Phelane Phelane Community Project staff celebrated Heritage Day in Khayelisha near Bloemfontein.

Former Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning, along with former Sahara employee Ugeshni Govender.

Ronica Ragavan who is a former director of Islandsite was warned to appear as she was previously arrested in this matter in 2018. 

They were arrested on charges pertaining to the R280 million Estina Dairy farm project. The trio appeared on charges of fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering.

The arrests arise from the alleged looting of the Free state Department of Agriculture through a company called Estina.

On July 5, 2012, Estina (Pty) (Ltd) entered into an agreement with the Free State Department of Agriculture to establish and implement a dairy farm project in Vrede,  to benefit previously disadvantaged farmers and to uplift the people of the Vrede area.

In terms of the agreement, Estina was to provide a capital injection of R228 million.

Paras Dairy (a company incorporated in India) was presented as Estina’s partner in the Vrede Dairy Project.

In the charge sheet, the Investigating Directorate alleges that terms of the agreement between the Department of Agriculture and Estina the beneficiaries were to own 51% of the AGRIBEE (special purpose vehicle) entity and the remaining shares were to belong to Estina.

The said agreement also contained a rent-free lease clause in favour of Estina for a period of 99 years. 

The agreement further stipulated that the department was to contribute R342 million including VAT over a period of three years.

Estina received R280 million from July 2012 to April 2014.  Investigations also revealed that no proper tender procedures were followed with regards the decision to fund the proposed Vrede Dairy Project.

Estina did not adhere to its obligations in terms of the agreement as only the department paid its contribution into bank accounts held by Estina.

The investigations have revealed that the entire Vrede Dairy Project was designed to extract funds from the State. The other accused previously arrested in 2018 will be summoned to appear on the next court date.

According to the head of Investigating Directorate (ID) Advocate Andrea Johnson, enrolment of this case demonstrates the commitment of the ID to deal with perpetrators of state capture.

“This case should serve to remind the people of the Free State that this matter was not forgotten.

It does however take long to investigate and put together appropriate charges for prosecuting such complex cases. 

The Vrede Dairy Project destroyed the lives of the people and communities it was supposed to empower and uplift.

The enrollment of the matter is a step closer to delivering justice to the people who were alleged to have been prejudiced by the criminal conduct of the accused,” said Johnson. 

The State did not oppose their release on bail as the interests of justice did not require their further detention while they await trial.

Applications for Phase IV of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) in the Basic Education sector have opened today and will close on 16 October 2022.

In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Basic Education announced that Phase IV will offer job opportunities to 255 100 youth across the nine provinces in around 20 000 public ordinary schools and schools for learners with special education needs (LSEN).

“Phase IV comes as the country‘s youth have reaped the benefits of more than 850 000 job opportunities coupled with training that was offered throughout this initiative. The applications will officially open on 26 September 2022 and close on 16 October 2022. This gives all the youth 3 weeks for applications,” the department said.

All the youth aged 18-34 years residing within a radius of 5km from a school, are requested to register on SAYouth.mobi and applyfor the Education Assistant and General School Assistant job opportunities.

“There is no cost to the youthfor accessing SAYouth.mobi, as the site is zero-rated. There will be no applications at schools,” the department said.

The opportunities have been distributed as follows among provinces:

PROVINCE	ALLOCATION OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES PER PED 2023 FOR PHASE IV
EASTERN CAPE	40 100
FREE STATE	15 500
GAUTENG	40 000
KWAZULU NATAL	58 500
LIMPOPO	35 000
MPUMALANGA	22 000
NORTHERN CAPE	7 000
NORTH WEST	16 000
WESTERN CAPE	21 000
NATIONAL TOTAL	255 100

The department has requested youth to note that, according to the new case law, any person working with vulnerable people (learners and disabled people) needs to be vetted, hence for Phase IV this is a requirement for placement.

The department said that it will communicate more information on requirements for placement in the next media statement. – SAnews.gov.za

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has advised Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students to contact the colleges where they wrote their exams regarding their certificates and diplomas.

Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, said the certificates for students are released to colleges within 90 days after the release of results for students who meet certification requirements.

“Students who write examinations over multiple examinations to qualify for certification are expected to apply for the combination of their results at the last examination centre where they wrote their examination.  The centre will in return submit the application to the DHET for further processing.

“Students may also submit their enquiries on the eGOV portal, www.eservices.gov.za, which is monitored by a dedicated team at the DHET.  

“We, however, advise that all enquiries be lodged first with their college of registration before considering any escalations to the DHET, since feedback is always communicated to the college and not individual students,” Nzimande explained. 

Almost 100% certificates released 

The Minister said that 99.94% of certificates for the previous certification backlog (historical records) have been released to colleges for qualifying students after results combinations were processed.

The Minister said the department discourages colleges from withholding student certificates due to outstanding fees.

“Colleges must find workable solution to recover the outstanding fees,” Nzimande said.

Umalusi approves release of over 39 000 candidates’ results 

Nzimande also announced that Umalusi Council has approved the results and released the approval letter to the Department of Higher Education and Training.

This follows a meeting held by Umalusi Assessment Standards Committee (ASC) and the department on 5 September 2022 to finalise proposals to normalise the performance of candidates in four subjects, including Maths N3, Engineering Science N3, Fitting and Machining N2 and Electro-technology N3.

Nzimande said the approval letter recommended the release of 39 777 candidates’ results and the nullification of the results of 2 028 candidates, who were implicated in examination irregularities.

“The results of 39 777 candidates were processed for release by DHET on 9 September 2022. Therefore, the results of 2 028 candidates implicated in these serious irregularities remain blocked,” Nzimande explained.

He said the report was provided to the National Irregularities and Assessment Committee (NEIC), which is empowered by the National Policy Pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of Examinations of Colleges as amended, registered and reported in terms of the Continuing Education and Training Act of 2006 to execute the appropriate sanctions.

“The results remain nullified, as recommended by the Umalusi Council and concurred with by the National Irregularities and Assessment Committee. 

“Accordingly, the implicated students will be allowed to register to write the end of the year examinations and if implicated again, they will be suspended for a period of three years from participating in future examinations,” Nzimande said.

The DHET condemned students who engage in irregularities, which has the effect of undermining the credibility and integrity of examinations. – SAnews.gov.za

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has called for a harsh sentence for the pastor who allegedly raped 13 children at Luvisi village in Nquthu, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

It is alleged that the 56-year-old reverend has been luring young girls and boys, aged between five and 17 years to watch cartoons and later play pornographic videos to watch with them.

The man was allegedly caught when a boy reported the matter to his mother, including the allegation that 11 boys and two girls, suffered at the hands of the man. 

The victim’s mother verified the information with other victims before reporting it to the local police.

It is alleged that the reverend started molesting children in 2021, with the last incident on Sunday, 18 September 2022.

Khoza has strongly condemned the rape and abuse of children by a man trusted by the community. 

The MEC said it was shocking that children were raped by the reverend over a period of one year and no one in the community was able to stop the horrendous incidents.

“It is very shocking that a man trusted by parents took advantage of children by sexually abusing them. We are very disturbed that a man, who is supposed to be helping parents in raising their children, is the one allegedly involved in such despicable cases in the community,” Khoza said.

She said religious leaders are expected to have high moral standards in building a violence-free society, where children and women are safe.

Khoza called on parents and communities to be extra vigilant and pay more attention to their children.

“We are calling on communities to support victims and their parents to build solid cases and bring the perpetrators to book. Child abuse and rape have no place in our society.

“We call on all men, women and children to stand up and make their voices heard. We cannot keep silent while our children suffer at the hands of people who are supposed to protect them. We need to work together to end these cruel and barbaric acts against children,” Khoza said.

She emphasised that it is every individual’s responsibility to protect children in society.

“As parents, we should always be on the front line in protecting our children and listen to them when engaging us. We should be friends with our children so that they can find it easy to tell us when encountering abuse,” she said.

The MEC commended the police for arresting the man, and a parent who noticed strange behaviour of her son, which led to more abused children being found.

Khoza has dispatched social workers to Luvisi village to provide psycho-social support and other interventions to the victims and families.

She has also instructed social workers to ensure that they help children to be able to give detailed statements on what happened.

The perpetrator was arrested and appeared at Nquthu Magistrate Court on Friday, where he abandoned his bail application. He will reappear in court on 14 October 2022. – SAnews.gov.za

Former Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, has appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of alleged fraud and corruption related to the failed R280 million Estina Dairy Farm Project.

Zwane, who is currently a Member of Parliament, appeared in the court alongside former Sahara employee Ugeshni Govender and former director of Islandsite Ronica Ragavan.

The former minister was the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State at the time the project was signed off in 2012.

National Prosecuting Authority Investigating Directorate (NPA ID) head Advocate Andrea Johnson said the arrests and the appearance in court is another step in the unit’s crackdown of those accused of facilitating and participating in State capture.

“The enrolment of this case demonstrates the commitment of the ID to deal with perpetrators of State capture. This case should serve to remind the people of the Free State that this matter was not forgotten.  It does however take long to investigate and put together appropriate charges for prosecuting such complex cases.

“The Vrede Dairy Project destroyed the lives of the people and communities it was supposed to empower and uplift. The enrolment of the matter is a step closer to delivering justice to the people who were alleged to have been prejudiced by the criminal conduct of the accused,” Johnson said.

NPA ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka explained that the project was aimed at benefitting emerging farmers in the Free State but investigations revealed that the entire project “was designed to extract funds from the State”.

“On 05 July 2012, Estina…entered into an agreement with the Free State Department of Agriculture to establish and implement a dairy farm project in Vrede to benefit previously disadvantaged farmers and to uplift the people of the Vrede area.  In terms of the agreement, Estina was to provide a capital injection of R228 million. Paras Dairy – a company incorporated in India – was presented as Estina’s partner in the Vrede Dairy Project.

“In the charge sheet, the Investigating Directorate  alleges that [in] terms of the agreement between the Department of Agriculture and Estina, the beneficiaries were to own 51% of the AGRIBEE entity and the remaining shares were to belong to Estina.

“The agreement further stipulated that the department was to contribute R342 million…[and] Estina received R280 million from July 2012 to April 2014.  Investigations also revealed that no proper tender procedures were followed with regards the decision to fund the proposed Vrede Dairy Project. Estina did not adhere to its obligations in terms of the agreement as only the department paid its contribution into bank accounts held by Estina,” Seboka said.

All three accused received R10 000 bail in the matter, where state prosecutors were not opposing the application. – SAnews.gov.za

Addressing the members of the media and his supporters outside the Bloemfontein High Court on friday 23 September 2022, Ace maintained that he has no case to answer to. He said the whole matter is directed at the ANC since the enemies want to see the ANC out of power in 2024. He said it will up to the branches to nominate him, but once his nominated no one will stop him.

The NPA maintains that it has a strong case on Ace and the co accused and would like to see the trial commencing.

MetroNewsFS

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has gazetted the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Policy for public comment in the Government Gazette No: 46917.

The DPWI developed the EPWP Policy and it was approved by Cabinet on 31 August 2022 for public consultation.

“We are calling on all stakeholders and communities to engage the department on this policy during the countrywide EPWP policy public consultation sessions that the department will be embarking on over the next few weeks,” the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure said in a statement.

According to the department, these public consultation sessions will take place in all provinces starting from today. 

During these consultation sessions, the public, through their representative structures, will be afforded an opportunity to discuss and contribute to the EPWP policy. 

All interested parties may provide and submit written comments on the EPWP policy within 30 days, from the date of gazette. Thereafter the department will, after revising the policy based on the public input, consult NEDLAC on the EPWP policy.

It is expected that the revised EPWP policy will serve before Cabinet for approval later this year and it is expected that the final EPWP policy will be gazette early in 2023 for implementation.

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is one of the government’s strategies to alleviate poverty through the creation of work opportunities using labour-intensive methods.

The EPWP is implemented in four sectors namely: infrastructure, social, environment and culture, and non-state.

All spheres of government and state-owned entities are expected to implement the programme.

The EPWP participants (beneficiaries) work on different projects such as Community Work Programme (CWP), Early Childhood Development Programmes, Home Community Based Care Programmes, Extra School Support Programmes, Working on Fire, Working for Water, Roads Maintenance Projects, etc.

The development and gazetting of the EPWP policy follow years of extensive engagements by DPWI and various stakeholders who are participating in the implementation of the EPWP.

The purpose of the EPWP Policy is to refocus the Public Employment Programme (PEP) agenda of government, with policy positions and programmes of action that are clearly defined, implementable and enforceable.

Since its inception on 01 April 2004 to 31 March 2022, more than 13 million work opportunities have been created in the EPWP across all spheres of government. – SAnews.gov.za

President Cyril Ramaphosa says resolving the energy crisis is critical to ensure that the economic and investment potential of the country is realised.

This as South Africa was plunged into Stage 6 load shedding for the second time this year, prompting the President’s urgent return to the country during an international trip.

Households have had to deal with bouts of up to four hours of load shedding at least twice a day since Sunday morning, with load shedding slightly eased to Stage 5 by Tuesday morning.

“Solving the electricity crisis is necessary if we are to realise the potential of our economy. In 2018, we launched an ambitious investment drive to raise R1.2 trillion in new investments over five years. To date, and with still a year to go, we have raised more than 90% of that amount in commitments from both domestic and foreign investors.

“Of these commitments, around R330 billion has already flowed into the economy, opening new factories, expanding production lines and creating new jobs,” the President said in his weekly newsletter.

The President said the current power crisis is a reminder of “how unstable our ageing power stations are” and the need for greater urgency to implement the measures he announced in July to bring stability to the grid.

“On Sunday, I held an urgent virtual meeting with Ministers and officials on the reasons for the current load shedding, and the steps being taken to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding in the coming days and weeks. Eskom has already announced some of the measures it is taking and we will remain seized with this issue until the situation is resolved,” he said.

Following his visit to Washington last week, where discussions were held with US President Joe Biden, President Ramaphosa said these international visits and discussions may not have the desired impact on attracting trade and investment to the country if load shedding persists.

“The visits we undertake to various countries, be they working visits, State visits or trade missions, are crucial for promoting investment and trade. They bring in investment and they create jobs. They also improve our relations with the countries we visit, thus creating great opportunities for our country.

“Building strong partnerships with other countries is important, but it is not enough. That is why we are working to make our economy more competitive, more efficient and more attractive to both international and local companies. First and foremost, we have to overcome the electricity crisis,” he said.

The President emphasised that despite the country’s current challenges, foreign direct investment from companies all over the world is proof that there is “a great future for companies that do business in South Africa”.

“The recent launches of new investments and expansion projects by Ford, Anglo American, Metair Investments, Corobrik, Consol Glass, Isuzu, Sappi, Google, Netflix, Sandvik and others show that both domestic and foreign investors see South Africa as a favourable place to invest and to do business.

“These companies recognise the progress we are making in several areas of reform, such as telecommunications, energy, water provision, freight rail and ports. The Presidency is working with several departments and other partners on cutting red tape in critical regulatory processes,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za