Bedfordview Edition
A FRESH APPROACH TO LOCAL NEWS 15 March 2022
Back to the future?
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New covid laws look a lot like old ones
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The South African government has allowed employers to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 from their staff. Employers were given the go-ahead to request vaccination certificates unless a worker produces medical proof of contraindications. Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi published the Code of Good Practice: Managing Exposure to Sars-CoV-2 in the workplace. The code was published on Tuesday, 15 March. The code states that employers are allowed to inform employees of the obligation to be vaccinated. Employers should also counsel their workers on issues regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.“In giving effect to this code, an employer may require its employees to disclose their vaccination status and to produce a vaccination certificate,” the code reads. Upon request, employers must allow staff to consult a health and safety worker, trade union official or worker representative to give administrative support. The support is with
regards to registering and accessing COVID-19 vaccinations certificates. Employees can also be given paid time off to be vaccinated and employers can provide transport for their employees with regards to getting to and leaving the nearest vaccination site. The code states that employers can, at their own expense, refer employees with medical certificates attesting to their contraindications for further medical evaluation for confirmation. It further says that employers must accommodate employees if they accept the medical certificate or if the referred medical evaluation confirms the employees’ health. The employees’ position must be one that does not require vaccination. If an employee refuses COVID-19 vaccination, the employer is then required to counsel the. If requested, the employer must allow the employee to seek guidance from a trade union official, a health and safety worker or a worker representative.
According to one section of the proposed new COVID laws, ministers would RETAIN the power to bring back lockdown rules ‘if needed’. According to these proposed changes for the National Health Act, some lockdown rules could be reintroduced ‘in the future’. That’s because the draft bill seeks to group COVID together with all ‘notifiable medical conditions’, which could possibly form part of another pandemic further down the line. The rules would allow the Health Minister to liaise with Cabinet, establishing what restrictions might be needed to protect the public.
The guidance, which would also make mask wearing and social distancing part of our ‘new normal’, promises to upset a number of South Africans who were hoping to move away from the threat of harder lockdown rules. The key part of this legislation comes under the heading of ‘Sharing Advice’. This particular rule gives permission to the Health Department and ‘relevant Cabinet members’ to discuss future anti-virus measures. “In order to contain the spread of notifiable medical conditions and their spread, advice about the scientific evidence for the risk of transmission may be shared amongst relevant Cabinet members, with regards to [restrictions].” Proposed National Health Act ammendments lear if the State of Disaster will be renewed again next month. The legislation will be submitted to NATJOINTS, after the period of public consultation is completed in April. Should this process run smoothly, our new COVID laws will give the government the power to consider these familiar measures: Curfew Limits on sporting activities Limits on the economic sector Lockdowns of the country or locality Limits on public transportation. Limits on religious or cultural practices. Alcohol prohibition and ‘booze bans’
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15 March 2022
Mbali Ntuli has joined a growing list of prominent black leaders who have left the Democratic Alliance in recent years after she announced her resignation from the party on Thursday. In a statement, Ntuli confirmed she tendered her resignation as a member of the DA and member of the KwaZuluNatal Legislature. She said her decision was not taken lightly “but one that is necessary for my growth as a community leader”. The former DA Youth leader who made her aspirations clear when she, then Gauteng leader John Moody and John Steenhuisen challenged each other for the national leader position in the last elective conference. She has often spoken out against the DA’s leadership and policies, mostly accusing it of being ineffective and lacking. In a letter announcing her intention to contest the position of party leader, Ntuli noted there were major issues confronting the party and its leadership. She said the party had lost donors “who no longer believe in us”, throwing the DA into a financial crisis and as a result, there was not enough funding for constituencies to do political activities. In 2020, Ntuli wrote an open letter titled: “Insiders and Outsiders: The politicisation of our DA disciplinary processes”, where she recalled how at some point, the party’s top brass wanted to expel her using bogus charges. Ntuli kicked off the letter by saying, over the years, the party’s problems were not properly diagnosed because there was a “preoccupation with feigning unity at the expense of having the difficult conversations”. “It has been clear to me since at least 2014 that there exists an insider and outsider clique in our party. This is not uncommon in many organisations, but in a political party the size of the DA, with as many members and moving parts,
it is crucial to not allow that cult-like mentality to settle and find a home,” she wrote. She said it was not race issues that were destroying the party but power grabs by individuals within the party who have vested interests. In her statement released on Thursday morning, Ntuli said she still firmly believed that the current political system and existing political parties were not focused on making South Africa the equitable, just country it needed to be. “They are simply not able to foster collaboration, innovation and organise to make a difference,” she said. In her last 13 years in the party, she founded the DA Student Organisation branch at Rhodes University while she was a student there. In 2011, she was a councillor in eThekwini’s Bhambayi area. The following year, she was elected first national chairperson of the DA Youth. “In 2012, I led the DA’s first real march, which was the march for the youth wage subsidy.
“In 2013, I was elected DA Youth leader,” she said previously. As the country prepared for the 2016 local government poll, provincial DA leader Zwakele Mncwango assigned Ntuli to campaign for the party in Umkhanyakude District Municipality, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. And then, in the 2019 elections, she was tasked to help grow the DA’s support in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2019 elections. While the DA did not perform as well in the other 8 provinces, Ntuli said the party grew its support from 12.76% to 13.9% in KZN during her tenure, and subsequently, increased the number of seats held by the DA in the KZN Legislature from 10 to 11. “It was the only province in which the party grew its support in the 2019 elections,” she said. The resignation of Mmusi Maimane, Herman Mashaba, John Moodey, Bongani Baloyi and other leaders in the party has further fuelled suggestions that the party was ridding itself of black leaders.
The five-day-long suspension of the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Comair, which the Regulator imposed, was lifted with immediate effect late on Wednesday evening.The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said in a statement it had concluded the assessment and evaluation of Comair’s evidence to close the Level 1 findings raised during the audit, which started on 07 March 2022. “The evaluation of the evidence was concluded on the evening of 16 March 2022. The impact of this outcome paves the way for the Director of Civil Aviation to uplift the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Comair with immediate effect.“The SACAA audited Comair following a spate of occurrences which posed safety risks by Kulula.com and BA Comair airlines,” it said. The Regulator sought to confirm Comair’s compliance with applicable Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs). SACAA said the inspection also reviewed Comair’s safety management systems (SMS) and quality control management system (QA) to establish compliance related to the reporting, analysis, and follow-up on occurrences and corrective action plans to prevent a recurrence. “This brings to an end a five-day suspension of the AOC imposed by the Regulator from 12 March 2022.” SACAA added that the Director of Civil Aviation heralds the commitment shown by the Regulator’s inspectorate team from the first day of the audit leading up to the sleepless nights spent evaluating evidence, all in the interest of ensuring aviation safety. “The cooperation and commitment of the Operator during this period signalled the seriousness in which the Operator took this matter and the openness displayed in the days leading up to this day,” it said. This collaboration ensures that civil aviation safety remains a top priority in South Africa. Meanwhile, Kulula announced that British Airways (operated by Comair) and kulula.com flights would start operating again on Thursday following the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) reinstating Comair’s Air Operators Certificate. “Our focus is to get our operations back to normal as quickly as possible and schedules will therefore be restored in a phased manner,” it said.
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Mbali Ntuli is the latest black leader to quit DA
Suspension LIFTED, Kulula, British Airways flights resume
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15 March 2022
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Green beans from McCain recalled
McCain SA has announced a voluntary nationwide public product recall of specific bags of frozen sliced green beans and stir fry. “This follows reports that fragments of foreign material had been detected,” said the company. “We have ascertained the source of the material, confirming it to be small glass fragments originating from a light fitting that have affected a limited batch of products. “Stringent measures have been put in place to address the situation, a formal block has been issued across our cold chain and relevant networks, and all potentially impacted stock has been removed from retail shelves.” Affected consumers who have one of these products are urged to return it to the store of purchase in return for a credit voucher.
Four dangerous prisoners escape from Rooigrond Correctional Facility The Department of Correctional Services (DCS), a manhunt, has been launched for the four DANGEROUS prisoners who escaped from the Rooigrond Correctional Facility on Tuesday. According to spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo, the circumstances relating to the escape will be revealed once investigations have been concluded. “Investigations will be instituted, and the circumstances relating to the escape will be revealed once investigations have been concluded,” The inmates are: Zacharia Francisco Nyalimate (Mozambican) was convicted for housebreaking and murder. He is serving 27 years. Alfred Gwambe (Mozambican) was convicted for housebreaking, theft, the possession of a stolen vehicle. He is serving 65 years. Siyabonga Sithole (South African) was convicted for rape, theft, and housebreaking and is serving a life sentence, Edward Madiba (South African) was convicted for robbery possession of a firearm and is serving 15 years. Nxumalo said the Department is appealing to the public to assist with any information that may lead to the re-arrest of this four. “They are considered dangerous, and if spotted, information should be shared with the nearest Police Station.” Last year, video footage emerged showing a police officer went to buy a cooldrink when prisoners he was transporting overpowered him
and escaped. According to a Facebook post by AfriForum Pietersburg, the police officer stopped at the Eerstegoud Trading Store on Wednesday last week, 21 July 2021 to buy the prisoners he was transporting cooldrinks. In the video, the officer can be seen leaving
the police vehicle, and when he returns with the 2litre cooldrink and open the back of the van, he is overpowered. The door of the van is pushed open with force from inside, and shortly after that, you can see the men running around the vehicle, searching for something before they take off.
TRESemmé hair ad NOT racist, rules Equality Court In a ruling that will likely spark furore, the Equality Court has found that the controversial TRESemmé shampoo advertisement, did not unfairly discriminate against black women. The ad for the hair product, which was on the retailer Clicks’ website, labelled African hair as “frizzy and dull”, while White hair was considered normal, “fine and flat,” prompting a wave of backlash, including calls for a boycott of both the product and retailer. Clicks subsequently blamed a junior employee and opted to suspend them along with other staffers who worked on the project. The company said it would be prioritising transformation. 18 women took both Clicks and Unilever South Africa, which market and produce the product,
to the Equality Court, arguing that the advert was racist . But, the presiding Judge Mokgoatji Dolamo of the Western Cape Equality Court dismissed the matter, finding that the women were not clear whether they were offended by the original ad as it appeared on the Cliks website – or the cropped images of the ad which did the rounds on social media. In the wake of the scandal, Unilever announced a series of measures aimed to preventing such a saga from occurring again, including by establishing an Advisory Board with internal and external experts to review how its hair products can offer consumers the solutions they want in positive and empowering terms.
It also said it would be developing programmes which are aimed at providing support to black hair stylists and small professional salons. “We were shocked to discover that we had supplied images for the Clicks website that portrayed Black hair as inferior. This was racist and we apologise unreservedly. We immediately began an investigation to understand what happened. At the same time, we began reviewing all the marketing campaigns and images in our South Africa portfolio to make sure they match our commitment to celebrate all beauty and promote Diversity and Inclusion,” said Unilever CEO, Luc-Olivier Marquet, after meeting with government in the wake of the scandal.
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