FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR (DURBANVILLE) in Western Cape | Other Finance/Accounting | Job Mail | 4916166
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Locum Post Basic Assistant in Kwazulu-Natal | Pharmacist | Job Mail | 4970072
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Siya Kolisi (captain) of the Stormers challenged by Andre Warner of the Lions during the SuperFan Saturday match between Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on September 26, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
Power trumped guile as the Stormers kept the Lions at bay to record a 34-21 win in the two sides’ Super Fan Saturday meeting at Loftus on Saturday night.
In a match where both sides used the final half-hour to field new combinations, the Capetonians’ starting forwards laid the foundation, delivering a typically robust performance.
Frans Malherbe, subject to ridicule from some quarters on social media for packing a few extra kilos after lockdown, only played 34 minutes initially but produced an exemplary scrumming performance.
He then came on late again to stabilise things.
It was his influence that went a long way to throwing the Lions off their stride, who normally pride themselves on holding their own at that set-piece, as well inspiring his teammates in the pack – notably No 8 Juarno Augustus and lock JD Schickerling – who were anyway expected to shade the tight exchanges.
Ironically, the Lions’ early try was an indication of how they would initially struggle to obtain front-foot ball, with scrumhalf Andre Warner doing well to keep his head from a disintegrating scrum and allowing flyhalf and skipper Elton Jantjies to launch a splendid cross-kick for Courtnall Skosan on the wing.
But that lead didn’t last long as the Stormers turned on the screws, simply not allowing their opponents to gain any foothold.
Their defence was also outstanding at times.
They were also helped by the Lions’ astonishing penalty count of 11, which came to a head with lock Marvin Orie’s yellow card for repeated team infringements.
Centre Dan du Plessis pounced on a bullet of a Damian Willemse pass to score the Stormers’ first try, which was followed by hooker Scarra Ntubeni’s score from a maul.
Seemingly weary from their opponents’ physicality, the Lions allowed two soft tries for skipper Siya Kolisi, who produced a disdainful hand-off on Warner to score on the half-time hooter, before new Stormers recruit Warrick Gelant, full of enterprise at fullback, skilfully ran at two front-rowers to scythe through a seemingly non-existent gap.
There was a momentum shift once the Lions brought on their “second XV” and the Stormers sacrificed their powerful Bok-laden combo for a more nimble one.
Tries for wing Jamba Ulengo and flanker MJ Pelser put the Gautengers back in contention but were thwarted by a large deficit as well as the ball-poaching skills of replacement opensider Nama Xaba.
The Stormers eventually sealed their win with a late try for halfback Paul de Wet.
Point scorers:
Lions
Tries: Courtnall Skosan, Jamba Ulengo, MJ Pelser
Conversions: Gianni Lombard (2), Elton Jantjies
Stormers
Tries: Dan du Plessis, Scarra Ntubeni, Siya Kolisi, Warrick Gelant, Paul de Wet
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sanctioned defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for giving an ANC delegation a ‘lift’ to Zimbabwe on an airforce jet.
Ramaphosa said her salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
He said it was an “error of judgment” for the ANC delegation to be given a lift on an airforce jet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has cracked the whip, reprimanding and docking three months salary from defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula pver the ANC junket to Harare on an airforce jet earlier this month.
In a statement late on Saturday, the presidency said that starting from November, Mapisa-Nqakula’s salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
“The President has further sanctioned the Minister by imposing a salary sacrifice on the Minister’s salary for three months, starting from 1 November 2020. Her salary for the three months should be paid into the Solidarity Fund, which was established to support the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic,” the statement noted.
Ramaphosa took it a step further, indicating why he has taken tough action against the minister for her “error in judgment”.
“He (Ramaphosa) found that the Minister did not ‘act … in the best interest of good governance’ as required by the Executive Members Code, failed to adhere to legal prescripts warranting care in use of state resources (and) acted ‘in a way that is inconsistent with [her] position’ as required by the Code,” the statement noted.
An ANC delegation led by party secretary-general Ace Magashule flew to Zimbabwe on the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) dime, for a meeting with the ruling ZanuPF.
“The President furthermore directed the Minister to make sure that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight to Harare and to report to him once that has been done,” the presidency said in its statement.
Ramaphosa’s office said he considered two reports from Mapisa-Nqakula on the matter and found that it was “an error of judgment to use the plane to convey a political party delegation”.
“The President said that this error of judgment was not in keeping with the responsibilities of a Minister of Cabinet”.
Ramaphosa wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula reprimanding her saying that while he appreciated that the ANC had committed to pay back the cost of the flight, it was still an error of judgment which he took seriously.
“In his letter of reprimand to the Minister, President Ramaphosa said he appreciated that the ANC had committed to reimburse state resources spent in excess of those the Minister would have incurred for her approved travel to meet her Zimbabwean counterpart. However, the sanction imposed on the Minister demonstrated the seriousness with which the President viewed the Minister’s error of judgment, given her high position in government”.
The controversial flight is subject to two complaints before the public protector.
The DA has meanwhile estimated that the ANC would have to pay around R260 000 for the flight with the delegation including Magashule, Mapisa-Nqakula, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, Nomvula Mokonyane, Enoch Godongwana, Tony Yengeni and Dakota Legoete.
The City of Cape Town’s residents reportedly experienced tremors on Saturday night after, according to the US Geological Survey, a slight earthquake was felt in certain parts of the city.
The US Geological Survey issued an advisory on Saturday night, in which it warned to exercise caution in the coming hours “after a magnitude 6.2 offshore earthquake struck at approximately 19.10 (local time) on 26 September”.
A few hours after the advisory, several residents reported experiencing a tremors.
Ward Councillor Angus McKenzie also stated that he experienced a tremor at his house, which lasted for about 10 seconds.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management noted reports from numerous suburbs of a tremor that was experienced, however, the City said was not in a position to provide comment until it was confirmed by the South African Council for Geoscience.
The Disaster Risk Management – in a statement on Saturday – did confirm that at this stage the tremor did not appear to cause any impact on infrastructure of public safety.
I felt like an earthquake in Cape Town just now. Almost fell off my bed, it was that strong !!
As masks are becoming mandatory all over the world, authorities have asked people to use homemade cloth masks instead of single-use surgical and N95 masks that are needed by medical staff.
Face coverings from all materials and shapes are being used. And while all face coverings offer a measure of protection against large and small respiratory droplets, a team of researchers from the University of Cincinnati wanted to examine the efficacy of different household fabrics.
The study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, wanted to determine what practices would be most effective in practice. The researchers examined cotton, polyester and silk by their resistance to the penetration of small and aerosolised water drops.
They also investigated the breathability of the fabrics, and how they would fare if they were washed repeatedly. In the laboratory, they used the materials as an overlaying barrier for respirators, as well as face coverings. The team then looked at the penetration and absorption of droplets – and observed that silk faired the best, both as a barrier and in terms of breathability.
“Cotton traps moisture like a sponge. But silk is breathable. It’s thinner than cotton and dries really fast,” said Patrick Guerra, an assistant professor of biology at UC’s College of Arts and Sciences.
It’s not only the fact that silk is dense and breathable that made the researchers take note.
Silk contains elements of copper from silk moths, which could contribute to fighting bacteria and viruses. Studies have shown that copper can kill bacteria and has antiviral properties.
Death and disease have been one of the hallmarks of 2020, and Covid-19’s global impact will be felt for years, maybe even decades to come.
In one of the many ways it has changed our lives, it might also have shifted the trajectory of human life expectancy around the world according to research published in PLOS ONE.
In real life, as of 22 September 2020, there have almost been one million global deaths in total as a result of Covid-19, with the US in the lead followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK.
South Africa has had almost 16 000 deaths, although global totals are expected to be higher due to limited testing and reporting, unknown factors surrounding asymptomatic spread, and the fact that countries have different methods and criteria for counting Covid-19 deaths.
“Previous epidemics such as the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak resulted in a drop in life expectancy at birth of as many as 11.8 years and 1.6–5.6 years in the USA and Liberia, respectively,” explain the researchers.
“In severely affected countries, an unprecedented surge in mortality from Covid-19 may result in significant years of life lost.” This is especially true when you think of the number of other life-threatening diseases that have taken a backseat in the pandemic, and might contribute to the decline in life expectancy.
Unfortunately, figuring out by how much the current pandemic will shorten our lives isn’t easy. While it disproportionately affects older sections of the population, people of all ages are affected.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has effectively disbanded government’s chief scientific advisory committee on Covid-19.
News24 has seen a letter sent to members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 on Friday, dated 21 September, in which Mkhize expressed his “gratitude and appreciation” for the commitment and dedication of members.
“Your contribution has led to the containment of Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the reduction of mortality of the citizens of South Africa. The new members of the MAC will assume duty soon,” the letter reads.
The committee is chaired by Professor Salim Abdool Karim and was established early during the outbreak of Covid-19 in April to advise Mkhize.
Karim’s status as chairperson is unclear.
While it appears the entire 50-member MAC has been affected, at the time of writing News24 had confirmed that 14 members of the MAC had received letters, including South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccine trial leading researcher Professor Shabir Madhi, and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council Professor Glenda Gray.
The Gauteng provincial command council has noted a decline in new Covid-19 infections, but warned that the risk of transmitting the virus is still high as restrictions have been eased.
The country moved to Level 1 lockdown from Sunday at midnight.
“There has been a gradual but steady decline in [the] number of new infections and hospitalisations.
“Government and social partners continue to work hard to improve the capacity of the health care system to cope with the demand for hospital care now and post Covid-19,” the command council said in an update on Friday.
Despite this progress, residents of South Africa’s economic hub were reminded that the fight against the virus is far from over and the risk of transmission following the easing of restrictions still remains high.
The command council said: “There is still no vaccine, the only way we can contain the spread of Covid-19 is through non-pharmaceutical interventions. We all have to play our part to protect ourselves and those around us.”
France and the UK recorded their highest daily Covid-19 cases since the global outbreak began, and the EU warned that some of its countries now have worse outbreaks than they had in March.
Stella Kyriakides, the EU’s health commissioner Stella Kyriakides warned on Thursday that in “some member states, the situation is now even worse than during the peak in March.”
Taken together, the developments point to the feared second wave of the pandemic having arrived in Europe.
There are differences from the first wave in spring. While infections have increased, the number of deaths has not risen so sharply.
Also, the ability of officials to test and keep track of the number of infections has increased, meaning that the daily figures are now a better reflection of how the virus is spreading.
In the first wave, testing systems were only able to capture a small portion of those infected.
British grocery chains Tesco and Morrisons have started rationing essential items over fears that stricter lockdown measures will send shoppers into a panic.
Supermarkets limited sales of certain goods earlier in the pandemic, and Morrisons became the first major grocer to reintroduce these measures when it said on Thursday that customers could only buy three of certain products. These included pasta, soup, hand wash, and hand sanitiser, as well as multipacks of toilet paper and kitchen roll.
One checkout worker at Morrisons who wished to remain anonymous said customers had been stocking up on canned food and toilet roll. They described their store was “worse than a bad Christmas, it was horrible.”
Tesco imposed its own three-item limits on Friday morning for flour, dried pasta, toilet rolls, baby wipes, and anti-bacterial wipes, the grocer confirmed to Business Insider. The limit extends to a small number of products online, such as rice and canned vegetables, it added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced stricter lockdown measures on Tuesday, including a 10 p.m. curfew for pubs and restaurants, and extending the use of face masks. Officer workers were also told to work from home wherever possible.
Social media users began posting images of empty shelves on Monday, when rumours of the stricter measures began to emerge, and toilet paper sales rose 23% in the week to Tuesday, The Guardian reported.
HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)
• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing
• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus
• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.
The Company needs the services of a dynamic Payroll & HR Administrator to join their team. The incumbent will be located in PE and report to the Office Manager.
Responsibilities:
– Accurate and prompt preparation and processing of salaries and fortnight wages (two companies) – SARS E-Filing submissions (EMP201, EMP501) – Department of Labour submissions (Return of Earnings) – Workman’s Compensation submissions – Skills Development & Employment Equity reporting and submissions – Capturing of Supplier Invoices – Issuing of Customer Invoices – General administrative assistance
Requirements:
– Relevant tertiary qualification – 5 Years’ experience in payroll and HR compliance related administration – Experience in Pastel Payroll and VIP software – Excellent Excel skills – Ability to perform well under pressure – Good verbal and written skills in both English and Afrikaans
The company offers a competitive remuneration package in line with the successful candidate’s qualifications, experience and skills.
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has an exciting opportunity within our Utilities department. We are looking for talented individual with relevant skills and experience for an Operator : Utilities, which is based in Bloemfontein. The successful candidate will report directly to the Utilities Team Leader.KEY PURPOSETo acquire knowledge, skills and technical competencies in the respective engineering discipline in order to perform maintenance and troubleshooting tasks on plant equipment
While most of his squad for this weekend’s Super Fan Saturday event are seniors, Jake White has also included two age-group stars in Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Stravino Jacobs.
The Bulls’ director of rugby unashamedly believes that Wessels is the next Os du Randt.
Jacobs has also come from relative obscurity – at least in the Bulls hierarchy – to play himself into contention.
Jake White, perhaps conscious of getting his Springboks match fit as soon as possible should the Rugby Championship become a reality, will boast most of his senior squad players for this weekend’s Super Fan Saturday meeting with the Sharks at Loftus.
But there are a few exceptions, notably 19-year-old Jan-Hendrik Wessels, whom the Bulls director of rugby has compared already to a Springbok legend.
“This is my first formal media conference at Loftus and I want to tell you guys from the outset that this guy reminds me of Os du Randt,” said White.
“He will become a Springbok. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Wessels, another graduate from the rugby factory that is Grey College, made waves last year when he, along with fellow school mate George Cronje, signed an agreement with French giants Clermont along, while another friend Marcell Muller went to Montpellier.
Yet the Covid-19 pandemic shuffled all three players’ decks to the extent that they’re back in South Africa.
At 1.93m and 120kg, Wessels is an absolute man-mountain who was expected to star for the Junior Springboks this year.
“Our job is do bring him in the right way,” said White.
“There’s an opportunity (this weekend) for him to play with some Springboks, particularly in a rolling subs environment. He can learn about senior rugby. The Under-21 tournament starts next week and he’ll definitely be a part of that.
“This weekend is an ideal environment for him. Not only because of the national players’ presence but also because he’s been part of the pre-season with us.”
Wessels will be joined by 20-year-old Stravino Jacobs, dubbed “The Rocket Man” during his time at Paarl Gimnasium, who played for SA Schools and was also slated to become a Junior Springbok in 2020.
The pacey winger with some surprising punch has been a revelation for White.
“I’m still new at this. Some of the youngsters have really surprised me,” said the former World Cup-winning Springbok coach.
“I’ve got this young guy, Stravino, that’s come in and he’s an unbelievable player. He’s just such a rough diamond and I want to see what he’s like when he plays in a senior combination. He’s a great youngster, maybe with him and Gio (Aplon) and Travis (Ismaiel) as a combo together, we’ll see him already add some value.”
In fact, Jacobs’ unexpected if pleasing elevation confirms that White – perhaps now unfairly labelled as a coach favouring size over nimbleness – is counting more mercurial talents to add more flair to his attack.
The Bulls also boast Blitzbok stars Stedman Gans and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the 30-man squad for the weekend.
“I’m told I usually only like big okes and that we’re only going to play like the Bulls used to,” said White.
“Guys like Gio, Kurt-Lee and Embrose (Papier) aren’t big guys at all but they’ve got great skills. I’m really excited about them. Watch this space, I’m really excited.”
Nehawu members protesting outside the Union Buildings in Tshwane, demanding the implementation of a wage increase agreement and other issues relating to Covid-19.
Alex Mitchley
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Nehawu leadership will continue engagement on the union’s concerns.
Nehawu is unhappy about the implementation of a wage agreement and the effects of Covid-19 on its members.
Ramaphosa and Nehawu met on Friday after Ramaphosa had to postpone an earlier meeting due to illness.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) agreed on Friday they will continue engagement on a range of issues concerning collective bargaining and workplace conditions in the public sector, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ramaphosa hosted a meeting with the national office-bearers of the public-sector trade union on Friday after Tuesday’s meeting was postponed due to Ramaphosa being struck down with a cold.
“The meeting followed the union’s submission of a memorandum to the President relating to, among others, improving occupational health and safety uniformly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, conditions of service more broadly and implementation of clause 3.3 of Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolution 1 of 2018, which deals with salary adjustments for the 2020/21 financial year, and which is currently the subject of litigation,” reads a statement from the Presidency.
On Monday, Nehawu protested outside the Union Buildings because a memorandum they delivered in early September has not yet received a response.
Nehawu president Mzwandile Makwayiba said the union was fighting for the implementation of a wage agreement that was reached in 2018, as well as issues relating to health workers who contracted Covid-19, News24 reported at the time.
Ramaphosa chaired the meeting in which Nehawu was represented by Makwayiba, first deputy president Mike Shingange, second deputy president Nyameka Macanda, national treasurer Kgomotso Makhupola, and general secretary Zola Saphetha.
Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu, and Health Deputy Minister Dr Joe Phaahla also participated in the meeting which the Presidency described as “a frank and cordial exchange of views and information”.
The meeting agreed that government and Nehawu will continue work on the issues raised in Nehawu’s memorandum, that are currently being discussed by task teams comprising government and Nehawu.
“Reports of these task teams will be presented to a meeting of senior leadership of government and public sector unions who will meet again soon on a mutually convenient date to develop solutions in the interest of workers, the public sector and the nation and economy at large,” reads the Presidency’s statement.
