President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday expressed his appreciation to outgoing Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng for what he called a decade of outstanding service and leadership.

In a statement from the Presidency, Ramaphosa wished the retired Chief Justice well in his retirement and added that he left behind a rich legacy for the country’s democratic culture, judiciary, legal profession and ordinary South Africans.

“Today we pay tribute to Chief Justice Mogoeng for endowing South African jurisprudence and the democratic order more broadly with judicial integrity and resilience which has impacted positively on the lives of citizens and advanced accountability,” Ramaphosa said.

He added that Mogoeng’s leadership had inspired a judiciary that was fearless in holding those in power to account and empathetic to the plight of individuals and groups in society.

He said this had deepened international regard for South African jurisprudence, for the integrity, effectiveness and efficiency of democratic institutions, and for the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

Ramaphosa noted: “Chief Justice Mogoeng presided over our judiciary during a decade which was challenging in many ways, but during which our judiciary held firm and enabled the renewal of our society.”

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said on Friday the 0.67% reproductive rate of coronavirus infections indicated that South Africa is entering stable territory.

He noted that the third wave of the pandemic lasted longer than previous waves the country experienced.

“This third wave lasted for close to 110 days, indeed much longer than the previous waves. The first wave was somewhere in the region of 80 days and second wave around 90 days,” he explained.

He said the number of new infections had consistently been dropping in the last three weeks, with a 33% reduction in the last seven days.

There has also been a 19.3% decrease in hospitalisation in the last seven days, very welcoming news, he said, meaning that there is a potential for relief for the country’s health workers.

Phaahla added that even more encouraging was the fact that the country had also seen a serious decrease in reported deaths. In the last seven days there had been a 51% reduction in reported deaths.

The overall positivity rate has remained below 5% in the last seven to 14 days.

He said average positivity rates had also reduced in all provinces, however, he did raise concerns about the Northern Cape and Free State provinces.

Phaahla explained that even though the positivity rate had gone down in these two provinces, on a number of days it had remained above 5% and this included the reported data of Thursday, where both had a 5% positivity rate.

Meanwhile, he said it was because of these encouraging declines in infections and stability of the pandemic that President Cyril Ramaphosa was able to move the country to Alert Level 1.

As of Thursday, the country recorded 989 new infections compared with previous 20 000 daily infections.

Phaahla called on citizens to continue adhering to the restrictions, saying the virus was still very much a reality.

“There are still over 5 000 people in hospital with Covid infections, of whom 885 are in the ICU and 465 are on ventilators, so this is just a reminder to all of us that indeed this virus is still very strong, is still there notwithstanding the lowering of restrictions; we can only sustain the low levels of infections if we continue to observe the personal health and safety measures,” he said.

Eskom has refuted a statement issued by the African National Congress’s (ANC's) Greater Johannesburg Region branch over an apparent power-purchase agreement between the city and the state-owned power utility.

In Friday's statement, the ANC said Mayor Mpho Moerane had signed an agreement that will allow the city to take over power supply to areas such as Soweto, Orange Farm and Ivory Park.

However, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha dismissed the claim as "totally untrue".

The ANC said in the statement that those specific areas "have long been at the receiving end of unreliable electricity supply", and this this ultimately had "a negative impact on the delivery of services in the City of Johannesburg".

"The signed agreement ensures that the electricity bought in bulk from Eskom allows the city’s electricity distributor, City Power, safe and reliable distribution of electricity to the residents of Johannesburg," the ANC branch said.

Mantshantsha, however, explained that Eskom had merely signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the development of a business case for the possible transfer to the city.

"The municipality must still do the due [diligence] on their part to confirm that what we have proposed to them is acceptable. They are in the process of appointing transaction advisors to assist them in the development of the business case," Mantshantsha said.

He added that any possible transaction is years away - if it happens at all.

"There is debt that must be paid by the customers to Eskom, there is infrastructure COJ [City of Johannesburg] would have to buy from Eskom.

"There is infrastructure that still needs to be implemented by whoever distributes the electricity. On top of all of that, Treasury, DOE (Department of Energy), DMRE (Department of Mineral Resources and Energy), Nersa (National Energy Regulator of South Africa), Cogta (Cooperate Governance and Traditional Affairs) would all have to still approve," he said.

He concluded that by law, the public would need to have a say in the process.

The Department of Health (DoH) formally launched the first phase of the digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate on Friday, saying more improvements will be made in the coming months.

Vaccinated people will be able to enter their personal details on the system and generate their certificates, which will be used by various entities requiring to verify the certificate’s validity.

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla explained that the certificate system will be rolled out in phases with improvements being made to improve the safety and security of the certificate.

The certificate features a scannable QR code and can be used on a mobile device or can be printed.

The system, which produces a digital copy of the physical vaccine card, is linked to the vaccination code issued by the Electronic Vaccination Data System.

The digital certificate is expected to be a tool to enable vaccinated people to access many opportunities which various providers will be making available.

“Among others, we expect sports and recreation to open up more for vaccinated people, shops to provide discounts and others to give prizes. I have already seen some banks advertising prizes for people when they get vaccinated. Entertainment and music is also starting to open up,” he said.

The certificate was developed in a partnership with the DoH and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Phaahla said he is aware that over the last three days, during the testing phase of the certificate, many people were able to generate their certificates.

He also mentioned that the UK has taken South Africa off its red list for travel between citizens of both countries.

“I am quite sure that many people who have been waiting for business trips, to visit family and friends, go on study in the UK will now know that they can do so without having to do a 10-day quarantine when arriving in London and other UK destinations,” Phaahla added.

Phaahla called on citizens to get vaccinated before the possible fourth wave expected later this year.

Over 13.3-million people have now taken the vaccine.

Vaccine certificates can be accessed here:/

Power utility Eskom is calling on the public to reduce electricity use, as the system is under pressure owing to a number of generating unit breakdowns.

Total breakdowns amount to 14 925 MW, while planned maintenance is 4 759 MW of capacity.

Should there be any further breakdowns, Eskom might be forced to implement load-shedding at short notice, it warns.

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) is proposing a Mandatory Vaccination Framework, which will require all staff and students, study or employment applicants, and visitors and service providers, to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before accessing its campus.

Staff members, students, senior managers, organised labour, and other constituencies have until October 11 to comment on the proposed framework.

If the policy is enforced, staff and students must produce their digital vaccine certificate or vaccination cards, which will be linked to their Wits access cards.

Students under the age of 18, as well as staff and students with confirmed medical risks will be exempted.

A committee will also be set up to decide on any exemptions based on reasonable accommodation, in line with labour directives, the university said.

Unvaccinated students and staff will have to undergo daily health screenings and will be required to always wear an N95 mask in lectures, laboratories, during tutorials, and/or during assessments, and on buses.

They will also be required to undergo weekly Covid-19 testing at their own cost with or without Covid-19 symptoms and will not be allowed into common areas including Wits’ residences and in-person graduation ceremonies.

“Wits is a contact teaching university and the mandatory vaccination of staff and students will enable optimal access, the holistic delivery of the teaching and learning programme, and research to continue. A mandatory vaccination policy protects the health and safety of the University community and members of the public, and advances the public good,” the university said.

Comments can be sent to [email protected] by October 11.

Democratic Alliance (DA) KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Dean Macpherson on Thursday apologised to the Phoenix community and ordered the removal of controversial posters that have recently made headlines.

The DA has been criticised for cheap politicking after MacPherson authorised the erection of posters in Phoenix displaying the words, “The ANC called you racists. The DA calls you heroes”, in reference to the residents that took up arms during the July unrest to protect their communities from possible criminality.

Macpherson said the posters have “inadvertently caused offence”and apologised for the “hurt” caused.

He explained that the posters were unsanctioned by the DA leader John Steenhuisen, party structures and party campaign leadership.

“Sometimes in politics our words may be poorly chosen, but I wish to assure the public, without contradiction, that my intentions are always sincere. My intended message was that in the massive void created by a failing State, unable to secure South Africans’ homes and businesses during the riots, some heroic residents were forced to stand up and do what the police and army were unable to do. This action was met with allegations of racism from the African National Congress,” he said.

He added that the DA did not condone or support those who undertook vigilante actions.

Macpherson stressed that the DA is a party of non-racialism.

“I remain steadfastly committed to all people in South Africa, united in our diversity, and our campaign will continue to show South Africa that only the DA can and will get things done. My singular focus is to continue to guide KZN towards the election in three weeks' time,” he concluded.

The African National Congress (ANC) says a group seeking to have disciplinary steps instituted against party president Cyril Ramaphosa have no legal authority to make such a request in terms of its constitution.

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte wrote to a group of eight individuals, who claimed to represent members in eight provinces, who made an application to the party in August requesting its national disciplinary committee investigate Ramaphosa.

The group claimed Ramaphosa violated sections of the ANC constitution when he collected millions of rands to help finance his 2017 ANC presidential campaign.

They further claimed the ANC constitution stipulated that fundraising should only be conducted for the party's benefit and not for an individual.

Duarte responded to the group in a letter dated 4 October, which News24 had seen, where she outlined that the grievance was forwarded to the party's national disciplinary committee (NDC).

The committee felt it was not best placed to deal with the concerns raised and forwarded the complaint to the chief national presenter for disciplinary proceedings in the party.

The NDC wanted to assess whether the disgruntled members had the legal authority to institute disciplinary proceedings.

Chief national presenter, Uriel Abrahamse, said, "Only the officials, national executive committee, national working committee, provincial executive committees, PWC, the RWC, the BEC or office bearers of any of these structures have the right to invoke disciplinary proceedings under the ANC constitution."

Abrahamse found no grounds to institute disciplinary action, Duarte wrote in the letter addressed to Onica Maphisa, one of the application's signatories.

On Wednesday, Maphisa dismissed the letter, saying Duarte and Abrahamse had misunderstood the group's application.

"This is misconstruing the constitution. She (Duarte) is playing a political game. There is no way it is only institutional structures that can make applications. We are asking the NDC to charge him, we are not saying we are the ones who want to charge him," Maphisa told News24.

The ANC's head of presidency Sibongile Besani on Tuesday dismissed the claims made by the group, calling them a "distraction" ahead of the 1 November municipal elections.

ActionSA has filed an urgent application with the Electoral Court against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for “its failure to remedy the absence of ActionSA’s name” from ballot papers.

This after the party’s name was omitted from draft ballot papers for Gauteng ward candidates.

ActionSA said the IEC’s legal reasoning and decision is patently unlawful and unconstitutional.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said if the local government elections were to proceed with ballot papers that do not reflect the party’s name, it would be unfair and prejudicial to ActionSA and to voters, making the election not free and fair.

The IEC had until 10h00 on Wednesday to file their notice of intention to oppose the matter or abide ActionSA’s request to the court.

“In the IEC’s current ballot paper, only our logo appears – the party’s name does not appear and an empty space has been left in its place. The implication of this is that ActionSA supporters will be limited only to a candidate name and a logo to identify the party on the ballot, while other parties will have the benefit of their name or popularised acronym appearing,” said Beaumont.

Beaumont argued that the IEC’s decision to exclude ActionSA's name from the ballot paper, based on the Commission's chosen design of the ballot paper, was taken because irrelevant considerations were taken into account or relevant considerations were simply not made.

He explained that it was the party’s contention that it does not have an abbreviated name.

“One of the reasons ‘ActionSA’ was chosen as our name is that it complies with the IEC’s own 8-character limit on abbreviated party names, thus, our party’s name could always be used in full wheresoever it would be required,” he added.

He said the party raised its objection to the draft ballot papers with the IEC, during and after the ballot sign-off held on October 2, however ActionSA was initially informed that the issue would not be addressed as the printing of the ballot papers had already commenced.

Beaumont further stated that the IEC's assertion that the purpose of the presentation of the draft ballot papers was solely for political parties to sign-off and not intended to remedy defects that may be attendant to the registration of identifiers, is irrational.

The party has affirmed in court papers that there is no legal basis for the Commission to refuse the party’s demand to remedy the “gross omission of ActionSA’s name” from the ballot paper and the party is confident the courts will share this perspective.

The Department of Health has asked the public to be patient as it prepares to officially launch the first version of the Covid-19 vaccination digital certificate later this week.

On Tuesday, various media reported that the digital certificate website went live, without an official announcement from the Department of Health.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Health would roll out vaccine certificates which could be used as proof of vaccination for those wishing to travel or access certain establishments.

Departmental spokesperson Foster Mohale said government is currently at the testing phase of the system to troubleshoot all possible glitches ahead of the official launch later this week.

He explained that the system is not officially live for vaccinated members of the public to access and download their certificates.

However, he said the department is aware that a few individuals have successfully managed to access the system and download their vaccination certificates.

Mohale added that a lot of security has been built into the system to protect individuals’ personal data.

“The development and release of fully-fledged Covid-19 vaccination certificates will be phased-in over time. Thus, we request members of the public to exercise patience while we implement the final refinement as we prepare to officially launch the first version of the Covid-19 vaccination digital certificate,” he said.