Publish Date: 2020-03-25
Category: Media Releases
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Category Archives: South African News
News24.com | WATCH | ‘Some of us will starve’ – Khayelitsha residents frustrated over looming lockdown
Many residents of Khayelitsha in Cape Town are unhappy about the 21-day lockdown that President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed on Monday evening.
The president has called on all South Africans to stay indoors starting at 23:59 on Thursday the 26 March. Only a handful of workers, including essential services will be allowed to continue doing business as usual.
Speaking to News24, residents of Khayelitsha shared their frustrations after listening to the president’s orders.
“He could have asked people in the informal settlements for advice going forward, he could have had a better plan,” Vuyokazi Dini said.
“There are a lot of people that are currently receiving money from Sassa, he could have given those people food vouchers. So that they could have something to eat during this lockdown.”
READ | National lockdown: South Africans will still be able to access their social grant payments
While Shaun Skuze thought the president made a good speech, he said the government didn’t make any effort to help people living in shacks.
“Look at the distances we need to adhere to avoid the coronavirus. We need to be one meter apart from each other. Where I live my neighbour and their neighbour’s houses are not even one meter apart from each other,” he explained.
Skuze said these living conditions will make the nationwide lockdown very difficult for him and his fellow residents.
“The health department must look at where the most populated areas are and look at supplying them with masks and gloves for free.”
He expressed his concern for small businesses, and their ability to survive the lockdown.
“While the president and his cabinet ministers are safe at home, who is going to put food on the tables of the guy that sells cigarettes at the taxi rank?” he asked.
“He can make as much speeches as he wants to, but he is not on the ground with the people where the thing is happening.”
News24.com | MUST READ | You could face jail time or a fine for breaking SA’s lockdown rules
STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON ESCALATION OF MEASURES TO COMBAT COVID-19 EPIDEMIC
UNION BUILDINGS, TSHWANE 23 MARCH 2020
My fellow South Africans,
It is a week since we declared the coronavirus pandemic a national disaster and announced a package of extraordinary measures to combat this grave public health emergency.
The response of the South African people to this crisis has been remarkable.
Millions of our people have understood the gravity of the situation.
Most South Africans have accepted the restrictions that have been placed on their lives and have taken responsibility for changing their behaviour.
I am heartened that every sector of society has been mobilised and has accepted the role that it needs to play.
From religious leaders to sporting associations, from political parties to business people, from trade unions to traditional leaders, from NGOs to public servants, every part of our society has come forward to confront this challenge.
Many have had to make difficult choices and sacrifices, but all have been determined that these choices and sacrifices are absolutely necessary if our country is to emerge stronger from this disaster.
Over the past week, South Africans have demonstrated their determination, their sense of purpose, their sense of community and their sense of responsibility.
For this, we salute you and we thank you.
On behalf of the nation, I would also like to thank the health workers, our doctors, nurses and paramedics who are on the frontline of the pandemic, our teachers, border officials, police and traffic officers and all the other people who have been leading our response.
Since the national state of disaster was declared, we have put in place a range of regulations and directives.
These regulations have restricted international travel, prohibited gatherings of more than 100 people, closed schools and other educational institutions and restricted the sale of alcohol after 6pm.
We reiterate that the most effective way to prevent infection is through basic changes in individual behaviour and hygiene.
We are therefore once more calling on everyone to:
– wash hands frequently with hand sanitisers or soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
– cover our nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or flexed elbow;
– avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.
Everyone must do everything within their means to avoid contact with other people.
Staying at home, avoiding public places and cancelling all social activities is the preferred best defence against the virus.
Over the past week, as we have been implementing these measures, the global crisis has deepened.
When I addressed the nation last Sunday there were over 160,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide.
Today, there are over 340,000 confirmed cases across the world.
In South Africa, the number of confirmed cases has increased six-fold in just eight days from 61 cases to 402 cases.
This number will continue to rise.
It is clear from the development of the disease in other countries and from our own modelling that immediate, swift and extraordinary action is required if we are to prevent a human catastrophe of enormous proportions in our country.
Our fundamental task at this moment is to contain the spread of the disease.
I am concerned that a rapid rise in infections will stretch our health services beyond what we can manage and many people will not be able to access the care they need.
We must therefore do everything within our means to reduce the overall number of infections and to delay the spread of infection over a longer period – what is known as flattening the curve of infections.
It is essential that every person in this country adheres strictly – and without exception – to the regulations that have already been put in place and to the measures that I am going to announce this evening.
Our analysis of the progress of the epidemic informs us that we need to urgently and dramatically escalate our response.
The next few days are crucial.
News24.com | FIRST TAKE: The night Cyril Ramaphosa became a wartime president
On Monday night President Cyril Ramaphosa became a wartime president. And he showed South Africans that the only way home is to unite around a single purpose, and that is to defeat the Covid-19 disease, writes Pieter du Toit.
On the day before the Allies launched D-Day, the greatest military operation the world had ever seen, General George Patton, a foul-mouthed and self-absorbed American commander, addressed his troops in the south of England.
Everyone was afraid of what was to come, scared of the unknown and uncertain how events would unfold. But all of the troops in Patton’s Third Army, about to head to Omaha beach on the Normandy coast, knew that the operation was to be the single most important turning point of the Second World War, and that victory or defeat hinged on their actions over the next 24 to 48 hours.
READ: Ramaphosa announces raft of ‘quick, targeted’ interventions to buoy SA economy
“Sure, you want to go home. We want this thing over with,” he told his men. “But you can’t win a war lying down. The quickest way to get over it is to get the bastards. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin! We will win this war, but we will win it only by fighting and showing guts,” Patton said.
On Monday night President Cyril Ramaphosa became a wartime president. And he showed South Africans that the only way home is to unite around a single purpose, and that is to defeat the Covid-19 disease.
Ramaphosa’s war isn’t against fascism or apartheid, or even unemployment and inequality. It’s against a virus that has, as of last night, infected every major nation on the globe, caused enormous damage to the global economy, has seen more than 332 000 people being infected and caused more than 14 500 deaths.
It is a global crisis, and one which has exposed many world leaders – including those of the most advanced democracies and economies in the world – as inept, ill-informed, sluggish and incompetent.
In South Africa the infection curve has started to steepen. In the last 24 hours the number of infections has shot up from 274 to 402 cases, a jump of almost 47% in one day.
It is expected that the velocity of South African infections will only increase, and that only an extraordinary national effort will be able to prevent a full-scale national catastrophe.
Ramaphosa has recognised the scale of the challenge this country faces and has acted with clarity, calm and determination. He has addressed the country twice in eight days, twice delivering a statement with gravitas and empathy, girded by the reality of our situation and clear plans how government intends to respond.
It has been a couple of weeks since he has taken the active lead on his government’s response. First, he took time to understand the warnings that a world-class team of scientists, doctors, virologists and epidemiologists at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases issued. He then worked with a core group of ministers to formulate an initial response before he set out to build broad consensus among politicians, religious leaders and captains of industry on the way forward.
Ramaphosa’s leadership over the last two weeks has set him apart from most statesmen (and women), many of whom only acted after it was too late.
He has benefitted from other countries’ missteps and neglect because he could learn from it, yes, but he has also been able to recognise the moment and base his decisions on scientific analyses and broad support.
Very few world leaders have been able to do that.
In his address Ramaphosa took ownership of his government’s response, moving away from the ANC government’s tradition of talking of a collective, often prefacing major decisions with the plural “we”. On Monday night Ramaphosa said “I am concerned…” and proceeded to explain exactly what he, the elected head of state, was worried about.
He thanked South Africans for their support, he gave context to the deepening crisis and he spoke in emotive and loaded language, impressing upon everyone that “urgent”, “dramatic” and “extraordinary” action is needed.
Where the debate on whether or not to enforce a lock-down in other countries is between how to save human lives while balancing the needs of the economy, Ramaphosa laid that to rest and said “the wellbeing of our people” is paramount in every decision his government will make. But he also announced a range of economic interventions – thrashed out with business leaders – which seek to mitigate the damage Covid-19 will undoubtedly cause.
Ramaphosa’s address will rank as one of the most consequential by any democratic head of state, and one of the most historic of any South African government leader. It set the tone for a national effort which every citizen will feel compelled to heed.
Patton, all bluster and bravado, but much loved by his men, led his army to a series of bloody victories against the Germans en route to Berlin. Ramaphosa, an altogether different character who prefers to build consensus before acting, is about to embark on his own march to Berlin. His will also be a messy war.
He – and South Africa – cannot afford defeat.
Tips on how to manage work from home staff during the Covid-19 outbreak
Whether you are considering sending your staff to work from home or a staff member requires quarantine due to the coronavirus, these tips will help you think through how to make a successful transition from office working to remote-based working.
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Image by hamonazaryan1 from Pixabay |
1. Get everyone on the same page as to ‘its work as usual’ just in a different space
Encourage your staff to keep their regular work hours and to take breaks at lunchtime. Sharing cloud-based calendars like Google Calendar is one way to see the availability of all colleagues when scheduling remote team meetings. A risk with remote work is that people spend too much time online without natural breaks throughout the day, working unhealthily long hours.
2. Ongoing excellent quality communication is vital
Encourage the use of regular face to face interactions with the likes of Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype and WhatsApp video chats. Face-to-face communication via secure video chats will ease the feeling of isolation that some people may experience working alone, particularly extroverts. Sharing face-to-face experiences with colleagues who are in a similar remote working position will keep up company morale. Remind staff to it the ‘mute’ button if it’s a meeting with more than one person. If you have meetings with people in the room and others remote, always stop to let the remote attendees speak first.
3. Track project progress and milestones simultaneously on cloud-based apps
Whether you use the free or premium versions, applications like Asana and Trello are very useful in monitoring the progress of tasks and responsibilities for projects requiring multiple team members. Visible to everyone with different levels of access, these tools enable managers and team leaders to manage remote teams promptly.
4. Help staff that are less technologically capable
Having to embrace new technologies suddenly can be daunting for some employees. Get inside or outside help to assist these staff members to feel comfortable with the chosen tools. It is an adjustment for some to work remotely, having to come to terms with new technology can be a leap too far if left unsupported. There are no stupid questions and back up should be available.
5. Ensure you have load-shedding connectivity plans in place
Conduct an internet connectivity audit to ascertain what support your staff might need to remain connected to the internet during periods of load-shedding at home. Consider purchasing 850v or above UPSes or cellular connectivity modems and bundles as back-up options.
If this is not possible, get staff to block out load shedding time on the shared calendar to indicate downtime.
6. Remind your staff to find a quiet space to work at home, with minimum interruptions
It is always best for remote working staff to find a quiet space at home in which to work by setting up an office in a room that not used. If this is not possible, then train your staff to explain to any callers that they are working from home and may hear the sounds of children and other family members in the background. Most people will be understanding. If these noises bother you look to purchase your employees’ headsets that reduce outside noise.
7. Consider VOIP connectivity for telephones which work well for virtually based companies
VOIP telephones and applications are internet-based and when the hardware connects to a modem allows your staff to make voice calls. Call costs are billed to you, the employer, making it a convenient way to monitor call costs. It’s a handy way of making calls, and once it’s set up, it’s a lot cheaper than using regular phone lines or cellular call costs.
8. Focus on productivity and outputs, rather than presence and inputs
Trust your staff to deliver the results your business requires. Measure outputs and deliverables rather than worrying about hours at a desk. Use point number three to allocate, measure and manage output delivery.
9. Get regular feedback from your staff as to their well-being and work progress
Have an open line with all your staff. Let the team know that you are available to talk about anything, not just work, while this transition is taking place. Show your support and excitement for the process. Praise staff that transition well and assist those that struggle. If motivation seems to be dropping organise a daily team ‘jelly’ where everyone checks in on a video chat and hangs out together. With more junior staff, you may want to have two hangouts with managers to check in with them and see how they are progressing and if they need support or just a chat.
10. Be encouraged that technology has helped millions of people to work remotely
It is estimated that 70% of people globally, work remotely one day a week. It’s a growing trend. RecruitMyMom, a South African online recruitment agency for companies that embrace flexible ways of working to attract top skills, is an almost entirely virtual organisation. They find more and more employers are using technology successfully for remote working. If you have the right tools, attitude, trust and aptitude for remote working, it is just like business as usual.
There are many positives to remote working, increased productivity and flexibility being just some. Let’s not forget the positive environmental impact of having fewer people on the roads during peak-hour traffic. For companies where the in-office culture is an integral part of who you are, having to consider remote working can be daunting, but it can be done, even if just for short periods, without negatively impacting the business.
The Blue Train suspends services in response to Covid-19
The Blue Train has announced the suspension of its services, effective immediately, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The suspension, which will be in effect until 30 April 2020, comes after a risk assessment done by the operations team early this week. The Blue Train is one of South Africa’s luxury trains owned by Transnet SOC Ltd.
The decision to suspend The Blue Train’s services is commensurate with the disaster declaration requirements from the South African Government to ensure the safety of all present in the country. The declaration recommends prevention through social distancing, a practice that is not possible to comply with on-board The Blue Train. It is therefore safer for the staff and guests at The Blue Train to suspend operations until such a time that it is safer for people to convene without risking community transmission.
Earlier this month, The Blue Train had apprised its booked, paid and confirmed guests of changes to the cancellation policy to accommodate potential travel disruptions due to Covid-19. The changes give guests who are due to travel on The Blue Train between 18 March 2020 and 31 August 2020 two options:
- The first option is to postpone travel to any date that falls within 1 September 2020 to 31 December 2021. Only one postponement will be allowed during the 69 weeks.
- The second option is to cancel confirmed bookings and receive a full refund. Both these options will not incur any penalties.
Cancellations of travel after 31 August 2020 will be dealt with using The Blue Train’s Standard Terms and Conditions.
Guests who are booked but are yet to pay and therefore are unconfirmed will incur applicable costs commensurate with the ticket cost as per the date of postponement.
Any costs or expenses incurred as a result of the postponement such as flights, accommodation, transfers, excursions and other costs, would be at the customers’ expense.
The duration of the suspension will again be reviewed in mid-April; pending new developments and pronouncements by the World Health Organisation and our country’s national health institutions, on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guests who require more information on these changes and how they potentially affect their travel plans can contact The Blue Train’s reservation team at the Pretoria office on +27(0)12-334-8459 or the Cape Town office on +27(0)21-449-2672 or on email
az.oc.niarteulb@ofni
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Covid-19 unlikely to derail residential property market in long term
The question around the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the property market is an important one, as the real estate market is keenly affected by the overall health of the economy, consumer confidence, and levels of employment in particular, which means that major disruptions in other sectors will have at least some impact on the property market.
Having said that, property tends to be a far more resilient investment type than most. In recent days we’ve seen equities being significantly affected, while property has remained fairly stable.
Earlier this month CNBC reported that residential real estate in the US appeared to offer investors the calm they were looking for in the coronavirus storm. Traditionally, property is far less volatile than the stock market and has a high tangible asset value. Irrespective of the impact the virus has on society, people will still need accommodation, which offers a measure of security in terms of a property investment holding ground in times of turmoil. What’s more, property is an asset class with supreme resilience and a unique ability to “bounce back” as market conditions improve.
Buyer’s market
The prevailing market conditions too – the so-called buyer’s market – are further reasons to not shy away from property investments in the time of Covid-19. A buyer’s market – a situation where the supply of property exceeds the demand for property – bodes well for those looking to purchase property since prices are generally lower in this type of market. Add to that the fact that banks are open to offering 100% home loans to qualifying individuals; that the threshold on transfer duty was raised to R1m recently, meaning that transfer duty costs are lower for buyers; and that interest rates were dropped last week, it is a good time for investors to remain at least slightly positive about the immediate future of property.
Big banks reassure SMEs in Covid-19 crisis
While President Cyril Ramaphosa spent the weekend working to shore up the country’s already wobbly economy in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, South Africa’s major banks have pledged their support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and other clients…
1 day ago
Our advice is to ensure that you buy at the right price, that your affordability is in order and that you don’t extend yourself too much when acquiring a new property. Putting down a deposit is always a good idea and might mean that you can get a better interest rate on your bond.
At this stage we must caution against panic, and while we need to take the necessary measures in order to protect ourselves and our families, we also need to think as rationally as possible about property, and about investments in general.
Sacap announces expanded digital learning as physical campuses close due to Covid-19 safety measures
In response to the South African government’s declaration that the global Covid-19 outbreak is now a national disaster, Sacap (the South African College of Applied Psychology) has confirmed the temporary suspension of its physical classes at its campuses in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.
Managing director Zerina Royeppen has confirmed that Sacap has not experienced any actual cases of Covid-19, however, the decision has been taken in line with the country’s efforts to prevent the spread of the novel virus in South Africa. “In the light of the president’s weekend announcement and with the moral imperative to play our part in protecting the nation, the specially-appointed Sacap Covid-19 committee and our leadership team took the decision to halt face-to-face classes across all campuses as well as work-integrated learning, practicums and internships with immediate effect as of Monday, 16 March.”
Sacap already has a robust online campus with around one-third of its student body studying online as their preferred mode of delivery. There have been no disruptions to the online campus as a result of Covid-19.
This puts Sacap in a strong position to leverage off its existing and well-established online capability to provide a tailor-made interim solution for their face-to-face students.
Sacap will migrate all its physical classes to its digital platform to minimise any disruption to teaching and learning. The Sacap Covid-19 committee has put together a comprehensive operational plan to host all face-to-face classes online and to ensure adequate internet connectivity. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, all face-to-face students and educators will be reunited to continue with their study programmes in their virtual classrooms.
“Fortunately, Sacap has an excellent, well-established online learning capability,” says Royeppen. “All of our face-to-face students will be digitally connected to us over the coming days and their classes will resume with minimal interruption to their academic year. We are committed to supporting our students and educators as best as possible during this challenging time, and look forward to resuming physical classes when it is safe and responsible to do so.”
For further information visit www.sacap.edu.za
Covid-19: Housing activists call for halt to evictions
Over 20 social justice organisations have called for an urgent moratorium on all evictions in light of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a joint statement released by Ndifuna Ukwazi on Friday, 20 March.
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About 70 people were left homeless after their homes were demolished in Tswelopele Extension 8, Tembisa, East of Johannesburg, on Thursday, 7 March. Photo: Zoë Postman |
This follows Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s response to GroundUp’s question at a press conference in Midrand on 17 March, where he said if a property owner decided to have people evicted for any reason “we expect the normal course of litigation to be followed and for any presiding officer handling that matter to apply the normal principles”.
He said it will be business as usual at most courts across South Africa and most cases, like the issuing and execution of eviction orders, are expected to run their course.
Mogoeng’s statement came a few days after an eviction that was carried out by the City of Cape Town in Zweledinga informal settlement in Khayelitsha where about 40 shacks were demolished. The city said it was acting on a court order.
Considering the communicable nature of Covid-19
“The current business as usual response, that is, issuing eviction orders, implementing their execution or removing people from their homes (even without an eviction order by means of an interdict, municipal by laws or otherwise), does not consider the communicable nature of Covid-19 and how evictions and displacement will place a greater number of vulnerable people at risk,” read a letter addressed to the president’s office and various ministers.
In the letter, the organisations said the moratorium should be declared under the regulations that followed the declaration of a national state of disaster.
Section 10 (8)(c) of the regulations says that the state may “take any other steps that may be necessary to address, prevent an escalation of the national state of disaster, or to alleviate, contain and minimise the effects of the national state of disaster”.
The organisations said that the moratorium would be a crucial step in minimising the effects of the coronavirus on vulnerable communities.
It was concerning that the judiciary’s plan to deal with the virus focused on the number of people in courtrooms and did not mention the effect of continuing with cases, like evictions, will have on vulnerable communities, said the organisations.
Social distancing made more difficult
“One cannot practice physical distancing should you find yourself and your belongings on the side of the road or in an open space and exposed to the public with no means of protection. One cannot practice a heightened level of hygiene by washing hands in the recommended manner where the only access to water is a communal standpipe and shared ablution facilities in an informal settlement or in a transitional relocation area,” read the letter.
Housing is more important now than ever and the state must take measures to prioritise protecting the most vulnerable by preventing evictions that lead to homelessness, said the organisations.
“It cannot be business as usual when the country is facing a potential public health crisis which only stands to be exacerbated when scores of families are displaced or rendered homeless. Evictions that result in displacement or homelessness can significantly increase the spread of infectious diseases like Covid-19,” read the letter.
Audio visual systems to enable court appearances
As government continues to implement measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says audio visual systems are to be used in courts to enable some proceedings to take place.
The systems, which are available in 46 centres, will enable the magistrates, prosecutors, attorneys and lawyers or representatives of the inmates to communicate with the inmates from the correctional services centres.
“The audio visual remind systems will also enable the accused to consult their lawyers, through technological platforms, particularly where it may be necessary to run a trial. We are [also] looking at ways where technology can be used for inmates to interact with their family members,” Lamola said.
Addressing the media on the measures the department is implementing following the coronavirus (Covid-19) Disaster Management Regulations being promulgated on Friday, Lamola confirmed that no cases of Covid-19 have been reported in any of the correctional services centres across the country.
The department is looking at isolating officials who have recently travelled outside the country to high risk areas. Currently, four officials from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have been isolated as a precaution after displaying some coronavirus symptoms.
Other measures that have been implemented by the department across the centres to protect offenders, officials and stakeholders, as well as to prevent the infection, include the prohibition of visitors to all the correctional centres for a period of 50 days, the appointment of multi-disciplinary committees across all the regions, and the establishment of partnerships with strategic stakeholders to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“This has happened in all the five regions,” Lamola said.
The Minister said deep cleaning will take place in all centres, almost twice a day or more in some of the cells, to avoid any kind of contamination, either from the police station, court cells or correctional services centres.
He highlighted that this is an integrated approach from the police, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and the Correctional Services, including Presiding Officers of the various courts, so that there is a clear integrated strategy aimed to deal with this issue across.
“These issues will deal with the sanitisation, cleaning, transportation of inmates availing basic hygienic essentials to offenders and officials who are currently distributing essential including gloves, masks, and disinfect, amongst others,” the Minister said.
He added that various awareness campaigns will be conducted among offenders.
Master’s Offices meetings cancelled
The Minister said all meetings at the Master’s Office will be cancelled until 15 April 2020. These meetings include the reading of estates and wills.
The office will only be accepting documents to be submitted electronically, accompanied by affidavits.
Meanwhile, Lamola has conveyed his gratitude to the legal practitioners who have helped the Ministry in developing the regulations.
“This is a real ‘Thuma Mina’ moment, and we will need more of them, as and when the need arises.”