South Africa

The Presidential Imbizo at Carolina in Mpumalanga has kicked off in the province’s Gert Sibande District.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says the incident of cable theft at the Hendrina Power Station, by people suspected to work at the plant, is along with several other incidents the reason that millions of South Africans have had to sit in the dark this week.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says effective service delivery is “vitally important” not only for local communities but also for creating a fertile environment for economic growth.

Government seeks to strengthen efforts for all spheres, as well as social partners, to work together in alignment to achieve its objectives of creating jobs, eliminating poverty, creating an inclusive economy and reducing inequality.

Government is developing a draft policy on scrap metal that will protect the country’s electrical grid and rail network from the continued threat of scrap metal syndicates, says Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel.

Eskom has announced that stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 17:00 – 22:00 on Friday, on Saturday and on Sunday evenings.

South Africa can play a more prominent role in the world of regional production hubs by focusing on improving the dynamism and capacity of its industrial base, says Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has challenged the Black Business Council (BBC) to work together with government to address the financing of empowerment transactions in the constrained economic environment, and the mobilisation of capital for black business to expand.

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says a specialist-subject curriculum, which will see learners enrolling for subjects such as agriculture and maritime, has been gazetted for public comment.

In order to ensure that departments meet their target of including women in departmental planning, the National Treasury is expected to roll out the first phase of a strategy and roadmap for gender-responsive budgeting.

Despite efforts to implement recovery plans, researchers have found that there has been a loss of one year of learning in as far as reading is concerned, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, said on Wednesday.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says despite a decrease in overcrowding at corrections centres, the system remains under pressure and projects to add more beds are near completion.

Government has reiterated its call for every person in the country to protect the country’s critical economic infrastructure.

The North West Province will soon upgrade the paper-based system of tracing animals to a modern and computerised livestock identification and traceability system (LITS).

South Africa on Thursday recorded 7 238 new COVID-19, says the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).