Category Archives: South African News

eNCA | UPDATE: Fresh Gaza-Israel border protests turn deadly

You Need Posted on by

GAZA – Three Palestinians were shot dead Friday as thousands demonstrated along the border between Gaza and Israel for a fifth consecutive week of rallies dubbed the Great March of Return.

More than 300 other people were hospitalised for gunshot wounds and tear gas inhalation, Gaza’s health ministry said.

Forty-four Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli fire since major protests began on March 30, with hundreds more wounded. No Israelis have been hurt.
Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948.

Israel said that allowing the refugees in would mean the end of the Jewish state, and accuses Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as a pretext for violence.

READ: Hamas using ‘children as cannon fodder’ in Gaza: US ambassador

The protest movement is officially independent but has the backing of Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

On Friday protesters again gathered at five sites near the border fence, though numbers were down on previous weeks.

Dozens of young men burned tyres and threw stones a few hundreds of metres from the border, with Israeli soldiers occasionally firing tear gas and live ammunition.

Two men, who were not identified by the Palestinian health ministry, were shot dead east of Gaza City, while a third, 29-year-old Abdul Salam al-Bakr, was killed along the border in southern Gaza.

Three journalists were among those injured, the Gaza Centre for Media Freedom said.

The Israeli army said in a statement around 10,000 Palestinians had taken part in “riots.”

“Attempts have been made to harm security infrastructure, roll burning tires, hurl rocks and fly kites with flaming objects attached to them.”

In response, it said, “troops have used riot dispersal means and have fired in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

Demonstrations are expected to spike again in the lead up to May 14, when the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The decision has infuriated Palestinians, who see the annexed eastern half of the holy city as the capital of their future state.

Amnesty International on Friday called for an arms embargo of Israel over the use of live fire.

“For four weeks the world has watched in horror as Israeli snipers and other soldiers, in full protective gear and behind the fence, have attacked Palestinian protesters with live ammunition and tear gas,” the human rights organisation said in a statement.

Israel has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the deaths along Gaza’s border, with the army saying its troops only use live ammunition as a last resort.

AFP

News24.com | Mavis to the rescue: ‘SAA air hostess personified Ubuntu when she tied crying baby to her back’

You Need Posted on by

When Kate Whalley-Hands struggled to put baby Imogen to sleep during a 15 hour flight from New York to South Africa, SAA air hostess Mavis Xotongo came to the rescue.

The 20-month-old baby was restless and crying and being rocked to sleep did nothing to stop her bawling.

That was until Xotongo offered to assist and tied the toddler to her back.

Kate Whalley-Hands, who is originally from Durban but relocated to Toronto in Canada six weeks ago, took to Facebook to share the proudly South African story.

#ProudlySouthAfrican

The post read: “A 15-hour flight (between 2 transits) is never an easy task for a parent travelling on their own to undertake. I had a massively proud-to-be-South-African moment yesterday when Mavis (on my SAA flight from New York to Johannesburg) took Imogen out of my arms and baleta’d her, and then carried on serving people so that I was able to eat my meal. 15 minutes later she returned to my seat with a fast asleep Immy. Mavis, thank you for being a rock star. I appreciate you #proudlysouthafrican #southafricanairways #FlySAA.”

The post has been shared more than 7 000 times and liked by more than 17 000 people.

Mavis with baby Imogen. (Kate Whalley-Hands via Facebook)

Speaking to News24, the 37-year-old mom said she left Toronto at around 02:00 on April 24 to a catch a flight from New York to South Africa.

“During the flight, Imogen was understandably struggling with the time difference. She had been on a flight before because we used to live in London, but on this particular flight she was restless and crying.”

Whalley-Hands, who is a procurement director, said she stood in the galley trying to rock Imogen to sleep but it did not help.

“This was three hours into the flight. When I was rocking her, Mavis came up to me and said: ‘Let me help you’.”

Whalley-Hands said Xotongo seemed like a trustworthy person and so she handed over Imogen.

‘Imogen was so comfortable on Mavis’ back’

“She placed her on her back and first wrapped her with our blanket, but it was too small so then she took the SAA blanket and wrapped that over our blanket.

“Imogen was so comfortable on Mavis’ back. Mavis continued to help other passengers and [move] her trolley up and down, with Imogen on her back.”

Whalley-Hands said Xotongo returned shortly afterwards, with Imogen fast asleep.

“It was completely amazing. I’ve flown many times and air hostesses just do their jobs. She went above and beyond the call of duty.

“I want to say the biggest thank you for not only putting Imogen to sleep, but for giving all of us South Africans something to smile about. While she carried the baby, you could see the smile on the faces of other passengers.”

She said Xotongo personified the spirit of Ubuntu.

“We need to be more kind to one another. My mom said the story made her week.”

Whalley-Hands added that it was the perfect birthday gift for her mother, Jane, who turns 71 on Saturday.

‘I am the happiest gogo alive’

Jane said, when she heard her daughter was coming to visit, it was a lovely surprise.

“I am the happiest gogo alive. I love the story because we have so much negativity in South Africa, so this story gives you hope that one day we can live together in harmony,” said the grandmother of three.

Xotongo said: “I love what I do and I do it out of passion for our airline and our customers. We rise together and look forward to the positive path ahead.”

South African Airways spokesperson Tlali Tlali said: “As part of our service offering, our crew strives to show empathy and care towards our customers and will go an extra mile to assist those who are in need.”

He said in reaching out to customers, SAA do not merely render a service, but show that Ubuntu is truly part of their makeup.

“Through working together as teams, the combined efforts of our crew will surely take us to a higher service altitude, excellent customer service at all times, on all our flights. Nothing is as fulfilling as a happy customer and that’s the highest reward we can derive from every flight.”

Tlali said Xotongo was one of SAA’s exemplary cabin crew members.

“We are proud of her. She has been with SAA since 2009.”

News24.com | DA vs De Lille war turns ugly

You Need Posted on by

While embattled Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille prepares for another round in her battle with the Democratic Alliance (DA), the party has decided to dedicate an entire page on its website to explain why she must go.

A page on its website, with a large image of the besieged leader, attempts to respond to frequently asked questions on “The Patricia De Lille Matter“.

On Wednesday evening, an internal motion of no confidence against De Lille was supported by 70% of the DA Cape Town caucus during a special meeting – a move in preparation for her recall.

Her fate is now in the hands of the party’s federal executive.

ALSO READ: DA caucus supports motion of no confidence in Patricia de Lille

The long battle to remove De Lille has seen the party introduce a recall clause, which has been dubbed by many as the “De Lille clause“, giving the party powers to remove its public deployees.

On the site, the party outlines findings of investigations against De Lille, the Auditor-General’s findings and why the DA took a decision to charge the popular political leader.

“Ms De Lille’s attempts to garner public sympathy by misrepresenting and spreading alternative facts can only be an orchestrated attempt to detract from the significant allegations against her and to mislead the public she is meant to serve with integrity befitting her current office,” the party said on the page.

ALSO READ: ‘I expected it. Now it’s time for another fight’ – De Lille after motion passes

De Lille, who posted a video of herself wearing boxing gloves on social media following her party’s announcement, said she expected the outcome and was already preparing herself for another fight.

She is expected to make representations to the DA’s federal executive on why she should not be removed.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

eNCA | WATCH: Icasa reveals data won’t expire but #DataMustFall wait continues

You Need Posted on by

JOHANNESBURG – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Thursday announced that data will soon no longer expire.

It was expected that data costs would be reduced at the highly-anticipated briefing but South Africans will have to wait a year or more for that.

The regulator said no decision on data costs had been taken.

“All licensees are no longer allowed to charge consumers out of bundle rates for data when the data has run out without their specific consent. This will ensure that consumers are not defaulted to out-of-bundle, which is significantly higher,” Icasa’s Botlenyana Mokhele said.

Icasa said this was just a culmination of an extensive market review process, which will come in three phases.

“This is the culmination of extensive market review processes initiated in 2017. We hope to finalise the three-stage process by June 2018.”

Icasa says the first step of the three phases is to stop “bill shock”.

WATCH: Icasa announces data costs verdict

“At this point in time, it is more about dealing with out-of-bundle rates and expiring of data. But we have deliberately stayed away from dealing with prices at the moment until the 2nd or 3rd phase is complete.”

It said the final regulations will be published in the government gazette and will kick-in one month after it has been published.

This will allow interested parties, like providers, 30 days to comment on the new regulations and furthermore, time to amend some of their software to allow for the changes.

eNCA

News24.com | Cabinet places North West health dept under administration

You Need Posted on by

Cabinet has placed the North West health department under the administration of the national government, in the wake of protests ravaging the province.

“Cabinet deliberated on the unstable situation that has unfolded in the North West, which has affected a number of services, particularly health services,” Communications Minister Nomvula Mokoyane said on Thursday following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

“As a caring government, Cabinet has approved two immediate interventions to restore order and stability in the area.”

READ: North West legislature lays charges against health HOD over contract to Gupta-linked company

The two interventions are: placing the provincial health department under administration, and a ministerial task team has been appointed to oversee the department.

“Cabinet approved the invoking of Section 100(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 to address the apparent crisis, particularly in the health sector.”

Mokonyane said the main objective of this intervention would be to: 

  • restore trust and confidence between labour and government;
  • assist the province to upgrade its systems and capabilities to a new normality;
  • ensure compliance with the legislative and regulatory framework of government;
  • stabilise the labour environment, restore sustainable service delivery, ensure the security of staff and improve financial management.

Section 100 of the Constitution reads: “When a province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation, the national executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure fulfilment of that obligation.”

Strike closes some hospitals, clinics

Mokonyane said Treasury and the national Department of Health would step in on behalf of the government in North West’s health department to ensure services were delivered. 

The change is with immediate effect.

Some hospitals and clinics in the province closed after staff members downed tools in a strike led by the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu).

There were also reports that some staff had intimidated their colleagues and forced them to abandon patients.

READ: Shortage of medical supplies as North West strike drags on

Health services in parts of the country have ground to a halt since the Nehawu strike began two months ago. It led to a go-slow at the main medical depot‚ resulting in a shortage of medication and other supplies.

The situation was exacerbated by the violent protests gripping the province, as residents called for embattled Premier Supra Mahumapelo to go.

Mokonyane also announced that Cabinet had mandated a task team of ministers to visit North West “to establish the facts on the ground”.

Task team

They are expected to submit a report in the next two weeks. The report back would assist in determining any further interventions that may still be required.  

Asked if the task team would speak to Mahumapelo about him stepping down, Mokonyane said that was not the team’s brief.

“There are already interactions on the level of the president and the premier,” she said, adding that the ANC was also dealing with the matter.

Mokonyane said the team would be engaging the provincial government on governance issues.

The task team, convened by Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, will include Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize, and the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster of ministers.

“Whilst noting the concerns that were raised by communities, Cabinet strongly condemns the acts of violence, looting and destruction of property that accompanied protests in some areas of the province,” Mokonyane said.

eNCA | WATCH: Dlamini-Zuma to step in as Sassa grants chaos continues

You Need Posted on by

CAPE TOWN – An inter-ministerial task team headed by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will be stepping in at the Department of Social Development as the controversy around South Africa’s grant payments rages on. 

This emerged at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday afternoon.

Newly-appointed Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu wants to suspend cash grant payments of the South African Social Development Agency (Sassa).

eNCA’s Annika Larsen attended the post-cabinet briefing and explains the issues below. 

Parliament on Thursday released a statement saying briefings by the Department of Social Development and its entities were cancelled “on the basis that the department has no defined organisational structure.”

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development said the department’s budget would not be approved during the upcoming budget votes without an approved annual performance plan (APP).

Shabangu told the committee that vacancies within the department have been frozen since there appears to be three different organisational structures, which could not be validated with the Department of Public Service and Administration.

She reported that 450 vacancies within the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have also been placed on hold until its structures can be verified.

The minister is yet to meet and familiarise herself with other departmental entities.

Referring to the millions of social grant beneficiaries, committee member Sibongile Tsoleli said: “We cannot rubberstamp something that is wrong. We are in a situation right now. This will affect our people out there who are expecting so much from this department,” referring to the millions of social grant beneficiaries.

eNCA

Aggregate public-private remuneration patterns in South Africa

You Need Posted on by
Publish Date: 2018-04-25
Category: Working Papers
Author: Andreas Wörgötter and Sihle Nomdebevana

​This paper investigates the public-private remuneration pattern in South Africa since the introduction of an inflation-targeting framework in 2000. Co-integration tests and analysis confirm that there is a stable, long-run relationship between nominal and real remuneration in the public and private sector. The adjustment to the deviations from this long-run relationship is strong and significant for public-sector remuneration, while private-sector wages neither respond to the deviations from the long-run relationship nor lagged changes of public sector remuneration. The causal direction from private- to public-sector remuneration does not change if real earnings are calculated with the gross domestic product (GDP) deflator. This is confirmed by simple Granger causality tests. If this pattern remains stable, efforts to slow down the speed of the wage-price spiral should not exclude the private sector.

Attachments:

News24.com | AfriForum vs EFF: Who has most to gain?

You Need Posted on by

2018-04-25 09:05

The Irish have an expression which they use when someone does something really stupid. It is not seen as swearing (the Irish regard very few words as swearing), yet it does describe the stupidity of the person/s behind the action/s very accurately. 

“Fecken eejit/s!” they would exclaim whilst shaking their heads in disbelief. This was exactly the same expression I wanted to use last week when AfriForum announced that they were going to prosecute Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, if the NPA fails to do so. 

The reactions to their press conference were swift and fairly predictable (and just slightly more diplomatic than my Irish reaction). Amongst other things, AfriForum was accused of being racist and opportunistic. 

They indignantly denied both accusations, claiming that their action was based on a matter of principle. Although I really find it a bit thick of AfriForum to claim the position of moral guardian of our society, I am willing (for the sake of the argument) to accept that their motives are not simply racist. 

Without a doubt AfriForum would like to show their members (many who are racist) that they are “serving” them. In addition, they also hope to add a few new members as part of their never-ending expansion drive. 

Having moved to AfriForum with great fanfare over a year ago, I am sure that advocate Gerrie Nel is also under personal and professional pressure to finally deliver something. Whatever the motives behind the decision, it could well turn out to be the worst one AfriForum has ever made. 

Even with a tiny bit of political insight they should realise that the party which will ultimately benefit most from these actions is the EFF and not themselves. Whether they actually proceed with a prosecution or not, they have already given Malema and thus the EFF political and media mileage they could have only dreamt of.

With Jacob Zuma gone, the EFF was desperate for some political oxygen. With free education less of a hot potato, the one issue with tremendous populist mileage left to them was land. Of course, also on this issue, AfriForum and others played beautifully into Malema’s hands with their fear mongering and predictable reactions. 

But the ANC swiftly responded and have been working hard to move the narrative away from the EFF and towards a moderate and responsible position. Next Malema tried to create a mini-coup in Nelson Mandela Bay, which failed spectacularly.

With Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s death he succeeded to some extend to rise again, but while his intervention at her funeral might have earned cheers at the time, it has since boomeranged somewhat. However, within days, this announcement by AfriForum gave him all the oxygen he needed. And boy, will he use it.

Their action has also strengthened the hands of the more radical anti-Cyril Ramaphosa faction in the ANC. This faction is close to Malema and his narratives and will use race talk widely to gain support. 

If AfriForum has any sense and if they are responsible about serving their members, they should be strengthening the hands of the moderate ANC faction and also that of the president. Despite what AfriForum might believe, this faction and President Cyril Ramaphosa are the only ones who can truly secure the future of their constituents. 

If at some stage in the future Ramaphosa is replaced by, for example, a (David) Mabuza-Malema alliance, it will not bode well for those who align themselves with AfriForum. And so, when reacting to the land – or any other politically sensitive issue, AfriForum should stop retreating into the lager and rather think how they can positively contribute to the debate and work with the moderate majority in the ANC and country. 

Prosecuting Malema or responding with fear and threats to the land issue is not the way to do it. Ultimately the question remains what the end-game is with this announcement? Is it to get Malema in jail, to distract him or just to show some “kragdadigheid”? 

Whatever it might be, it will not end well for AfriForum and by extension, those who they claim to represent, because the only winners will be Malema and the EFF. 

– Melanie Verwoerd is a former ANC MP and South African Ambassador to Ireland. 

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.