South Africa

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture says it is fast tracking a third phase of relief funding for the industry to alleviate pressure on those hard hit by the ongoing lockdown.

To date, the department has implemented the first and second phases of the COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Nearly 5 000 practitioners were recommended for the first phase and over R80 million was paid out to the sector.

The Department of Employment and Labour in Free State has temporarily closed its doors following water leaks into Laboria House building caused by recent heavy rains.

South Africa logged over 12 000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time this week, after recording fewer than 10 000 infections a day in the past few days.

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has warned Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and Co-operatives against sending proposals and paying administration fees for the preapproval of funds to agencies.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has extended the time set for the operation of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) interim board to mid-February 2021.

This, the department said, is to give the board sufficient time to carry out its mandate, as its institution was initially delayed.

"In appointing the interim board of Cricket South Africa  in October 2020, Minister Nathi Mthethwa gave the board three months to complete their mandate. On that basis, the interim board assignment would end in January 2021.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has reiterated its commitment to enhance sustainable water supply and sanitation services across the country.

The Department of Basic Educations says several provinces have completed the marking of Grade 12 exam papers ahead of schedule, and that results will be released on time.

According to the department’s Assessment and Examination Director, Priscilla Ogunbanjo, over 90% of centres, which were scheduled to finalise the marking of scripts on Friday, have already wrapped up.

Ogunbanjo revealed that Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape have already concluded the work, while the remaining provinces are rounding up between today and Thursday.  

The Department of Employment and Labour in the North West has closed the Rustenburg and Mafikeng Labour Centres after three COVID-19 cases were identified.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has informed Parliament about the employment of 2 122 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to support other government departments in the fight against COVID-19.

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases have risen to 1 356 716 after 9 780 patients were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Tuesday.