication was inaccessible during the lockdown.
“Furthermore, hospital admissions for HIV and TB declined as a result of hospitals reducing nonurgent admissions in preparation for a surge of Covid-19 cases and owing to closures to reduce exposure to Covid-19 patients.”
This could have substantial repercussions for both treatment and control, including the development of drug resistance in HIV and TB patients.
While the biological and epidemiological interaction of Covid-19, HIV and TB is not well understood, the two professors believe patients whose immune systems are compromised by HIV or TB could be more susceptible to severe Covid-19.
South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown regulations have also had a disproportional impact on women, many of whom are self-employed or day labourers without a safety net, research revealed.
“This may have a longer-term effect on increasing diseases associated with poverty, such as TB and HIV, for which young women bear a disproportionate burden.”
– SAnews.gov.za
It’s worse than we thought: The state of the SABC and
Mail & Guardian
31 Jul 2020
Thanduxolo Jika & M&G Data Desk
The SABC pays more than R3-billion of its revenue to salaries, even though more than 50%
of its permanent staff are not suited or skilled for the positions they hold, and it is projected that the broadcaster will make a loss of R1.2-billion for 2020-21.
But this will not change if politicians and unions get their way. Less than a year ago, the public broadcaster was handed a R3.2-billion bailout and, if its current financial position does not change, the begging bowl will be out again for more taxpayers’ money.
One of the conditions for the bailout last year was for the SABC board to put together a strategy document. This 100-page document was handed to Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications about two weeks ago, but ANC committee members were not interested in hearing the details. A recurring theme in the document is the bloated employee costs.
The public broadcaster announced last month that it needs to cut about 600 jobs, which would be a cost reduction of about R350-million. But there has been pressure from the government, the ANC and unions that there should be no jobs shed, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The broadcaster and the unions are involved in a section 189 process through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration).
Bloated and underskilled
According to its turnaround document, the broadcaster states that:
65% of the permanent workforce have a diploma or less education;
The SABC, with only four channels, has the highest employee cost as a percentage of expenditure in comparison to its local competitors, such as e-media Holdings, and international public broadcasters, such as the BBC;
The broadcaster pays more than 40% of its revenue to employees, with each employee costing on average R450 000 a year; and
Unlike other broadcasters, the SABC spends a mere 22% of its budget on content; others spend more than 40% on content.
“Staff optimisation at the SABC is more than 10 years overdue. It was an explicit
requirement for the successful turnaround of the SABC when it needed state support in 2008- 09. It remains an explicit requirement for the successful turnaround of the SABC now,” reads the turnaround strategy document.
Over the past 10 years, the public broadcaster made a profit only from 2011-12 to 2013-14.
But that was achieved because of low investment in content, which is the core business of the corporation. “Revenue growth has significantly slowed in the last four years. Ability to compete in the market is key for the SABC’S revival,” reads the document.
But then came the years of controversial chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who in one year increased his salary from R1.5million
to R2.4-million and allegedly did the same for his allies, as well as employing more people.
The unions at play
But politicians and the unions are not willing to allow the SABC to cut any jobs, and have said that it should look at other cost-cutting measures. While the broadcaster was attempting to conduct a skills analysis, unions raised a number of issues.
The SABC has maintained that the skills audit is not related to the retrenchment process which was rather necessitated by the dire financial position.
The major unions wrote a letter to the management, stating that staff members could not complete the skills survey due to the lockdown. The unions complained there were issues with the complexity and the validity of the survey questions and were worried about the questions in the survey and how the results would affect employees.
This is not the only reason there is political resistance to job cuts: the SABC, just like many other state entities, has been a place for patronage and an employment agency for years.
University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance associate professor William Gumede told the Mail & Guardian that SABC and other state-owned enterprises have gone beyond the rationale of their existence and become institutions that are draining public resources.
Page 28
Solar stuck where sun don’t shine
The implementation of the solar water heater programme has been delayed — yet again
Mail & Guardian
31 Jul 2020
Thando Maeko
The government has installed just 200 of the 87 000 heaters it purchased for hundreds of millions of rands under its rebooted solar water heater programme since 2018, a Mail &
Guardian investigation can reveal.
The remaining units are either languishing in warehouses at municipalities that have been allocated units or held at storage facilities across the country, according to leaked documents from the department of minerals and energy.
And the state has splashed out R289-million in storage costs to 10 companies over the past three years.
The scale of the disaster was highlighted both in the leaked documents and in responses by the department to the Mail & Guardian’s questions this week. A senior source said that, despite its failure, the programme was not currently under investigation by the treasury.
Initially launched by Eskom amid much fanfare 12 years ago, the programme aimed to install a million units in households and commercial buildings over the next five years.
Its purpose was to provide energy to consumers and cushion them against rising electricity tariffs, as well as to reduce the supply burden on Eskom.
The project was transferred to the department of minerals and energy in 2016 after many installed units failed because of their poor quality and lack of maintenance.
A tender to manufacture, supply, deliver and store the heaters was issued during the 2015-16 financial year, for a period of three years. Department officials had not responded to a question about the value of the tender at the time of going to print.
According to internal government documents seen by the M&G, the original price offered by suppliers covered various aspects of the units including warranty, three months’ storage and insurance.
Storage costs are charged per unit Nelson Mandela Bay
Cape Agulhas City of Tshwane Mossel Bay Matzikama Swartland Ethekwini Bitou Elundini Sol Plaatjie
City of Cape Town City of Matlosana Mahikeng
JB Marks Makana Polokwane
200 per day, rather than by floor area.
The documents show that the department instructed the suppliers to store the units for a longer period than was budgeted for, adding to the ballooning of the storage costs.
In an emailed response to the M&G’S questions, the department said that bidding for the manufacture of the heaters ended during the 2017-18 financial year.
However, at that stage municipalities were not ready to store the units, meaning that they could not be delivered and installed.
“All systems had to be in place in municipalities prior to any delivery ... to address any potential risk and address the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved and accountability thereof,” the department said.
The deparment insisted that the units could still be used, even though they have been in storage for longer than the budgeted period.
It said that one supplier had experienced theft at its storage facilities and, as a result, the units
“are currently not installable due to the missing components”.
It did not say how many heaters had been damaged in this way or where they were stored.
The department said that 200 units had been installed in Nelson Mandela Bay as part of the pilot programme and that 19 other municipalities have been allocated heaters for delivery and installation.
The M&G understands that no one has yet been held accountable for the escalation of the costs of storage, and that investigations have stalled.
In his report to the minerals and energy committee in Parliament in June this year, the department’s director-general, Thabo Mokoena, said that its “process to conduct
investigations into the matter through its panel of service providers was put on hold following a presentation of the programme to cabinet in October 2019.
“It was then recommended that the national treasury undertake the investigation.”
The department told the M&G that it was awaiting a response from the treasury about the status of the inquiry.
The roll-out of the solar water heater programme has been plagued by problems, including wasteful and fruitless expenditure, since its launch in 2008.
Eskom had installed 400 000 heaters by 2015, but the quality and maintenance issues had prompted many beneficiaries to revert to the use of electricity.
After the project was transferred to the minerals and energy department in 2016, the auditor general found that in the 2018-19 financial year there had been fruitless and wasteful expenditure totalling R110-million relating to “storage costs for solar water heaters that suppliers manufactured and stored after the agreed storage period”.
Internal department documents also concede that there were “abnormalities” in the procurement process.
The documents note that the project was handled by a junior official who reported to the former deputy director-general, Ompi Aphane, at the time that the bids were issued and processed.
“This arrangement was abnormal at the time as the head of policy [Aphane] had senior managers reporting to him directly and whom he chose to ignore and bypass, opting to work directly with a very junior official,” the document reads.
Aphane was suspended in 2017 while being investigated for his role in issuing a purchase order worth R100-million for manufacturing additional heaters to energy company Solid State Power. The purchase order was issued without following internal supply-chain procedures, according to the document.
He returned to the department after being suspended for 12 months after an internal
disciplinary hearing cleared him of wrongdoing. He retired from the department in April this year.
The department revealed that it had allocated a further R76-million during this fiscal year for the implementation of the solar water heater programme.
Director general Mokoena told Parliament’s minerals and energy committee in June this year that the programme had been stalled by the Covid-19 lockdown, which had held up
installation and the training of technicians.
The training forms part of the rollout of the project. In most municipalities, the idea is to train more than 100 young people for two weeks before the heaters are installed.
남아공 아파르트헤이트 '마지막 투사' 음랑게니 안장
송고시간 2020-07-30 18:23
만델라 투쟁 동지들 역사의 뒤안길로…국장 엄수
남아공 자유투사 음랑게니의 생전 모습
[로이터=연합뉴스 자료사진]
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 남아프리카공화국에서 최근 별세한 반(反) 아파르트헤이트(흑인차별정책) 투사 앤드루 음랑게니가 29 일(현지시간) 안장됐다.
음랑게니는 넬슨 만델라 등과 함께 백인 소수정권을 전복하는 음모를 꾸몄다는 혐의로 법정에서 사형까지 직면했던 인물이다. 음랑게니는 지난주 95 세를 일기로 타계했다.
이날 국장으로 엄수된 음랑게니 장례식을 기려 관공서에는 조기가 내걸렸다.
현지 TV 보도채널도 종일 장례식을 생중계했다.
시릴 라마포사 남아공 대통령은 조사에서 "우리는 위대한 애국자를 잃었을 뿐 아니라 단호한 도덕적 목소리도 잃었다"면서 "역사는 앤드루 음랑게니를 우리나라의 위인 전당에 두겠지만 사람들은 그를 겸손, 인간애, 존엄의 인물로 기억할 것"이라고 말했다.
29일 소웨토에서 열린 말랑게니 국장
[AP=연합뉴스]
조문객 가운데는 장관들과 함께 집권당 아프리카민족회의(ANC) 핵심 인사들도 참석했다고 AFP 통신이 전했다.
조문객들은 마스크를 쓰고 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나 19) 방지를 위해 사회적 거리두기를 했다.
음랑게니는 남아공 초대 흑인 대통령인 만델라처럼 4 반세기 이상을 케이프타운의 악명높은 로벤섬 감옥에서 보내다가 1989 년 석방됐다.
1994 년 첫 민주 총선 이후 그는 ANC 소속 국회의원이 됐고 2014 년 은퇴했다.
그는 나중에 ANC 의 분파주의와 제이콥 주마 전 대통령 치하에서 만연한 국가 부패를 강력히 비판했다.
여당 원로로서 특히 주마 전 대통령이 인도계 유력 재벌인 굽타 일가의 영향력 아래에 있다면서 그에게 물러나라고 촉구했다. 2009 년부터 집권한 주마는 결국 2018 년 2 월 불명예 퇴진할 수밖에 없었다.
음랑게니는 1925 년 중부 프리스테이트에서 태어났으며 1950 년대 초 ANC 청년 조직에 가담했다.
만델라가 1963∼1964 년 역사적인 '리보니아 재판'에서 사형 판결을 각오하면서 자유는 "내가 죽기 위해 준비된 이상"이라고 말할 당시 음랑게니도 고반 음베키, 월터 시술루, 아흐메드 카트라다, 데니스 골드버그 등 다른 투사들과 그 옆에 있었다. 이들은 결국 사형 대신 종신형을 선고받았으며 이후 26 년간 수형생활을 했다.
백인인 골드버그는 3 개월 전 타계했으며 음랑게니는 이들 전설적 투쟁 1 세대의 마지막 생존 인물이었다.
음랑게니는 평생을 반아파르트헤이트 투쟁의 도가니인 요하네스버그 소웨토 타운십에서 살았으며 요하네스버그 서쪽 루더푸어트 묘역에 묻혔다.
29일 소웨토에서 음랑게니의 국장을 맡은 사람들이 그의 관을 운구하고 있다.
[AP=연합뉴스]
