South Africa

A government commissioned report has painted a grim picture of occupational health and safety standards in South Africa.

Government is working around the clock to get businesses affected by looting and damage to property in parts of the country back on their feet and set South Africa on a path of economic growth.

Although South Africa has reached and passed the peak of the third wave, there are provinces that are still on the upward trajectory particularly the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

With the expected arrival of COVID-19 vaccine batches in the coming days, South Africa will soon be able to vaccinate one million people in three days.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation has warned the public about job scammers following the arrest of a 35-year-old suspected job scammer in Polokwane on Thursday.

Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigators, with the assistance of the Hawks, have raided the offices of the Ratlou Local Municipality in the North West, after the municipality failed to cooperate with a SIU investigation.

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) in the North West will from Monday embark on a service delivery drive aimed at reducing long queues at Labour Centres, and to reach out to areas that are far from the centres.

Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has dismissed claims that he has wanted the department’s Director-General (DG) Gwebinkundla Qonde to leave the department since 2019.

There were 215 066 people who received their COVID-19 vaccine, while the country detected 13 751 new cases on Thursday.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has congratulated Tatjana Schoenmaker for scooping South Africa’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Games in the women’s 200m breaststroke in a world record on Friday morning.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has commended Transnet employees for their hard work to have managed to restore full operations at the ports after a security breach on Thursday.

As government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is underway, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has visited the Sibanye-Stillwater mineworkers’ vaccination sites in the North West.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the people who lost their lives in Phoenix, north of Durban, in the past few weeks.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited two COVID-19 vaccination centres in Gauteng on Thursday, says South Africa is banking on mass vaccination sites to reach as many people as possible.

Acting Health Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has reiterated that getting the COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory in South Africa.