Media briefing by Spokesperson to the President, Mr Vincent Magwenya

Developments related to the SABC Group Executive News

The story published yesterday, Sunday the 28th of April, attempted to create a link between recent developments at the SABC concerning the vetting process of Mr. Moshoeshoe Monare, the SABC Group Executive for News, with utterances attributed to the President through a leaked recording of a meeting of the governing party.

I must emphasise that indeed the State Security Agency does not publicly discuss the names of individuals that are being vetted, neither does The Presidency. However due to grave nature of the claims that have been made and calls directed to The Presidency, we do have the obligation to provide the facts on the matter and dispel with falsehoods or doubts about the President’s commitment to media freedom as enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

Herewith is the understanding of The Presidency on the matter:

• The SABC made the request to the State Security Agency (SSA) to conduct a vetting process on Mr Monare, as per the established practice with all SABC executives.

• Mr Monare’s predecessor, Ms Phathiswa Magopeni, who now serves on the board of directors of the SABC, went through a similar vetting process without any hitches. It is therefore not true that Mr Monare is being targeted ahead of the elections.

• The vetting process does not cover practicing journalists or reporters at the SABC. Mr Monare is not a reporter at the SABC.

• Upon his appointment, Mr. Monare gave consent to the vetting process and completed the form that was furnished to him and went further to submit some, but not all of the required information.

• The process was then stalled when Mr. Monare did not want to submit himself to a polygraph test, which is part of the vetting process.

• Consequently, the vetting of Mr. Monare was never completed as claimed and no one from SSA recently phoned Mr. Monare to ask him to submit himself to a polygraph test as it has been alleged.

• Mr Monare is not being vetted for the second time, the process that started in 2022 when he joined the SABC and has not been completed due to his aversion of the polygraph test, which is only one element of the broader vetting process.

• The Presidency is also informed that the new SABC Group Chief Executive, Ms Nomsa Chabeli, is currently going through the same vetting process and that the current board of directors of the SABC went through a similar vetting process.

President Ramaphosa or any part of his Administration will never sanction acts of intimidation or harassment of journalists, because such behavior will stand contrary to sacrosanct adherence to the bill of rights that are enshrined in our country’s Constitution.  

Presidency rejects the emerging narrative around the proposed BHP Billiton-Anglo American transaction

The Presidency has noted with concern the emerging narrative around the proposed BHP Billiton transaction with Anglo American. Some analysts and sections of the media have sought to portray this market activity as a vote of no confidence on South Africa. The Presidency rejects the notion that a commercial approach by BHP Billiton equals to a hostile environment for investors.  

Some of the issues being sighted are in the process of being resolved with the participation and partnership of business.

For example, in June 2023 President Cyril Ramaphosa, members of his Cabinet and senior business leaders agreed to establish a partnership to reverse the economic downturn and rebuild confidence in the country’s trajectory. Three priority areas were identified as undermining investor and societal confidence, namely load shedding, the challenges in the freight logistics sector, and crime and corruption. 

The Joint Initiative on Crime and Corruption (JICC) was established to drive collaborative efforts to tackle the most serious forms of crime and corruption and support Government efforts to remove South Africa off the FATF grey list.

The Joint Initiative on Crime and Corruption (JICC) is an example of Government’s commitment to work with social partners to foster a safer and more ethical South Africa.

The first success has been to rebuild the credibility of critical state institutions involved in law enforcement. These efforts include:

• Appointing new leadership in the South African Police Service (SAPS), the DCPI (also known as the Hawks), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the State Security Agency (SSA), and the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

Once in the hands of credible leadership, these institutions have made significant progress in the fight against crime and corruption, including: 

• The recruitment of 20,000 police trainees and an additional 4000 public-order policing members.

• The establishment of twenty specialised SAPS Economic Infrastructure Task Teams working with social partners to tackle illegal mining, construction site extortions, cable theft and vandalism to economic infrastructure. By November 2023, the task teams had made over 4000 arrests for damage to critical infrastructure and 3000 arrests for illegal mining.

• The NPA recorded an average conviction rate of 91% in high courts, 82% in regional courts and 95% in district courts since 2019. 

• The NPA Investigating Directorate has taken 34 state capture and corruption cases to court involving 203 accused persons and 65 entities.

• The NPA has also secured the conviction of over 500 government officials and nearly 800 people in the private sector on offences related to corruption since 2019.

• The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has recovered over R8.6 billion of stolen funds from corrupt individuals. 

• R14 billion worth of freezing orders have been granted for state capture-related cases to the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), with R5.4 billion recovered and returned to the state. 

While much still needs to be achieved to turn the tide around completely, the significant steps taken to rebuild credible institutions have begun to bear fruit and set the stage for further progress.

The President will continue leading a multi-stakeholder effort to accelerate existing Government interventions to address the scourge of crime and its impacts on the economy. This partnership should reassure both local and foreign investors that considerable resources and expertise are being leveraged in Government and in the private sector to curtail crime, continue improving the functionality of our ports and enable an investor and societal environment that fosters inclusive economic growth and prosperity.

The Presidency would implore the investor community to note the optimism expressed by the business community in various publications and platform on the progress achieved across the three focal areas. This should reassure investors that momentum is building and will be maintained to reduce crime and corruption, continue improving energy supply and resolve logistic backlogs.

President Ramaphosa also finds it satisfying that both domestic and international investors continue to demonstrate confidence towards South Africa through their continued investments as evidenced in the last few years and in exceeding the investment targets set at the beginning of the term. President Ramaphosa is confident that the rebuilt capacity of the state remains firm and focused on responding to crime and corruption. 

Herewith is a list of significant investment commitments that have been completed:

• Amazon Web Services invested R15.6bn from 2018 and 2022 to support demand for cloud computing services,

• Google announced investment in its Google Cloud region in South Africa, the first on the continent, in 2022, expected to launch this year valued at R2.3bn,

• Metair Hesto Harnesses facility in KwaDukuza investment at R1.4bn which was launched in 2022,

• In motor manufacturing industry, Toyota invested R4.2bn in 2019-2022, Isuzu R1.2bn, Mercedes invested R10bn by 2023, Ford R16bn, Nissan R3bn by 2023 and BMW R5bn which is not clear how much has been spent yet,

o In total over five years, some R83bn in automotive investments was committed between 2018-2023, of which the majority have been completed

• Vedanta invested R6bn in Gamsberg zinc mine phase-1 project in Northern Cape in 2022,

• Sappi invested R7.7bn expansion and environmental upgrade, including for export, launched in 2022,

• SAB (AB-Inbev) confirmed completion of its pledged investment of R5.8bn in upgrading and increasing capacity at two plants,

• Aspen has R3.4 billion investment in 2018-2022 including in Africa’s first vaccine manufacturing capability and first anaesthetic production facility,

• Bidvest and Petredec have R1bn investment in Richards Bay mounded LPG storage facility commissioned in 2020,

• Polarium (Sweden) li-ion battery assembly plant in Western Cape investment of R500m which was completed in 2022, within a year was planning to double capacity,

• Consol glass investment of R1.5bn Nigel expansion completed in 2022 (Consol acquired in 2022 by Luxemburg-based package maker Ardagh Group, committing R1.5bn further investment),

• Scatec Kenhardt renewable energy project in the Northern Cape USD1 billion investment, with installed solar capacity of 540 MW and a battery storage capacity of 225MW/1,140MWh. It was completed in November, and the launch was to take place with Minister of Electricity,

• Newlyn logistics investment of R3.4bn in Bayhead PX Rail Terminal in Bayhead, just outside the Port of Durban completed in November 2023 (President launched it in April),

• Tetra-Pak R500m factory upgrade in Pinetown is the largest investment in South Africa made by the Group, launched by President in April. It enable the production of advanced format products (PLH) (Tetra Pak Pinetown factory will be the only Tetra Pak factory on the continent with the ability to produce these formats).

• In February 2024 Belgian company Lotus Bakeries opened a new natural snacks factory expansion to its plant in Wolseley, in Western Cape. The site is Lotus' second largest, after its home base in Lembeke in East Flanders (About R200m investment),

• R330-million Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal was officially inaugurated in Durban in November, by MSC Cruises (in partnership with Transnet),

• De Beers invested $2.3 billion in developing its underground operations at its Venetia Mine in Limpopo, starting underground production in 2023; and

• Just recently, Volkswagen Group Africa announced a R4 billion investment in its Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) assembly plant, to upgrade facilities in preparation of a third model to its production line-up from 2027.

The three biggest single commitments are MTN (R50bn), Vodacom (R49bn + R60bn) and Anglo American (R71bn + R29bn + 10bn, including Venetia at about R30bn):

• Vodacom completed its R50bn by 2022 and announced R60bn more at 2023 SAIC.

• Anglo had completed R60bn by end of 2020, therefore, it is likely that they have delivered R100bn+ as they announced additional R10bn in 2022.

Ports of entry

On the logistics and ports of entry the National Logistics Crisis Committee has already contributed to the reduction of trucks waiting time at the Lebombo Port of Mozambique from 9 hours to about three (3) hours, just short of an hour to the global average of two (2) hours.

In Beit Bridge, the Border Management Authority has enable the reduction of people processing times from four (4) hours during the festive season at ports to about 30 minutes, this was further stated by travellers to the media during the  Easter period. The BMA prevented about 281 000 people from entering the country illegally.  Counterfeit cigarette to the value of R250 million was intercepted and stopped from entering our borders. 

Improvements in the energy supply

The Presidency rejects claims that recent improvements in the energy supply are a ploy related to the upcoming elections. The Presidency will therefore like to remind the public of the following facts:
  
• The actions taken since President Ramaphosa announced the Energy Action Plan (EAP) in July 2022 have had a direct impact in reducing the severity and frequency of load shedding, which was the primary objective of the plan.

• The EAP outlined a multi-pronged strategy to end load shedding, including improving Eskom’s plant performance, accelerating the procurement of new capacity, enabling private investment in electricity generation, and supporting rooftop solar.

• The implementation of Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan, including increased maintenance and recovery interventions at the six of the worst-performing power stations, together with the return of three units at Kusile have contributed to reduced breakdowns and improved plant performance.

• Tax incentives and financing mechanisms have facilitated a rapid increase in rooftop solar, which has more than doubled to over 5000 MW since the announcement of the EAP.

• Regulatory reforms introduced in 2021 and 2022 have unlocked massive investment in new generation capacity, with a confirmed pipeline of 136 projects representing 22500 MW. These projects have begun to connect to the grid, and are alleviating the energy supply shortfall.

• While the energy system remains constrained, the combined impact of these interventions through the EAP is making a significant difference.

WE INVITE MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC TO LOOK AT THE 18 MONTH REPORT OF THE EAP WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON THE PRESIDENCY WEBSITE

Freedom Flotilla delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

South Africa calls on the government of Israel to allow the Freedom Flotilla to provide humanitarian assistance where Israel as occupying power that does not provide this aid while imposing its siege on Gaza. The United Nations, other states and aid organisations (like those on the flotilla) have been forced to provide aid in the face of Israel’s refusal to comply with its obligations under international law as an occupying power.

As Judges Xue, Brant, Gomez-Robledo and Tladi emphasized in their concurring opinion with the International Court of Justice’s 28 March Order, Israel bears the “primary responsibility to ensure unhindered and unimpeded access, in particular, the land crossing access, for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians in Gaza” on the basis that “Israel is the occupying Power in the Gaza Strip” and “controls Gaza’s land border and all its land crossing access as well as its air and maritime areas”.

Any action taken to impede the passage of the Freedom Flotilla would constitute a further and egregious breach of the two binding Order the ICJ issued to prevent irreparable harm to the rights of Palestinian protected under 1948 Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention).

On 26 January 2024 the ICJ ordered Israel, amongst other things, to “take immediate and effective measures to enable to provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”. On 28 March the ICJ further specified – in light of the onset of famine in the Gaza strip – that Israel was obliged to “ensure, without delay…the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed [humanitarian aid]”.

Moreover, the Court specifically ordered Israel to ensure that “its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the [Genocide] Convention…, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance”. 

The “naval blockade” that Israel would seek to enforce by impeding the Freedom Flotilla is also, in and of itself, a violation of international law. Not only is Israel’s ongoing blockade unlawful, the rules concerning such blockades specifically prohibit states from preventing the flow of humanitarian aid to starving populations.

South Africa calls on the international community, including countries that are allied to Israel to impress upon the state of Israel to ensure 

PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA’S PUBLIC PROGRAMME 

President Ramaphosa to bestow the 2024 National Orders Awards

President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Grand Patron of the National Orders, will on Tuesday, 30 April 2024, bestow the 2024 National Orders Awards on distinguished citizens and eminent foreign nationals who have contributed towards the advancement of democracy and have made a significant impact on improving the lives of South Africans.

The National Orders are the highest awards that a country, through its President, bestows on its citizens and eminent foreign nationals.

The President will bestow on deserving recipients the Order of Mendi for Bravery, the Order of Ikhamanga, the Order of the Baobab, the Order of Luthuli, the Order of Mapungubwe, and the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo.

President Ramaphosa to address Black Business Council Summit Dinner

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday, 30 April 2024, deliver the keynote address at the annual Black Business Council (BBC) Summit Dinner to be held at the Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre, O.R. Tambo in Johannesburg.

The BBC is convened under the theme “30 Years of Democracy – lessons learned and plans for the next 30 Years."

The BBC is the over-arching confederation that represents black professionals, business associations and chambers.

The objective of the BBC is to lobby government on policy related matters and to play an advocacy role where policies are in place in order to accelerate the participation of black business in the mainstream economy.

President Ramaphosa to attend the unveiling of 100 Home Affairs trucks in Mokopane

President Cyril Ramaphosa will, on Tuesday, 7 May 2024, officially unveil 100 additional Home Affairs mobile trucks that will assist the Department of Home Affairs improvement its services reach to especially remote areas.

The unveiling of these mobile trucks are made possible by the Department’s approved Hybrid Access Model to ensure an expansion of services in areas where the department’s footprint is limited.

The approach is to increase the fleet by 100 every financial year until they reach 1000 from the current fleet of 120.

30 Years Review of South Africa's Democracy Report

On 08 May 2024, the President will attend the launch of the 30 Years of Democracy Review Report in Pretoria.

The report to be handed over to the President by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation will reflect on the political, social, and economic journey of transformation of South Africa since 1994, the advent of democracy, in order to derive lessons and make recommendations for the country’s development agenda.

The report will also provide critical evidence for the development of the new MTSF 2024 – 2029, which serves as a five-year plan of government towards the implementation of the National Development Plan Vision 2030.

President to interact with communities in the Northern Cape Province

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 09 May 2024, lead government’s interaction - in the form of a District Development Model Presidential Imbizo - with communities and stakeholders within the  John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province.

Themed "Leave No One Behind, the 12th Presidential Imbizo promotes participatory democracy and inclusive development by allowing community members and stakeholders to voice proposals and express any concerns or dissatisfaction they may have about conditions in the district or province.

The Imbizo is directed at enabling successful implementation of the “One District, One Plan” District Development Model in which residents, traditional leaders, business formations, organised labour and faith- and community-based organisations work with government across all phases of planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Preceding the Imbizo there will be a series of build-up outreach activities led by Ministers, MECs and Mayors in parts of John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality and across the Northern Cape Province.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@enquires.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretroria