BUILDING STRONG, INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS IS VITAL TO THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

Dear Fellow South African,

This week will mark five years since we embarked on a new journey in the fight against corruption. In delivering the State of the Nation Address on 16 February 2018, I said: “We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people.”

I said that if we are to turn the tide on corruption, we must strengthen law enforcement institutions and shield them from external interference or manipulation. Since then, we have made substantial progress in strengthening the state’s ability to deal with corruption.

The first significant step in this effort was the establishment of a Special Tribunal to enable the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to expedite civil claims against corrupt individuals and to recover stolen funds. The Special Tribunal is a court dedicated to proceedings arising from SIU investigations. This strategy of combining investigations with civil litigation has enabled the SIU and the Special Tribunal to recover stolen money.

As of March 2022, the value of civil litigation referred to the High Courts and the Special Tribunal amounted to R75 billion. This is roughly equivalent to what was budgeted for the child support grant this year. Currently, around 119 cases worth more than R12 billion are enrolled at the Special Tribunal.

The second game-changer was the establishment in 2019 of the Investigating Directorate (ID) in the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute serious organised crime and corruption cases.

Since its establishment, the ID has been preparing several cases of serious corruption, including those emanating from the State Capture Commission, for trial. This forms part of the NPA’s priority plan to deal with state capture and high-level corruption.

Last year saw the arrest of several individuals allegedly implicated in ‘state capture’ cases. A total of 187 accused persons have been taken to court in 32 state capture and corruption cases, and approximately R12.9 billion in funds and assets have been frozen.

As we announced in the State of the Nation Address last week, we are about to take yet another important step forward by making the Investigating Directorate a permanent entity within the NPA. This is so that it can deepen its collaboration with other entities in the criminal justice system and enrol more cases in the courts.

Consultations are underway on the legislation to give effect to this and to prescribe its powers and safeguard its independence. This also has implications for its funding and operational capacity.

Currently, the Investigating Directorate’s investigators are seconded from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, the Hawks. Once it’s made permanent, the Investigating Directorate will be able to improve the capacity of its existing team of specialist investigators and prosecutors and recruit new ones.   

We expect that 2023 will be a year of increased activity for the Investigating Directorate as it builds on the sterling work it has done so far.

It has been leading an innovative approach to ensuring accountability from those implicated in state capture. As part of its ongoing criminal investigation into complex corruption at Eskom, the NPA’s Investigating Directorate has finalised a comprehensive settlement agreement with an international company, ABB, to pay over R2.5 billion in punitive reparations to South Africa. The payment will be made into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account. This is reflective of the NPA’s two-pronged strategy to deal with corruption through prosecuting perpetrators and recovering stolen money.

Over many years corruption has systematically weakened the state, damaged key institutions and eroded the country’s social fabric. The Constitutional Court has said that corruption is “the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution”.

Working together with other multidisciplinary units such as the Anti-Corruption Task Team, the Fusion Centre and others, we will strengthen the Investigating Directorate in its work at the frontline in the fight against corruption and state capture.

We set up world class institutions before. Now is the time to rebuild our institutions so that they are able to stand the test of time and advance the values and vision of our constitutional democracy.

With best regards, 

 WE NEED TO WORK MORE CLOSELY IN THE STRUGGLE FOR AFFORDABLE ELECTRICITY

Dear Fellow South African,

The recent announcement of an increase in electricity tariffs comes at an extremely difficult time for citizens and businesses alike, who are already contending with the high costs of fuel, food and other essentials.

It is in this context that I made a call last week for the Eskom board to consider measures that can help to mitigate the impact of the 18.65% increase from an implementation timeframe point of view.

The new tariff was approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) following a prescribed process, which includes wide-ranging public consultation. It is important that we affirm the independence of NERSA and the importance of following the due legal process in setting tariffs.

Tariffs that reflect the cost of producing electricity are necessary for Eskom’s financial sustainability and for the utility to be able to service its debt and to undertake the critical maintenance that is needed to end load shedding.

Yet, there is little doubt that increasing the price of electricity now, at this challenging time, will add to the difficulties South Africans are facing. Rising food and energy prices are fuelling a cost of living crisis around the world, and the poor are being hardest hit. In South Africa, food prices have increased on average by 12% over the past year.

This is the problem we face: we have to ensure that Eskom has the resources it needs to resolve the electricity crisis while protecting South Africans from the effects of higher prices.

There is no simple answer to this problem. That is why all stakeholders, including government, Eskom, business, labour and communities, need to work together to achieve a very difficult balance. At all times, we must be guided by the needs and interests of South Africans, especially the poor, both now and into the future. We should be wary of short-term solutions that we will regret in years to come.

As government we will continue to implement policies and measures to mitigate the hardship being experienced by vulnerable citizens. Since the earliest days of democracy we have implemented a policy of free water and electricity for indigent households. The free basic electricity allowance, if implemented properly by municipalities, should shield the poorest households from the effect of the tariff increase. We remain absolutely committed to this policy.

Other programmes to expand the social wage include the provision of free primary healthcare, exempting learners from poor families from paying school fees, a school nutrition programme that supports over nine million learners countrywide, and the provision of free tertiary education for students from poor families. The zero-rating of basic food products for VAT helps to decrease their cost for the poor.

The national minimum wage, which was introduced in 2019, has improved the remuneration of many workers, especially farmworkers, domestic workers and other vulnerable workers.

Another means by which the state is supporting society’s most vulnerable from excessive price increases is through competition policy. During the pandemic, the Competition Commission used its powers to bring down the prices of COVID-19 tests and suppliers found guilty of overcharging for face masks were fined.

The Competition Commission monitors essential food prices, and recently found that consumers were facing ‘opportunistic increases’ in the prices of sunflower oil, a basic cooking staple for millions of households.

All of these measures provide an important ‘social wage’ that has helped to cushion poor households from the worst effects of rising prices. Government is considering additional mechanisms to address the rising cost of electricity. These include measures such as helping households and small businesses install solar power and energy saving devices, supporting households with rechargeable lights, and working with learners to catch up where load shedding interrupts lessons. We should be able to provide further information on these and other initiatives in the coming weeks.

As we work together to overcome the energy crisis, I call on all South Africans to pay for the electricity they use. We can only improve and expand the provision of electricity and other basic services if government and municipalities in particular have the means to do so. Non-payment and illegal connections make electricity provision more expensive and less reliable.

The global cost of living crisis has been described as a once in a generation economic shock, and it is being worsened by global events that are beyond our control.

As government we will continue with our efforts to expand the social wage, just as we accelerate our efforts to restore a reliable and secure electricity supply. We will continue to pursue closer cooperation with all social partners and public entities to find sustainable ways to shield South African households from the worst effects of rising energy and other costs.

With best regards, 

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO END LOAD SHEDDING: TOGETHER

Dear Fellow South African,

A week ago, the Sowetan newspaper carried a front page headlined ‘Unplugged’, listing many small businesses around the country that have been crippled by the electricity crisis. The closure of these businesses shows some of the devastating impact of persistent load shedding on people’s livelihoods and on their dreams for a better life.

There are many other reports about the effects of load shedding on people’s lives, about the disruption at hospitals, schools, courts, and other government services. We hear about the factories that lose precious hours of production, farmers that are unable to keep their produce fresh, and investments that are being held back.

As loadshedding continues to wreak havoc on businesses, households and communities, the last thing South Africans want to hear are excuses or unrealistic promises. The demands for an immediate end to power cuts are wholly understandable. Everyone is fed up.

However, we in the grip of an energy crisis that has been many years in the making.

Though it may be easy to blame our present woes on dysfunctionality at Eskom, a combination of factors have contributed to the crisis. It is important to recall the reasons for the current situation so that our response tackles the causes of our crisis, not just the symptoms.

Lack of investment in new generating capacity, poor power plant maintenance, corruption and criminality, sabotage of infrastructure, rising municipal debt and a lack of suitable skills at Eskom have all created a perfect storm. There can be no sustainable solution without addressing all these factors in combination.

We should not make the mistakes of the past. For many years, critical maintenance was deferred, and our power stations were run too hard in order to keep the lights on. As a country we are now paying the price for these miscalculations.

We must be realistic about our challenges and about what it is going to take to fix them. While we all desperately want to, we cannot end load shedding overnight.

Over the last few days, I have held consultative meetings with representatives of labour, business, traditional leaders, religious leaders and the community constituency. I have also met with premiers, metro mayors and leaders of political parties.

In each of those meetings, I stressed the importance of staying the course, instead of coming up with unsustainable short-term solutions.

Six months ago I announced a national Energy Action Plan to improve the performance of Eskom’s power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible. This plan was the result of extensive consultation and was endorsed by energy experts as the most realistic path towards ending load shedding.

As we know only too well from the experience of the last few weeks, many of the measures in the plan will not be felt in the immediate term.

That is why we are using every means at our disposal, calling on every resource we have, to get power onto the grid as a matter of extreme urgency.

Eskom’s fleet of coal-fired power stations supplies the bulk of our energy needs. That is why there is a singular focus in Eskom on improving plant performance. A team of independent experts is conducting a diagnosis of the problems at poorly performing power stations and taking action to improve plant performance. Six power stations have been identified for particular focus over the coming months to recover additional capacity.

Eskom is also working to connect Kusile Unit 5 to the grid by September this year. Every urgent effort is being made to restore other units at Medupi, Kusile and Koeberg with significant capacity.

Eskom has imported 300 MW of capacity from neighbouring countries. There are negotiations underway to secure an additional 1,000 MW. Eskom is also working to buy surplus power from companies with available generation capacity for a period of three years.

Government has signed agreements for 25 projects from bid windows 5 and 6 of the renewable energy programme, and these projects will soon be proceeding to construction. Collectively they represent 2,800 MW of new capacity.

To increase the overall supply of electricity, in addition to what Eskom provides, we have taken steps to enable substantial investment by private power producers in new generation capacity. The licensing requirement for embedded generation projects has been removed. Since we first raised the licensing threshold to 100 MW, the pipeline of private sector projects has grown to more than 100 projects with over 9,000 MW of capacity.

We have cut red tape and streamlined regulatory processes, reducing the timeframes for environmental authorisations, registration of new projects and grid connection approvals.

Another major source of new generating capacity are solar panels on the roofs of houses and businesses.

Work will soon be completed on a pricing structure that will allow customers to sell surplus electricity from rooftop solar panels into the grid.

We can all play our part by paying for the electricity that we use. The huge debt owed to Eskom by municipalities badly affects Eskom’s ability to fund critical maintenance.

All the stakeholders I have met over the last week, without exception, appreciate the seriousness, the depth and the complexity of the challenges we face. They have all expressed their commitment to take whatever measures that are required to restore our electricity supply and get on with the task of improving the lives of the South African people.

While we cannot end load shedding immediately, what is certain is that if we work together with urgency to implement the Energy Action Plan, load shedding will steadily become less and less severe. Through collective action, we will much sooner reach the point where we have enough power to end load shedding altogether.

With best regards, 

PROPERTY FOR DISPOSAL

Bidders are hereby invited to submit offers to purchase the following property owned by the Republic of South Africa located in the Portuguese Republic. The property which will be sold on an open tender is listed as follows:

Bidders are advised to refer to the Bid Conditions as well as the bid documents as failure to adhere to the conditions and requirements may lead to disqualification of the bid. It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that bid documents obtained meet the bid conditions.

Bid documents can be obtained as follows:

• At the South African Embassy, Av. Luís Bívar, 10, 1069-024 Lisbon, between 8am and 3pm from Monday to Friday.
• Bid documents can be obtained from the website where the tender is advertised: www.dirco.gov.za and www.embaixada-africadosul.pt
• Bid documents can be obtained by courier. An authorization letter is needed to enable the Courier Company to collect on behalf of a prospective bidder. (South African Embassy in Portugal)

When requesting a bid document by e-mail, post or courier, clearly indicate for which property a bid form is requested.

It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that bid documents are requested and received on time. The Department will not accept responsibility for bids not submitted on time due to late receipt of e-mailed or posted documents.

Bids must be physically submitted in a sealed envelope and be deposited in the tender box at the South African Embassy, Avenida Luis Bivar 10, 1069-024, Lisbon, between 08h00 and 15h00 from Monday to Friday on or before the 10 February 2023. Bids submitted after this date and time shall not be considered.

No e-mail submissions will be considered.

The Department reserves the right to withdraw any property proposed for disposal at its own discretion and reserves the right not to accept any bid.

Prospective bidders will be able to view the property on tender in Funchal on the 2 and 3 February 2023 from 08h00 to 16h00 (Please call Mr Ernest Mahalefa on Tel +351 969 501 605)

When submitting your bid in the RSA, the following information must appear on the sealed envelope:

• Name and address of bidder
• DIRCO Reference Number
• Closing date         

This envelope can be placed in the bic box at DIRCO Head Office Building, 460 Soutpansberg Road, Rietondale, Pretoria

OR

If posted, place the envelope in a covering envelope addressed as follows: Department of International Relations and Cooperation, 460 Soutpansberg Road, Rietondale 0084              

Attention is also brought to any person who may have an objection to the proposed sale of any of the above-mentioned properties to lodge such an objection in writing on or before the closing date and time as mentioned in this advertisement.    

ENQUIRIES REGARDING THE TENDER CAN BE DIRECTED TO MR. MOLEKOA TEL: +27 12 351 0362 (South Africa)   

ENQUIRIES REGARDING THE VIEWING AND SUBMISSION OF BIDS CAN BE DIRECTED TO MR. ERNEST MAHALEFA, TEL: +351 969 501 605 (Portugal)                                                                                                                              

Attachments:

DIRCO 11 2022 23 POR ERF-FUNCHAL BID TENDER DOCUMENT, 20230109.pdf