Friday 17 September - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
The Citizen (www.citizen.co.za) Page 1/3 – Jabs: a rights minefield
Page 2 – Budget statement looks promising Page 4 – Tshwane’s battle with veggie verges Page 8 – Changing of the guard
Page 11 – Pensioners build own clinic Mail & Guardian(www.mg.co.za)
Page 9 – ‘The children can’t cope any more’: Death by suicide in Calvinia Page 10 – Covid-19: No vaccine booster shots needed yet
Page 11 – Basic web security lessons for SA Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za) Page 1 – Management feud delayed tender Page 3 – First black woman gets PhD in planning The Star (www.iol.co.za)
Home Affairs ready for voter registration weekend, says Aaron Motsoaledi
IEC asks Cyril Ramaphosa for local government election day to be declared a public holiday
Business Day (www.businesslive.co.za)
Zuma rescission judgment to be handed down on Friday 연합뉴스 (www.yonhapnews.co.kr)
10 월 ‘격리면제 제외국’에 잠비아 등 20 개국…9 월 36 개국서 줄어
Jabs: a rights minefield
Demanding mandatory vaccinations or ‘vaccination passports’
may infringe on certain human rights but is not illegal, the SA Human Rights Commission says as the debate about whether you can refuse to comply hots up.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 17 Sep 2021
• Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni – simnikiweh@citizen.co.za
‘Labelling people as anti-vaxxers for asking questions is also not helping.’
Other than the vexed expropriation of property without compensation, the prospect of mandatory vaccinations or “vaccination passports” is shaping up to become one of the biggest constitutional battles since 1994.
As more companies impose mandatory vaccination on their staff and even customers, legal and labour experts believe the battle could eventually end up in the Constitutional Court.
Employers have been warned that if they are planning to enforce mandatory vaccination or vaccine passport policies related to Covid, they must consider human rights implications.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has already seen cases referred to it, where employees are challenging vaccine rules, with one having successfully done so.
Commission chair Bongani Majola said while there are possible human rights issues involved, this does not mean mandatory vaccination policies are illegal.
In June, Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi gazetted a directive, the Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain
Workplaces. This appeared to give the green light to employers to require workers to be vaccinated against Covid.
The National Employers Association of South Africa (Neasa) told its
members the wording of the directive clearly indicates a blanket mandatory vaccination of all employees is not its intention.
Neasa national manager Jaco Swart said if an employer decides to
implement such a policy, it may only be applied to employees who, through their working conditions, are at risk of being infected or those with
comorbidities.
“Should such an employee refuse, the employer must consult, educate and give due consideration to the employee’s constitutional right to bodily integrity and right to freedom of religion, belief and opinion.”
Should the employee still refuse, the employer must attempt to
accommodate him or her through less invasive measures, such as working from home, wearing of masks, setting up screens and social distancing.
Only when it causes undue hardship for employers may they consider dismissing the employee for refusing to vaccinate.
Dr Ronald Whelan, chief commercial officer at Discovery Health, said the company would be taking steps to make all of its buildings vaccinated-only zones.
Section 12 of the constitution protects people’s rights to freedom and
security of person. There are also instances in which the freedom of religion (Section 15 of the constitution) can be applied in favour of someone being forced to take the jab.
However, Section 36 of the constitution provides that the rights in the Bill of Rights may be limited “only in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom, taking into account all relevant factors”.
SAHRC’s Majola said: “If, for example, a child who is 19 or 17 is refused admission into a matric class for not being vaccinated, that is clearly a violation of their right to education. So, if a school wants to implement a mandatory vaccination policy it has to be in compliance with the
constitution, which prescribes the manner in which this right to education is protected.”
Advocate Tertius Wessels, legal director at Strata-g Labour Solutions, said it remains unclear how government intends managing people who are
unvaccinated as a result of their religious, medical or cultural beliefs.
“Will these individuals be required to produce a passport or certificate as proof of that they have tested negative for Covid? How often will these individuals have to conduct a Covid test? And for how long will such a negative test result be deemed valid?”
According to political analyst Xolani Mngami, Covid has become a highly politicised pandemic but it is, first, a human rights issue, in that the right to freedom of bodily autonomy must be weighed against the rights of others affected by whether one is vaccinated or not.
“This issue of labelling people as anti-vaxxers for asking questions is also not helping and it’s part of the politicisation of this whole thing,” Mngami said.
Budget statement looks promising
GODONGWANA: WILL UPDATE TREASURY’S FORECASTS
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 17 Sep 2021
• Eric Naki ericn@citizen.co.za
Funds needed to bail out SOEs, ramp up jab roll-out.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to announce his first budget activity since his August appointment, the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on 4 November.
It is promising to be a busy statement with funds urgently needed to deal with existing crises; the ramping up of vaccination programmes; the bailout of stateowned enterprises; and releasing huge amounts to cover unpaid e- toll debt.
Godongwana must also adjust economic forecasts from the February figures in the light of the current investment drought and pressure on economy.
The budget will come just days after the local government elections to be held on 1 November.
The MTBPS is a mid-term stopover and refill to enable reflection and make adjustments on budget allocations since February’s main budget. Of
significance in the process is addressing emergencies and unavoidable departmental spending shortfalls.
Godongwana already hinted at his priorities in the MTBPS that included more funding to address the impact of the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, for which he asked parliament to approve an addition R32 billion.
The bulk of the money would support the SA Special Risks Insurance Association (Sasria), a sole state-owned insurer that must pay losses incurred by individuals and businesses in the July looting and arson.
Last week, Deputy President David Mabuza announced that Sasria would fork out more than R10 billion to assist businesses, something he hoped would help boost the economy. Sasria claims liability emanating from the unrest amounted to R20 billion.
The ramping up of the vaccination roll-out to achieve sufficient population protection levels and reduce hospitalisations will require additional
funding.
With the SA Airways issue being addressed through buying of a stake, the government is still saddled with having to bail out cash-strapped arms
manufacturer Denel. The state firm was unable to pay staff salaries for many months after its funds dried up.
Godongwana will also update National Treasury’s economic forecasts, particularly in the light of the economic downturn caused by the riots and extension of the social relief of distress grant for the unemployed.
The payment is temporary provision of aid intended for persons who are in dire need due to unemployment. –
Tshwane’s battle with veggie verges
More ‘cabbage bandits’ growing vegetables on their pavements emerge.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 17 Sep 2021
• Marizka Coetzer – marizkac@citizen.co.za
‘I think everybody should be planting their pavement full of vegetables.’
There will be no mercy for the self-proclaimed “cabbage bandit”, who has until next month to pay the fine issued for his street garden or face the consequences.
Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba, spokesperson for the Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) communication unit, said it was disappointing that Joe Nkuna did not take advantage of the City of
Tshwane’s formal “adopt a spot” policy, where residents who wished to beautify public spaces could apply to the environmental department.
“TMPD officers routinely conduct inspections and respond to complaints, in line with their responsibilities to conduct by-law enforcement,” Mahmaba said.
This included illegal dumping, noise issues, traffic infringements, combating land invasions and various other public safety issues.
Mahamba said on 9 September, TMPD officers responded to a complaint about the use of a road reserve.
“They identified that Nkuna was utilising a public road reserve to grow an array of crops.
“Nkuna was issued a verbal warning and requested to comply with the regulations of the use of road reserves. He did not.”
Mahamba confirmed Nkuna was issued with a fine of R1 500 according to the Road Traffic Act 96 of 1996, as he was obstructing a sidewalk reserved for pedestrians.
Mahamba said Nkuna did not own this land and could not decide to use it for agricultural purposes.
“What is further alarming is that on his public Facebook posts, Everybody should be planting their pavement full of vegetables.
he has openly bragged about ‘grabbing’ land. This is deeply alarming because the City of Tshwane is actively trying to combat land invasions which violate the rights of citizens,” Mahamba added.
Mahamba said Nkuna had also told the media that he donated his produce, yet his social media activity indicated he sold it as well.
Mahamba said Nkuna has until October to pay his fine.
“If he fails to pay within the prescribed period, there is a date that he can appear in court to dispute the fine, which would be later in November,” he said.
Charmaine Krugel, founder of Swa Vana in Mpumalanga, said Nkuna was doing phenomenal work.
“I think everybody should be planting their pavement full of vegetables for those who don’t have,” Krugel said.
“The good that patch of vegetable does far exceeds the negative.
If people can walk past and take something to pick food to eat, I think it’s awesomel.
“I can’t believe there is such a big hoo-ha about it.”
Krugel said the gardens at Swa Vana’s centres fed needy children and they sent excess vegetables home with the most vulnerable.
Krugel started her vegetable garden more than 10 years ago. It is located at their centre and is now run by community members who work for the organisation.
Traditional healer AK iMphisi from First Takhosa in East Lynne said they had 64 patches of vegetables around the property that were free to the community.
Founder of First Takhosa Frikkie van der Merwe started the first garden during hard lockdown to help feed the community.
“It’s for the people, for free, just to pick and take home and use,” AK said.
The patches consist of cabbage, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, purple and blue corn, black and red corn, kale, leeks, beetroot, gem squash, butternut, pumpkin and sugarcane.
“We are looking into planting spices such as African ginger and turmeric,”
AK added.
He said they had regular gogos who came and fetched vegetables early in the morning or in the afternoon to cook with.
With the help of the community, the patches were prepared about two months ago and were growing day by day as more people donated seedlings or came to collect excess plants.
Charmaine Krugel Swa Vana founder
Changing of the guard
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: EDUCATION TO TAKE OVER IN GAUTENG
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 17 Sep 2021
• Reitumetse Makwea – reitumetsem@citizen.co.za
‘We miss checking if the schools are ready for the child.’
Education experts have applauded government following its decision to take over the management of early childhood development (ECD) services from the department of social development (DSD) to the department of basic education (DBE) by April 2022.
According to the University of KwaZulu-Natal professor of education Wayne Hugo, the decision is “a very good idea. ECDs are a highly specialised
teaching area that needs a dedicated educational focus.
“Early stages of development are really crucial, so we need expertise in these early stages and then to reward people who do this work with a teaching qualification.”
Director of training and resources in early education Mmatsetshweu Motaung said although it was a great initiative that would help get rid of unregistered ECDs, it was not as simple as just signing the papers.
“When we track ECDs in the country, we are talking as far back as nine years and we know that it has been divided into two: the part that has been under the department of education and the other under social development,” she said
“The challenge is the readiness of the education department in terms of taking over. We always talk of children being ready for school but we always miss checking if the schools are ready for the child.”
Motaung said ECD was defined as the cognitive, emotional, physical, mental, communication, social and spiritual development of children.
“ECD plays a critical role in preparing a child to thrive in primary and
secondary school. They have been divided into three age groups: conception to two years (first 1 000 days); children aged three to five years – stronger early learning focus; and Grade R, entrance to formal schooling,” Motaung said.
The Gauteng provincial government promulgated a Gazette to proclaim migration of ECDs to relevant MECs.
The process of ECD migration was first announced in the 2019 State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Gauteng premier David Makhura on Wednesday said the shift was not to deny the important work the DSD had done.
“However, it is important that while the department of social development responds to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalised in our
communities, and children tend to fall into that category, that the foundation phase of their development in so far as their education is concerned is prioritised.
“The main reason for the transfer is to improve the development of children and the quality of early childhood education.”
Gauteng head of communications Thabo Masebe said migration of ECDs was still a national decision,
According to a report by Stats SA, access to early learning programmes (ELPs) has increased over the past 10 years, with 69% of four year olds attending an ELP in 2018.
“There are some major concerns around this data, according to the DBE and DSD.
“It is currently not known how many unregistered centres there really are and this makes planning the expansion of early learning programmes problematic,” said the report.
Registered centres were funded through the DSD subsidy at R15 per child for 264 days.
“There is a need to get the same funding as Grade RR in schools. Currently there is no reliable data on the number of [pupils] in Grade RR, as the majority ... are in ECD centres,” Motaung said.
“It does not mean that all zero to five year olds will be going to schools. The hybrid model of using both schools and ECD centres as sites for Grade R will continue, and younger children should remain in ELPs.”
The departments will first conduct a census of all registered and nonregistered ECD centres.
This will be used to integrate ECDs to the DBE’s education management information system and expand the provisions of education support programmes as well as play-based learning.
Outcomes from the baseline assessments of four year olds will assist the education department in tracking and improving the quality of ECD
provisions for the next five to 10 years, while other benefits include higher intelligence scores, less grade repetition and lower dropout rates in the future.
Early stages are really crucial
Pensioners build own clinic
FORGOTTEN: GOVERNMENT FAILS TO SEND NURSES AS PROMISED BY THEN HEALTH MEC
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 17 Sep 2021
• Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
Health facility constructed by residents, most of them elderly.
It’s Thursday morning at the Lurwayizo clinic and about 30 patients carrying their clinic cards are waiting outside. Some of the patients are already inside, also waiting. None of them will be seen by nurses today.
Fed-up with expensive trips to the clinic at Mpozolo 15km away, pensioners from Lurwayizo village in Willowvale, Eastern Cape, built their own clinic.
But there are no nurses, because the provincial department of health has failed to send the nurses the MEC promised.
Thembeka Ndevu, who is a cleaner, is registering patients on a list. She was an unpaid volunteer from when the clinic was opened in 2019 until recently, when residents in each village started collecting sums of R10 to R20 to pay her.
Last month she was paid R1 000. Because the clinic only takes 50 patients a day, every morning she registers the first 50 people to arrive. “Once the 50 are registered, the rest return home and come back when the clinic opens again,” she says.
But for the past two months, Ndevu has been registering patients for nothing, since there have been no nurses at the clinic. “We wait together until lunch time before I let them go home,” she says.
The clinic was built by community members, mostly pensioners, from Lurwayizo village and surrounding areas like Mendana, Mathokazini, Ludakana, Phakathi and Phesheya koMbhashe.
R150 per household
In early 2018 they started by fencing the yard. Each resident brought a pole and they used fencing from their farms. Then they collected donations, from R60 to R150 per household.
We were shown a list of about 2 000 names of people who had contributed. A local businessman, Benjamin von Meyer, had helped and had encouraged his friends to donate. Construction started in January 2019.
Pensioners in these villages say this is the fourth clinic they have built. The first was built around 2014 with sticks and mud. Heavy rain destroyed it.
Residents rebuilt the second one, but it also did not survive.
A third clinic was blown away by heavy winds in 2018 and it was then that pensioners took a decision to raise funds for a proper brick and mortar building.
Kidwell Tomtala, 60, who is a volunteer caretaker at the clinic, says since 2013, villagers had been begging the health department and provincial government to build them a clinic.
“I have written a number of letters to the department and they kept on promising to build us a clinic but that never happened,” he said. “We used our social grant money to build this clinic.”
When the then health MEC Helen Sauls-August was on a visit to a nearby village in February 2019, residents of Lurwayizo went to meet her, said Tomtala. “We went there to inform the government what we have done,” he said.
“At the time the clinic needed ceilings, tubing and flooring. We told them we are not finished yet, but what we want is for the health department to
organise nurses for this clinic.
“They were so excited, on that same day they came here to check the clinic.
A few days later they came back with their big cars, with food and cakes to officially open this clinic.”
Tomtala said the MEC had promised that the department would take over and finish what was left of the building and would send nurses. “She said nurses would come on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And once the number of attendants increased to more than 50 a day, the clinic would be open every day,” said Tomtala.
Another resident Welton Nguqu, 71, said the health department failed them from the start. “When the MEC was here cutting cakes, she promised to tile this clinic. We’re still waiting. This flooring you see, we bought it
ourselves,” he said.
“Yes, they installed electricity but as you can see they did not finish, these are some of the globes they were supposed to install: they’ve been here for a year now. The only thing they gave us is this old water tank you see
outside.”
Residents paid for the electricity installation to be completed and for the tiling. The ceilings are still not complete. There are two consulting rooms, a pharmacy, a kitchen, counselling room and waiting room – built at a cost of R320 000, according to the residents.
There are no ambulances
Nowezile Ndlumbini from Mendwana village is 83. She said she contributed to the building of the clinic to prevent people dying before they could get to help. “Here there are no ambulances. If we are sick we are forced to hire a car and to go to Madwaleni hospital in Elliotdale and it costs from R1 200 to R1 600 – that is a single [way]. The car will leave you there,” said
Ndlumbini.
She said though the Lurwayizo clinic was only 2km from her house, she could not walk and had to hire a car for R50. But to go to Mpozolo clinic
would cost her R500, she said. “I’m old, I have chronic illness and if I don’t have money I cannot collect my medication.”
Nowezile Ndlumbini from Mendwana village says she cannot afford to go too far to collect her chronic medication. “With this clinic we were trying to cut costs, but government is not helping us,” she said.
“Here, not so long ago, a pregnant girl got sick and we could not find a car in time: she passed away. A young man was stabbed and he died before he reached the hospital. We buried three, if not four, women in this village who died giving birth at home.”
When GroundUp approached Sauls-August, who is now speaker of the Eastern Cape legislature, her spokesperson Lwandile Sicetshwa said since she was no longer MEC, there would be no comment.
Amathole health district manager Sindiswa Gede blamed bad roads that are inaccessible because of rain and recent protests for the failure to send nurses.
Head of department Dr Rolene Wagner said due to Covid and the roll-out of vaccines the department faced challenges bringing nurses from Mpozolo clinic to Lurwayizo.
–
‘The children can’t cope any more’: Death by suicide in Calvinia
A myriad physical and emotional burdens are placed on children’s shoulders. And this has intensified with the advent of Covid-19
• Mail & Guardian
• 17 Sep 2021
• Eunice Stoltz
The singer Dana Winner’s words echo off the mountains in the Hantam region of the Northern Cape. “Let the children have a world. Where there is no pain or sorrow. Where they all can live tomorrow. And they share a
brighter day.” A thin layer of snow covers the mountains, while thick clouds throw a veil over the small town of Calvinia.
On 29 July this year, 13-year-old Gaylinne-corné Joseph took her own life, using the belt of her nightgown. Hers was one of four cases of child suicide in the area in recent months.
“She was an angel child. She differed from the other kids. She never gave you any reason to scold her,” says her aunt, Geraldine Gous. During an interview with the Mail & Guardian, Gous responds; Gaylinne’s parents, unable to find the words, simply nod in agreement.
“Gaylinne enjoyed school. Each time she brought back home her school report she would comment ‘Ek is ’n poppie wat klaar maak’ [I’m a girl who finishes],” says her aunt.
Her mother, Jenine Joseph, works at Hantam Primary School, where Gaylinne was finishing her final year. She would have gone on to Hantam Secondary School next year. Her father, Johannis Gous, is a security guard.
The three lived in a government-built RDP house, where they shared a bedroom.
Gous says Gaylinne was a quiet, introverted person. “She was very close to her grandmother; she would stay there the whole day and talk to her. She wasn’t someone who talked easily. She must have really known you before she would open up.”
When Gaylinne’s cousin died of suicide in May this year, the family didn’t recognise any behavioural changes in their child.
Gaylinne’s cousin was also 13 years old. They grew up together and were very fond of each other. The cousin went to Calvinia Primary School, not far from where Gaylinne went to school. She too had a special relationship with her grandmother.
But then the cousin’s mother, who is a police officer, was transferred to Upington at the beginning of 2021. The cousin left her friends and the
environment she knew behind, and began school in Upington. She wanted to go back to Calvinia and was told that when she finished this year’s schooling she could return. But before that could happen, she took her own life.
“After her cousin’s funeral, Gaylinne talked and asked a lot of questions. But we never thought it to be a warning sign,” Gous says.
Gaylinne asked her grandmother why her cousin took her own life and how one could kill oneself with a nightgown belt. She also compiled a video montage of pictures of her cousin, which she would watch continuously.
“We were not aware that she was busy living herself in her cousin’s suicide,” Gous says.
The mountainous landscape and flowers surrounding Calvinia, the busy streets and historical buildings, are the images one remembers of the town.
But it is in the streets that many children mill around during school hours.
There are no flowers where they walk, and the locals say there have not been any for some time, ever since the droughts in 2016 and 2018.
There is no cellphone signal because two major mobile telecoms units are out of order. When the M&G visits the town, some areas don’t have
electricity, because of cable theft the previous night, “so, you know, this is Calvinia — it will probably be fixed much later”, says a shop owner.
A high unemployment rate, alcohol and drug abuse, poverty and
socioeconomic problems have been prevalent for some time in the town.
“Our children are in a place where they have never been before,” says Aubrey Piedt, a school psychiatrist. He previously served large parts of the Northern Cape, but is now limited by the Covid-19 restrictions to the area in and around Calvinia.
“What the pandemic did was to underline the challenges our children face,”
he says.
Piedt points out that children have overcome the stigma of visiting the school psychiatrist. “Lately, it has happened more and more that children themselves come to [see me]. They cannot cope any more.”
He says that by the time he sees a child their emotional load has already become a crisis, adding that the children carried this burden long before the pandemic.
“It is such a distorted picture,” Piedt says. “I have so much compassion for our town. It is just that there is no work and so much hopelessness.
“I’m experienced and [have] worked with many different cases before, but it is as if I have reached a point where I myself feel burned out,” says Piedt, who recently had to accept, for the first time, that he could not determine the reason a child would die of suicide.
“If someone can just notice the hopelessness …” he pleads.
Manuel Pieterse is the principal of Hantam Primary School, which Gaylinne attended. Pieterse grew up in Calvinia West, a large township next to
Calvinia. He is aware of the myriad physical and emotional burdens placed on the shoulders of the children at his school.
He points out that children in Calvinia had survived the drought, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
“The majority of our children from surrounding farms have not returned to school,” says Pieterse, adding that there were nearly 200 dropouts last year.
“Covid really hit smaller towns like Calvinia, where most people depend on char jobs two to three times a week. These jobs disappeared instantly when the hard lockdown was enforced,” Pieterse says.
“The impact of Covid-19 has a ripple effect on families and it comes down on children as young as grade one and two. And children don’t know how to open up and to talk about their feelings.”
Pieterse recalls attempted suicides and suicides in both the primary and secondary schools. He says that when one child dies of suicide, it might start a trend, so the school acted quickly after Gaylinne died of suicide.
Children suffer in silence
Quinton Adams is a research psychiatrist from Cape Town. He developed a programme called Discipline Starts at Home, which he introduced in Calvinia about nine years ago. Since first presenting the programme, he returns to the town every four years.
During his visit in August, Adams had informal interviews with more than 200 children younger than age 13. He shared some of the observations he made.
“Children struggle with grief and loss,” says Adams, adding that they then develop childhood trauma, and there are not adequate support systems to help them deal with that.
Children are being exposed to many deaths during Covid-19. “They don’t know what to make of it,” Adams says. “Children deal with anticipatory
grief, asking who is next, because they hear the neighbour passed away, then their grandfather, and teacher, and next is a parent or friend.”
The support system many children depended on changed overnight when schools closed in 2020 because of the
fear that Covid-19 might spread.
“We cannot expect children to be emotionally resilient when the school system and [home] system collapse. Where do they go? Children suffer in silence,” Adams says.
“There is a total disregard for children’s’ emotional experiences. Children feel isolated. Their parents are caught in financial difficulties and their main source of hope is cut off by not being able to go to school and talk to
teachers.
“It is a total crisis. I have never before received so many inquiries about children [dying of] suicide in towns across the Western Cape, and especially in rural areas.”
Adams strongly believes schools do not know how to manage suicides and there are not enough organisations to support children, schools and parents on how to deal with emotional pain and daily problems.
Adams says memorial services can have an unintended effect on children after the death of a fellow learner. The service celebrates the child and
sometimes these events even worship a child, argues Adams: “A child [who]
might feel brittle thinks if he also [dies of] suicide, he will receive the same attention and accolades.,”
Adams says children must acquire the ability to ask for help. “Children don’t know how to handle psychological pain, yet they too experience it, just like adults.”
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) estimates that 23 suicides and 460 attempted suicides take place every day in South Africa. A startling figure by Sadag suggests 9% of all teen deaths are deaths from suicide. It is also the second most common cause of death in people aged between 15 to 29.
Hantam Primary School is far from giving up hope. The staff are working on solutions to teach children how to talk about their feelings. Adams describes it as a kind of “buddy system”.
The programme builds on the spirit and work of school psychiatrist Piedt, who is leading the initiative.
It aims to create a support system for children who need to talk about their circumstances or incidents that have negatively affected them.
Back at Gaylinne’s home, her father says: “I miss her a lot. I must gather my thoughts at night before I go lay down. I know my child is not coming back.”
For Gaylinne’s family, there are still more questions than answers.
“We do not know what drove her to commit suicide. We don’t know what we could have done differently,” Gous says.
Outside their home, she points out to the mountain; a growing number of shacks occupy its hillside. “A few days ago you could see the snow at the
top,” notes Gous, as soft rain carries the last words of Dana Winner’s song:
“A child will find their own place in the sunlight. A child has hope, crystal light in their eyes.”
You can call the Childline South Africa 24-hour helpline at no cost on 116. Or you can visit the online counselling chat rooms, at childlinesa.
org.za/status, which are staffed from Monday to Friday, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm. Or go to Child Welfare at childwelfaresa.org.za to find the nearest child-support organisation in your province
Covid-19: No vaccine booster shots needed yet
Scientists agree it is important to get most of the population vaccinated before giving booster jabs
• Mail & Guardian
• 17 Sep 2021
• Marcia Zali
There is no credible evidence that the current doses of vaccines have a lower protection against severe disease in relation to Covid-19. A study in The Lancet medical journal has made this finding amid calls from some countries for vaccine booster shots against Covid-19. In its research, the paper said the current evidence did not appear to show a need for extra doses for the general population, because the efficacy of the vaccines remains high.
The Delta variant of Covid-19 has been found to be highly transmissible and was responsible for a sharp spike in the number of cases globally, pushing some countries to consider boosters. However, this decision should be evidence-based, and consider the benefits and risks for individuals and society, the peerreviewed journal said.
For South Africa, officials say the question of booster shots is not a priority but should the need arise, there are enough vaccines available.
Given that some countries are struggling to vaccinate everyone, the Lancet report suggested that any gain made from boosters could not outweigh the benefits of providing protection to the unvaccinated. It further highlighted that the current variants of the virus had not yet evolved to a point where they could escape the memory immune responses induced by those
vaccines.
Variant-based booster studies should be conducted before there is a need for them, The Lancet report said, and then adopt a similar strategy used with annual influenza vaccines, which are targeted at the circulating variant at the time.
Dr Sanet Aspinall, virologist for the Numolux Group that distributes the Sinovac vaccine, agreed: “There is probably a lot of truth [in the findings made by the researchers of the study on the considerations for boosters]
because countries need to start vaccinating people instead of providing boosters to people who have already been vaccinated.
“If people have been vaccinated there’s some antibody level that will protect them if they come into contact with the virus. Whereas the unvaccinated
population do not have any protection, so it makes more sense to protect the people that have not been vaccinated rather than spend the funds on booster shots. The boosters will come later.”
Professor Francois Venter, of the University of the Witwatersrand and the divisional head of Ezintsha, a group of South African academics and health professionals working with partners around the world, agreed that it was too soon for countries to start administering booster shots “especially when our current vaccines are working so well, and while only 18% of the
population is vaccinated”.
“Rather focus on getting the over60s vaccinated, and wait for data,” Venter said.
The Lancet study comes against the backdrop of countries such as Israel administering booster shots of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine to people aged 50 plus who were vaccinated in January. More than 2.8-million people in Israel have received the third dose since the beginning of August.
At the time the decision to administer a third dose was taken, Israel had reported that 50% of fully vaccinated individuals were among those who were infected with Covid19, saying the vaccine effectiveness was at 40%.
“Previously we thought that fully vaccinated individuals are protected, but we now see that vaccine effectiveness is roughly 40%,” said Dr Sharon Alroy-preis, the country’s director of public health services, in an interview with the American television and radio network CBS.
The director general of the Israeli health ministry, Nachman Ash, told Radio 103FM that preparations were underway to secure more vaccines in case there was a need to administer a fourth dose.
“We don’t know when it will happen; I hope very much that it won’t be within six months, like this time, and that the third dose will last for longer,” he said.
Both the UK and the US were planning to administer booster shots later in the month.
The report from The Lancet said randomised trials reliably showed the high initial efficacy of several vaccines, and were relatively easy to interpret. It said observational studies had proved to be less reliable in attempts to
assess the effects on particular variants or the durability of vaccine efficacy, or both, and had substantial difficulties in estimating vaccine efficacy
undertaken in the context of rapid vaccine roll-out.
The World Health Organisation has also called for a moratorium on Covid- 19 booster shots. The fact that there was no equity in access to and
distribution of vaccines remains
a concern for the United Nations agency’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
More than 80% of the vaccine doses administered are in high and
middleincome countries, with high-income countries administering about 50 doses per 100 people while lowincome countries have only administered 1.5 doses per 100 people.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant, but we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected,” Ghebreyesus said in August.
In South Africa, the deputy director general in the department of health, Dr Nicholas Crisp, said during an interview on the Newzroom
Afrika channel on Sunday that the government was considering booster shots for healthcare workers who were vaccinated in February.
The department’s spokesperson, Popo Maja, said “the issue of boosters is not a priority at the moment, but [the priority is] to reach as many people as possible before the next wave”.
“We do have sufficient vaccines for the general target population to receive at least one dose before we could consider booster jabs.”
Numolux Group virologist Aspinall said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine boosters should only be considered for healthworkers when there was data showing a diminished immune response from the drugs over time.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has responded to reports of deaths allegedly caused by vaccines.
Reports about the negative side effects of the vaccines prompted the
regulator to investigate the deaths of 86 people said to have occurred after they were vaccinated between May and August.
Investigations and casualty assessments were done in 40 of these cases and 46 are still under investigation.
Thirty-four of these cases were found to have been coincidental and had no relation to the vaccine, 13 were related to Covid-19 and one death resulted from a breakthrough infection.
There were six unclassified results because the information available was inadequate.
According to Sahpra, 2 770 reports of adverse events after immunisation were reported by patients through healthcare providers or its mobile app.
More than 15.18-million vaccines had been administered by Tuesday and 11.03-million people had been vaccinated.
The University of the Witwatersrand’s Venter said the findings by Sahpra were not surprising in terms of the adverse events reported.
“It is not surprising that none of the deaths have been linked to the vaccine
— serious events are exceedingly rare. Eventually one will, but the risk/benefit ratio is far in favour of the vaccine,” he said.
Some of the common side effects that were reported or are likely to be experienced include headaches, soreness around injection spot, fatigue, dizziness, pain, fever, nausea, laboured breathing, chest pain, chills and muscle aches.
‘Countries need to start vaccinating people instead of providing boosters to people who have already been vaccinated’
Basic web security lessons for SA
Recent cyberattacks at the department of justice and the space agency highlight the extent of our naivete
• Mail & Guardian
• 17 Sep 2021
• Luke Feltham
Photo: Rajesh Jantilal/afp via GettyVulnerable: After Transnet was affected by a ransomware cyberattack on 27 July, forcing ports to use manual systems, two more government agencies were hacked in September.
Alarm bells sounded last week when two government agencies were hacked in quick succession. The department of justice and constitutional
development as well as the South African National Space Agency both confirmed that on 6 September they were hit with cyberattacks. There appears to be no link between the two but the inauspicious timing of the breaches has piqued public interest into how state institutions were so readily compromised — not forgetting that Transnet was similarly taken advantage of in July.
While the increasing prevalence of the incidents has rightly raised concern, some in the cybersecurity field are more worried about the nature of the attack.
“The question becomes, how hard is it?” said Haroon Meer, founder of applied research company Thinkst. “Are you being attacked by
statesponsored attackers, or are you being attacked by garden variety
schoolkids? And that’s where our complications ratchet up. In reality South Africa is so poorly prepared for it that we’re in that latter category.”
Both the justice department and rail, port and pipeline company Transnet fell victim to ransomware. The concept behind the method is simple: a hacker is able to infect a device with malware and subsequently encrypt the user’s files. A ransom is then demanded for them to be unlocked — usually to be paid in bitcoin. The scope of data withheld can range from sentimental personal folders to information necessary to the functioning of
multinational corporations.
The use of ransomware has surged over the last five years and by many estimates is still exponentially increasing.
According to software firm Check Points’ mid-year security report, for instance, ransomware attacks in the first six months of 2021 were up by 93% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Ransomware’s popularity is also linked to its ease of use. Put simply,
ransomware hackers do not have to code for subtlety in their malware; it is very much the point that you become aware of its existence once it has latched onto a target’s files. Importantly, it also spreads easily through phishing emails or driveby downloading — the download of malicious code when an infected website is visited.
What this additionally means is that those responsible for recent
government breaches are not necessarily elite, well-funded or coordinated hackers.
“It’s basic hygiene elements that are not there,” says Craig Rosewarne, managing director at Wolfpack Information Risk. “Ransomware happens because systems aren’t necessarily patched as they should be. The
vulnerabilities aren’t patched over; users aren’t necessarily aware.
“The other thing we’ve seen is that there’s a lack of monitoring of environments to tell that there’s been unsuccessful logins or strange activity coming from a certain IP address.
It’s the foundational things which should be done consistently that aren’t getting done and as a result these things are getting through.”
While the recent attacks are of a more straightforward nature, the cost they have wrought has still been substantial.
Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan could boast that not a cent was paid to the Transnet hackers, but the attack still set off chaos at the state company. Employees were immediately instructed to log out of all digital infrastructure, ports ground to a standstill and force majeure was declared — a clause that relieves parties in a contract of responsibility should extraordinary events block them from fulfilling them.
Weeks after the event, Transnet was still working to restore 100% of its IT systems.
The justice department has similarly found its operations inconvenienced.
The department confirmed on Monday that child maintenance payments had been delayed due to certain systems not being accessible, while court recording equipment was also affected.
Despite assurances that contingency measures were put in place to prevent any unscheduled disruptions, the high-profile bail hearing of alleged crime boss Nafiz Modack was postponed on Wednesday, 15 September, reportedly due to issues with recording. The department
ignored questions from the Mail & Guardian into whether the problem was related to the hack.
The Information Regulator — essentially the watchdog of this sector — reported being impacted by the ransomware due to relying on the justice department’s IT systems. With its website taken down for three days, it expressed concern that such an incident was allowed to occur.
“We are concerned about the high number of security breaches in South Africa. In August alone, 38 responsible parties suffered, and reported, security breaches,” chairperson advocate Pansy Tlakula said. “Responsible parties are reminded of their obligation under the Protection of Personal Information Act to secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information of data subjects by taking appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent unlawful access to or processing of personal information.”
The Space Agency, meanwhile, told the Daily Maverick that it was mostly files that were available on a public domain that were affected. Neither it nor the department of justice and constitutional development reported being contacted for a ransom.
For the entities that have been affected, and those that share their
vulnerabilities, the attacks serve as a vital prompt to shore up their security structures. As Meer argues, these breaches may well indicate that a skilled sleuth could exercise far more malicious damage.
“In some way, these ransomware attacks are such an entry-level problem, but they’re actually helpful. In a really horrible way,” he says. “So imagine our department of justice, and imagine the importance of that information to a foreign nation state.
“If I was able to compromise that network, and I was able to tell every case that passed through or whatever information I wanted to steal from them, I’d happily keep that access forever and keep using it. If you have access to that treasure trove, why would you ever upset the apple cart? If your enemy is making a mistake, don’t disturb them. Even though the medicine is bitter, it’s medicine we need.”
Foreign meddling, in fact, would not be a novel concept in recent headlines.
The Guardian’s Pegasus Project in July revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa was one of 14 heads of state and heads of government whose phone numbers appeared on a database of notorious Israeli spyware firm NSO Group. The names were apparently selected by Rwanda in 2019, and there is no evidence that hacking of any sort was ultimately carried out.
The mere existence of such actors, however, might be cause for concern to government agencies that were so easily breached by less sophisticated methods. While any cybersecurity expert would be sure to point out that
there is no bullet-proof guarantee, no system that is perfectly invulnerable, at this level the basic layers of protection are non-negotiable.
Management feud delayed tender
Squabbling between officials caused the delay in acquisition of laptops at SMU, according to forensic report
• Pretoria News
• 17 Sep 2021
• RAPULA MOATSHE rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za
A LEAKED forensic report into a R17 million Covid-19 tender for purchasing laptops for students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) has revealed that it was marred by delays caused, in part, by an ongoing feud among top managers.
According to the report, tension between the deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Eunice Seekoe, and the then acting vice-chancellor, Professor Olaken Ayo-Yusuf, was among factors that caused delays in the delivery of laptops, resulting in students taking to the streets in June last year.
The report, compiled by SizweNtsalubaGobodo Advisory Services, noted that the laptops were purchased for students to “ensure continuous
learning” after the institution closed following the imposition of level five lockdown under the state of emergency in March last year due to Covid-19 outbreak.
The protesting students complained that two months of academic studies were lost while they waited for laptops.
Their protest was staged after Seekoe was removed from heading the procurement process, this after a bid adjudication committee declined her questionable budgetary presentation that had concluded without the involvement of the supply chain management and was not supported by Ayo-Yusuf.
The report on quotations lacked information about the number of students in need of the gadgets.
The supply chain management subsequently took over the procurement process with Ayo-Yusuf’s blessings that an external company, Purchasing Consortium of South Africa, be roped in to assist in procuring the laptops.
Two service providers – Esizwe and Sizwe – were appointed to purchase 2 850 laptops for students and 100 for staff, at a cost of at least R17 million.
However, the service providers’ contracts were terminated based on a legal opinion and after they had missed delivery deadlines.
Ironically, the students also demanded that Seekoe be reinstated as project leader.
Professor Peter Mbati, who took office as the new vice-chancellor on the day of the protest, heeded the call and appointed Seekoe as chairperson of a bid evaluation committee.
Seekoe’s return, however, did not speed up the procurement process, as she was implicated in changing evaluation criteria out of keeping with the
supply chain management policy.
For example, on July 2, 2020 the bid evaluation committee convened to evaluate 13 suppliers that had submitted proposals, and only one service provider, U-Swipe Telecoms, met the minimum functionality threshold of 70 points.
Under Seekoe’s leadership, the report showed, the bid evaluation committee increased the lead time from four to seven days, to accommodate more bidders to meet minimum functionality scores.
As a result, two service providers – Wesive Technologies and GTM Computer Surgeons CC – met the 70 points threshold.
A report prepared by the evaluation committee on the processes followed was again rejected by the bid adjudication committee, citing that “there was no consensus among the evaluation members”.
In another meeting, held on July 23, the evaluation committee
recommended the appointment of Wesive to the adjudication committee, which approved it.
Sizwe, which was initially charged with delivering laptops for 100 staff members, was brought back when the university could not secure a deal with another contractor, Thamani, owing to high prices.
According to the forensic report, the evaluation committee under Seekoe
“rendered the second internal procurement process futile”.
The report cited that lack of “cohesion” at management level was one of the factors that had caused procurement delays.
One of the instances reflected in the report was when Seekoe criticised AyoYusuf for not appointing her as chair of the evaluation committee.
Seekoe believed she was entitled to chair the committee by virtue of her department of teaching, learning and community engagement being the enduser of the project.
In one of the emails, she wrote about her “bullying” experience at the hands of Ayo-Yusuf. She had told the university’s executive management
committee that she was excluded as the project leader because of her
“gender”.
Ayo-Yusuf, who is currently deputy vice-chancellor responsible for
postgraduate studies and innovation, wrote back: “It is rather unfortunate
that our colleague resorted to bringing a governance committee of council into management matters of who should be making an appointment to the evaluation committee.”
He said his decision not to appoint Seekoe as the evaluation committee chair was based “mainly on the provisions of the supply chain management
policy”.
The report found that Seekoe was not “well acquainted with the policy in respect of who should appoint bid committee members”, recommending that she underwent training to familiarise herself with the policies.
Contacted for comment, Ayo-Yusuf said: “The issue is being handled by Council and my position in response to the report was submitted to council.
I have no further information. If you need any more information, it will be best to reach out to Dr Pule, our communication director.”
Seekoe did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. Part of the recommendations was that disciplinary actions be taken against Seekoe.
Incumbent vice-chancellor Mbati said he had noted tension between AyoYusuf and Seekoe upon assuming office, according to the report.
Last October, Mbati was approached by a group of disgruntled deans who wanted him to act against her.
The Pretoria News was reliably told that the deans complained about their frosty relationship with Seekoe, accusing her of treating them with
disrespect.
The deans were aggrieved that their meetings with Seekoe were “stressful”
as she shot down their viewpoints at every turn.
Her conduct, they claimed, had caused low morale among the staff, affecting their “productivity and psychological well-being”.
Contacted for comment, Mbati said: “The investigative forensic report is under consideration of Council and I therefore cannot comment on the report.”
He was also mum on his meeting with the deans last year.
The Care Sciences dean, Professor Sebi Lekalakala-Mokgele, declined to comment when asked about her participation in the meeting.
First black woman gets PhD in planning
• Pretoria News
• 17 Sep 2021
• NOKWANDA NCWANE nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za
l THOBILE MATHONSI/African News
Agency (ANA)KUNDANI Makakavhule, who graduated with a PhD in Town and Regional
Planning at the University of Pretoria, with Professor Mark Oranje during her graduation ceremony.
SUCCESS and excellence are possible for all black women, says Kundani Makakavhule, who was celebrated yesterday as the country’s first black woman to graduate with a PhD in Town and Regional Planning.
The 29-year-old graduated from the University of Pretoria, and during a surprise celebration hosted at Magnolia Dell’s Huckleberry restaurant in Pretoria yesterday she said it did not have to end with her success.
“I don’t want to be the first and it ends there. We want to produce a basket of other people who look like me, so that they can also open doors for others and prove to them that it’s possible,” she said.
In her thesis, “(An) other space is possible: An exploration of the conflicts and contestations in the realisation of ‘democratising’ Public Spaces in the City of Tshwane,” she explored societal and municipal perceptions,
meanings and engagements with urban public spaces of different typologies.
The thesis found that the spaces under study were made and remade by society’s contentious processes of the physical and psychological
appropriation of space on the one hand, and municipal efforts of
sanitisation and domination on the other, embedded in notions of
belonging, resistance, citizenship, planning aspiration and societal need.
The event was hosted by the institution’s Department of Town and Regional Planning to honour the “star doctoral student”, after what were said to be numerous cancellations due to Covid-19.
The department held the special graduation ceremony, and they said the formal graduation procession, complete with music and lecturers dressed in their formal academic robes, was one in which they wanted to show off excellence.
They had invited Makakavhule with her being under the impression that she and her family were going to the venue for lunch.
“Of particular relevance is the fact that the thesis deals with public parks,”
said head of the department, Mark Oranje, who added that Makakavhule’s achievement meant a great deal to them, and they were grateful to have someone of her calibre in the department.
“She is a very intelligent and hard-working young woman who also tutors students and is always ready to assist. Our students still need her and I just hope we don’t lose her to another university abroad,” Oranje said.
Her mother, Gladys Makakavhule, commended her last-born daughter’s work ethic, and said she had always loved education.
“It’s not really surprising that she has studied up to PhD level,” the proud mother said.
Her father, Moses Makakavhule said she had always been smart, from when she was in primary school, and they had watched as she continued to excel through her academic life, right through university.
Home Affairs ready for voter
registration weekend, says Aaron Motsoaledi
By Zintle Mahlati 19m ago
Johannesburg - Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says its all systems go with 3 093 employees on duty to assist over the voter registration weekend, that will be held by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) on Saturday and Sunday.
To register to vote at stations one would need an identity document or other documentation. Motsoaledi said his department was ready to assist those who had either lost their IDs or need passports.
Services to be offered over the registration weekend include the issuing of temporary identity certificates, collection of green ID books or smart card ID.
He said other services will include making amendments to particulars on identity documents. Passports will also be issued.
The 3093 staffers will be deployed across all of Home Affair's offices in the country.
The minister said an additional 200 staffers will work from the Home Affairs head office in Tshwane to assist with archive collections when needed.
Here is a breakdown of Home Affairs offices that will be operating this weekend:
Gauteng: 43 offices will be operational, 29 modernised offices with generator capacity and several bank branches will be opened.
KwaZulu-Natal will have 56 operating offices with 29 having generator capacity and 27 without. There will be one mobile site in the province
Western Cape: 28 offices will be operational, 27 with generator capacity and four banks will offer services, and there will be eight mobile sites.
Eastern Cape: 54 offices will be operational, along with 32 with generator capacity and 14 mobile sites.
Limpopo: There will be 42 offices open. 20 will not have generators
Mpumalanga: will operate 31 office and 20 will have generator capacity and 10 mobile sites will be available in the province.
North West: 18 offices operational, 17 will have generator capacity with six mobile offices.
Free State: will have 21 offices, 13 with generator capacity and 7 mobile offices.
Northern Cape: will have 16 operating offices and 9 mobile sites.
The minister said provision has been made to ensure smooth operations in most areas if anything should happen to Eskom electricity capacity over the weekend.
IEC asks Cyril Ramaphosa for
local government election day to be declared a public holiday
By Loyiso Sidimba 7h ago
Johannesburg - The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has asked Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to request President Cyril Ramaphosa, to declare the day of the local government elections, on November 1, a public holiday.
Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo announced on Thursday that it wrote to Motsoaledi to facilitate the request.
“This intervention is aimed at affording all voters an equal footing to participate in the elections without being encumbered by business and employment considerations on the day of voting,” Mamabolo said.
He said the IEC was grateful that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga adjusted the national senior certificate examination timetable to accommodate the November 1 municipal polls.
Motshekga’s department announced this week that final school year exams were brought forward and would start on October 27 to accommodate the elections.
“This gesture from the minister will enable young voters who are writing these examinations to participate in the elections,” said Mamabolo.
The IEC also assured voters that voter registration stations would be safe and that the necessary preventative measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 would be in place in over 23 100 registration stations across the country this weekend.
The IEC promised voters and its staff that their safety was a key priority including over the voter registration weekend as well as other subsequent election-related events.
Mamabolo said registration protocols such as wearing of face masks or cloth covering of the nose and mouth, a minimum of 1.5m social distance and sanitising of hands upon entry into the station will apply at all registration stations.
The IEC has also issued a stern warning to communities and political party members unhappy with the candidate nomination process not to disrupt this weekend’s voter registration drive.
“We have been working with the Natjoints (National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure), we also had a priority committee meeting this morning where possible
hotspots have been identified and they have been handed over to the SA Police Service, who will provide the necessary security for people,” Mamabolo assured voters.
According to Mamabolo, no one should be interrupted even if people are unhappy about any other process be it from a political party or from the municipality or any matter.
“It does not grant you the right to disrupt the registration process.
“We urge all communities across the country this is not a process to disrupt; this is about people vindicating their right to vote.
“These are constitutional rights and you have no right to interfere with them,” he said.
Mamabolo also disputed the EFF’s claim on Wednesday that the IEC’s online voter registration portal was “off-line and has consistently been unreliable with the process of getting people registered successfully with no struggles over the past few days”.
He said online registration portal’s glitches had not been over the past week.
”Yesterday (Wednesday) we experienced a technical glitch which we resolved by 4pm.
“Otherwise the system has been functioning relatively well.
“There is a backlog off course which we are addressing manually where people scanned photos of their IDs incorrectly and so on but other than yesterday when we experienced a technical glitch the online system has been functioning as well as it should,”
Mamabolo said.
The IEC said 23 151 voter registration stations across the country would open from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday with 48 899 officials.
Zuma rescission judgment to be handed down on Friday
The apex court will hand down a landmark judgment in the former president’s application to have his 15-month jail term rescinded
1 7 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 - 0 9 : 2 9 T H A N D O M A E K O
Former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: SANDILE NDLOVU
The Constitutional Court will on Friday hand down a landmark judgment in former president Jacob Zuma’s application to have his 15-month jail term rescinded.
Zuma served only two months of his jail term before being granted medical parole earlier in September. His attempt is facing a challenge by the DA, the Helen Suzman Foundation and AfriForum after it was revealed that
correctional services national commissioner Arthur
Fraser overruled the medical parole board that denied Zuma’s release.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation, which has maintained that a slew of laws were violated when the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment in July, hopes “that at 10am today, justice will prevail and that the supremacy of the constitution will be reaffirmed”.
The foundation has refused to say whether the former president was
released to serve the remainder of his sentence outside correctional services for “security reasons”.
Zuma’s arrest set in motion a week of looting, violence and destruction of key infrastructure in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The riots dealt a blow to the country’s Covid-19-battered economy by wiping about R50bn off the GDP.
The unrest prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to proceed with a long- awaited cabinet reshuffle, during which ministers in key positions were axed, including former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who has since been elected as the National Assembly speaker.
Zuma filed his application in July in a last-minute bid to reverse the top court’s judgment that found him guilty of contempt of court for failing to adhere to an order that he appear before the Zondo commission of inquiry.
His legal counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, argued that the jail sentence was an infringement on Zuma’s right to a fair trial.
10월 '격리면제 제외국'에 잠비아 등 20개국…9 월 36 개국서 줄어
송고시간 2021-09-17 14:46 배영경 기자기자 페이지
일본·베트남·인도·러시아 등 18개국은 빠져
백신접종 완료자 격리 면제 (PG)
[박은주 제작] 사진합성·일러스트
(서울=연합뉴스) 배영경 기자 = 다음 달부터 잠비아·지부티 등에서 국내로 들어오는 경우 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나 19) 백신 접종을 마쳤더라도 2 주간 자가격리를 해야 한다.
중앙방역대책본부(방대본)는 다음 달부터 국내 입국 시 격리면제 적용을 제외하는 국가 20 개국을 새로 선정했다고 17 일 밝혔다.
일본과 베트남, 인도, 러시아 등 18 개국이 빠지고 잠비아와 지부티 등 2 개국이 추가되면서 10 월 격리면제 제외국은 9 월 36 개국에서 16 개 줄었다.
이에 따라 다음 달 격리면제 적용 제외 국가는 나미비아, 남아프리카공화국, 말라위, 모잠비크, 미얀마, 방글라데시, 브라질, 수리남, 앙골라, 우즈베키스탄,
인도네시아, 잠비아, 지부티, 칠레, 카자흐스탄, 키르기즈스탄, 트리니다드토바고, 파키스탄, 페루, 필리핀 등 20 개국이다.
정부는 코로나 19 백신 접종 완료자에 한해 입국 시 2 주간의 격리를 면제하는 인센티브를 제공하고 있다.
국내에서 백신 종류에 따라 정해진 권고 횟수를 모두 접종하고 2 주가 지난 접종 완료자는 해외 국가를 방문한 뒤 국내로 들어올 때 격리 의무를 면제받는다.
다만 변이 바이러스가 유행하는 국가에서 들어온 입국자는 격리면제 대상에서 제외된다.
방대본은 "변이 바이러스 등의 확산으로 국내외 예방접종 완료자들이 입국 시 격리면제에 따른 해외 입국자 발(發) 감염 확산 우려가 높아졌다"며 "국내 유입 확진자 현황과 변이 점유율 등을 종합적으로 고려해 나라들을 선정했다"고 설명했다.
10월 '격리면제 제외국'에 잠비아·지부티 등 20개국
