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Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Friday extended the National State of Disaster on Covid-19 until February 15.

South Africa has been under the National State of Disaster for 22 consecutive months since it was first declared at the end of March 2020. The last extension was meant to end on January 15.

“The extension takes into account the need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by organs of State and all other role-players to mitigate against the impact of the [Covid-19] disaster on lives and livelihoods,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

Many are calling for the National State of Disaster to be scrapped.

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen has said regulations are no longer necessary for managing the virus, claiming that they cause undue harm by undermining the country’s social, economic and democratic recovery.

Meanwhile, Dlamini-Zuma is urging all South Africans to be vaccinated, explaining that through mass vaccination government will be able to achieve herd immunity and ultimately protect lives and livelihoods.

Unvaccinated people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus may be less prone to severe illness and requiring hospital care or dying than was the case with previous variants, a South African study showed on Friday.

The study, by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in the Western Cape region, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, compared about 11 600 patients from the first three Covid-19 waves with about 5 100 from the Omicron-driven wave that began in November.

Globally, Omicron has tended to cause less severe disease, and proportionally fewer hospital admissions and deaths, than previous variants.

Scientists are trying to determine whether this is due to higher immunity rates engendered by vaccination or past illness, or whether Omicron is intrinsically less nasty.

The study concluded that about a quarter of the reduced risk of severe disease with Omicron was attributable to characteristics of the virus itself.

"In the Omicron-driven wave, severe Covid-19 outcomes were reduced mostly due to protection conferred by prior infection and/or vaccination, but intrinsically reduced virulence may account for an approximately 25% reduced risk of severe hospitalisation or death compared to Delta," the study said.

The Western Cape Department of Education has called for the scrapping of the one metre rule in schools citing long-term negative consequences.

This comes after Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday that there were no plans to change the Disaster Management Regulations in schools, except as they related to the number of spectators at school sport venues.

The department claims that despite Motshekga calling for all primary schools to revert to full attendance in July last year, and the following of a risk-adjusted approach, depending on the direction the pandemic is taking, this has not happened as Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma promulgated a regulation stating that the social distancing measure in primary schools is “reduced to one metre”.

The Western Cape Department of Education says only about 12% of primary schools can comply with these directions, meaning about 88% of primary schools are operating on a rotational basis, despite efforts to revert to full attendance.

According to the National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey published last year, in 2020 primary school learners in no-fee schools have learnt 50% to 75% less than what they normally learn.

In 2021, there continued to be significant teaching time losses, as a result of rotational timetables, according to the survey.

Education experts, including Nic Spaull from Stellenbosch University, have repeatedly called for the end of the rotational model as its continued implementation could potentially result in a “lost generation” of learners.

Spaull has indicated that, based on projections, the average grade 3 child in June 2021 knows about the same as the average grade 2 child of 2019.

“Other areas of concern are the fact that many learners are not able to access the feeding programme as often as they should, and that the on-off attendance at school is contributing to a higher dropout rate."

In addition, there has also been a huge psychosocial impact on our learners, teachers and even parents.

Implementing a rotational model in schools is not easy. It requires dedicated planning and continued pressure to keep up with the curriculum while teaching different cohorts of learners on different days, the Western Cape Education Department said.

It says it has been inundated with complaints from parents wanting rotation to end.

Meanwhile, Motshekga said that the department is exploring possibilities to return schooling to normal, “but we need to do so responsibly”.

Plagiarism accusations against Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu were "ridiculous", her spokesperson said on Thursday.

Sisulu's spokesperson, Steven Motale, denied that the tourism minister committed plagiarism, despite penning an opinion piece in which a large section was almost identical to a speech given by former UK attorney-general Dominic Grieve.

Sisulu was responding to criticism around the article she wrote tackling the judiciary. In the article, Sisulu wrote that "mentally colonised" black judges had "settled with the world view and mindset of those who have dispossessed their ancestors". She received backlash from several quarters, including acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mavuso Msimang.

The ANC has since distanced itself from Sisulu's comments.

In response to the backlash, Sisulu penned another article published by IOL on Wednesday. In the article, Sisulu said her comments on the judiciary were "narrowly read".

However, the 2 800-word article featured a 400-word section almost identical to a speech given by Grieve in 2013. The similarities between the speech and Sisulu's opinion piece was first picked up by Gareth van Onselen, a political analyst.

The section quotes philosopher Professor Joseph Raz and distinguished UK jurist Lord Tom Bingham.

Motale denied that any plagiarism had taken place. He said anyone accusing the minister of plagiarism was "stupid".

"Plagiarism is when a person, in writing something, uses the words and thoughts of someone else without giving credit to the original author. Minister Sisulu cited the author, the source, the specific piece and date of publication or court ruling instance. This is the exact opposite of plagiarism," he said.

"Whoever makes this charge is either incredibly stupid or incredibly desperate to smear the minister. He or she is a scandal. Go read the 'plagiarism declaration' every university student must sign for every paper they write. This is completely ridiculous."

Sisulu's article makes no reference to Grieve, despite her phrasing bearing a striking resemblance to his thoughts and writing.

Motale said plagiarism was "not acknowledging another person's work or ideas when you use it in your writings, speeches and other scholarly efforts".

However, he said seeing as Sisulu had attributed the content to Bingham and Raz, it could not be considered plagiarism.

"In an opinion piece, as opposed to a dissertation, that is all that is required and possible. The writer is not expected to clutter an op-ed piece with footnotes to the extent these guys seem to imply," he added.

Motale said using ideas that were common knowledge or generally accepted as fact did not require one to cite a source.

"The writings of Lord Bingham on the rule of law are commonly accepted as the textbook definition of the subject. But the minister cited the sources," said Motale.

"The writings of these authors have been reproduced and discussed in various other publications without any substantive changes being made to their key themes on the rule of law."

Alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe started his 30-day mental observation at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital on Thursday after a bed was secured for him.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Mafe appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday where the magistrate made the order for him to be admitted for observation.

"State prosecutor, advocate Adenaan Gelderbloem, advised Mafe's legal representative of the latest developments through an email on Wednesday afternoon," Ntabazalila said.

Mafe's legal representative, Luvuyo Godla, told News24 his client was taken to the hospital on Thursday.

"He has started his hunger strike already, he was transferred from Pollsmoor prison to the hospital to be assessed," he said.

It comes after the State argued for Mafe to be referred to the psychiatric hospital for mental observation following a diagnosis and recommendation by district surgeon, Zelda van Tonder, that Mafe suffered from paranoid schizophrenia – a diagnosis made just before his first court appearance earlier this month.

Mafe's senior legal counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, opposed the State's application, but failed. He told the court that Mafe would go on a hunger strike.

Mpofu argued that there was nothing wrong with Mafe.

The State argued that it could not be blackmailed or be held at ransom by the accused.

"If there is a bail application and he doesn't get released, does that mean he will go on hunger strike until he dies?" the State had asked.

Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo agreed with the State and postponed the matter to 11 February.

The State told the court on Tuesday an additional charge of terrorism had been added. According to the charge sheet, Mafe stands accused of having intentionally delivered, placed, discharged or detonated an explosive device at Parliament.

A new charge of the Contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, a Schedule 6 offence, was added to the charge sheet this week, with the State abandoning the count related to damage to essential infrastructure.

Mafe also faced arson and theft charges.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has asked parents to bear with the Gauteng Department of Education as it tries to sort out the 2022 school placement backlog.

"To parents, I know it's upsetting, and it causes anxiety to parents and children to see other children going to school, but if they could allow provinces the space to clear the backlog and get all the data and information and verify what we have between today (Wednesday) and Friday," she said.

Motshekga was speaking on Wednesday at Matlapaneng Primary School in Randfontein where she observed the first day of the 2022 school year.

As of Tuesday, hundreds of children were yet to be placed by the Gauteng Department of Education. While parents who queued outside district offices complained that the online system was an issue, Motshekga said it was necessary in a province like Gauteng, which had a lot of migrations from other provinces.

"The online system is to help the administration to have a sense of where things are. If the province doesn't have a centralised database, it will not know where the issues and pressures are and where they can assist. For a province like Gauteng, technology is the only way to manage this situation. I think it is a good innovation for Gauteng," she said.

"Today (Wednesday) and tomorrow we will be able to have a sense of things because in some instances you offer parents space, and they don't like it and don't take it, but in your books, they are in that space. We have to see now where the spaces are, and that is why the province said that after today parents must not go to schools. They must go to direct offices because they will have a sense of where the spaces are, and the province will have to deal with the issues schools are facing at a central level," she added.

Parent Johanna Hyman waited outside the school gate with her son, who was in full uniform, hoping to get a placement for him. Hyman relocated to Randfontein after losing her job.

"I truly hope that I find space because I have already bought a uniform for this school so I am hoping that I will get space. I just hope that the minister will talk to the principal, and if there is space available, they can give us space today or tomorrow," she said.

Meanwhile, Motshekga said she was satisfied with Covid-19 compliance at schools.

"If there is any sector that is Covid-19 compliant it is the education sector. We have really outdone ourselves. We have been with this thing (Covid-19) for two years, so we really know how to run things. We can even teach other sectors how to be Covid-19 compliant," she said.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele is concerned that, despite holding ministerial positions, some African National Congress (ANC) leaders still resort to making detrimental statements that could distort government positions as they eye powerful positions at the party’s 2022 elective conference.

Speaking to News24 on Wednesday morning, Gungubele said strange statements could be expected during the "silly season", in reference to the lead-up to ANC elective conference in December.

He added that he did not want to cast aspersions about whether Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu intended on running, but said he hoped her utterances were not a sign of the year to come.

Gungubele’s remarks stem from an opinion piece on IOL penned by Sisulu last week.

Sisulu questioned the Constitution and whether it had done enough to deal with structural issues brought about by apartheid.

She has faced widespread criticism over the article, in which she also questioned the moral standing of the country’s judges.

Gungubele said South Africa was confronted with economic challenges and rising unemployment, and that these should be the priorities for the government and the president at this time.

"We have always had a silly season during a year such as this. I hope it is not because the biggest thing our country is confronted with now is turning around the economy, which is doing very badly. Unemployment is on the increase, and the economy is shrinking. The biggest focus of the president now is to turn around the economy. You need conditions."

Duty to protect Constitution

He said the government had a duty to protect the Constitution and any possible fear investors may have based on comments made by a government minister.

"While among ourselves as Cabinet ministers, there are people who cast aspersions on [the] Constitution, the immediate thing to a foreign investor is that 'can I rely upon those people to protect me through the Constitution they have no confidence in?'. It is not a small matter for a minister to cast aspersions on the Constitution, which she made an oath to protect," Gungubele said.

He declined to say whether President Cyril Ramaphosa would be taking any action against Sisulu.

"I am deliberately staying away from that, because we have an intelligent president who knows when to talk to his ministers, and I am also very careful not to pretend to say I know what he is going to say.

"Where I am standing as the state, we have a responsibility that, at all material times, especially those who are deployed in government who made an oath to protect the Constitution, when they turn against it, to make a clear message that the state is not part of that narrative," he said.

In the article, Sisulu sarcastically laments the "sea of African poverty" and questions why it still persists, despite the existence of the Constitution which was revered across the world.

She dismisses the Constitution as a palliative, while questioning what exactly makes the Constitution the "agency" for addressing issues of "African poverty".

"What has this beautiful Constitution done for the victims [of colonialism] except as a palliative (Panadol)?" she asks.

However, Gungubele responded: "The worst part of her utterances was that they are an attack on the rule of law, and that is counterproductive, as it creates an environment that is orderless and makes it difficult to pursue the goals of the revolution. Because, for the goals of the revolution to be pursued, you need an orderly environment.

"To me, such utterances were a recklessness of the highest order, and the government will strongly distance itself in the interests of the Constitution."

ANC silent on Sisulu’s comments

While the ANC has remained silent on Sisulu’s opinions, some within the organisation have voiced their displeasure over the article.

In his capacity as a member of the ANC, justice ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri rubbished Sisulu’s claims that the Constitution was a neoliberal construct...

More than a week after the Zondo Commission slammed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for its failure to take on state capture, the state has finally responded: with the announcement that a new "task force" would focus on these cases.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the NPA and the Hawks promised that they would "systematically [be] reviewing the commission's findings and recommendations, with a view to investigating and building cases for criminal prosecution against those who broke the law, be they from the public or private sectors".

This, they said, "will include, where appropriate, the freezing and forfeiture of the proceeds of crimes".

While cautious about promising that there would be successful prosecutions of alleged state capture corruption, the NPA said it was "exploring options to boost its capacities, capabilities and resources" - with the help of "National Treasury, DPSA and the Solicitor General's Office, and with the support of the Minister and the DG of Justice".

The prosecuting authority welcomed offers made by a number of business and civil society organisations to assist it in the investigation and prosecution of complex corruption matters, but stressed that it would insulate itself "from any perceptions of external influence".

"In response to the commission's first report, the NPA has created a dedicated task force, coordinated at the highest levels within the NPA."

"An urgent review of all cases covered in the report, including those already proclaimed by the NPA's Investigating Directorate (ID) will be conducted. The task force's main focus is on progress and impact. It builds on the work already done within the NPA over the past few years, in collaboration with the Zondo Commission and other law enforcement partners."

The prosecuting authority also said it "noted" the commission's finding that its failure to respond "adequately, or at all" to the challenges of state capture corruption "points to a fundamental failure of a sovereign state function" and that its institutional weaknesses must be addressed.

The NPA further stated that National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi had "publicly acknowledged the challenges facing the NPA, including in its efforts to prosecute high-level corruption matters" and had "highlighted the associated challenges facing the NPA's law enforcement counterparts, and the impact this has on the NPA's ability to prosecute complex crimes".

"Rebuilding the NPA after years of being undermined by state capture actors was never going to be quick or easy. Yet, significant progress has been made, and the NPA is slowly but surely being rebuilt to enable it to deliver on its vital mandate. The NPA will also continue prioritising internal processes to ensure that any prosecutors engaged in acts of criminality or improper conduct, including in the context of state capture, are dealt with effectively and fairly.

"Furthermore, given the importance of avoiding the future capture of the NPA, or any other state institution, which brought South Africa close to financial collapse, it is crucial that the NPA's de jure and de facto independence be assured, including in terms of its relationship with the Executive and in the manner in which the NPA's senior leadership is appointed.

"As the NPA ramps up the prosecution of those implicated in state capture, it is crucial that its actions are, and are seen to be, independent of any undue influence. Anything short of this, will undermine South Africans' trust and confidence in the rule of law and due process, which is, for various reasons, already at concerningly low levels."

In other words, the NPA's response to criticism that it failed to prosecute state capture corruption had seemingly been to stress the importance of its independence. But, while the independence of the NPA was imperative to its successful functioning, it certainly cannot be a mechanism that protects it from justified criticism about its failure to ...

Teacher and student unions have had mixed responses to a move from the Department of Basic Education to halt the publication of matric results in the media.

On Monday, media houses were issued with a notice, stating that "the usual practice" of publishing matric results would not take place for the 2021 marks.

The department cited the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) as the reason, saying the dissemination of pupils' personal information would be in contravention of it.

South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said the union supported the move because it would benefit pupils.

"The fact that the results are not being made public will lessen the pressure on learners. Teenagers are vulnerable and we often hear of cases of suicides linked to the matric results," she said.

"Complying with the POPIA will respect learners' privacy – why should the whole world know their marks? It's fine for the public to know the general averages; they don't need to know how individual learners have done."

Congress of South African Students (Cosas) president general Thabang Mokoena said the union had been lobbying to have the publication of matric results scrapped for years.

'Right to privacy'

He added that pupils who failed matric often faced ridicule from their peers and could develop depression.

"We're very grateful our calls have been heard. We're trying to save learners," he said.

The sentiment was echoed by South African Union of Students (SAUS) spokesperson Avise Dlanjwa.

"Learners have a right to privacy. This decision is long overdue. There's no reason why personal details should be published and we should be protecting the privacy of learners. This will also lead to better mental health among learners, and we welcome the department's decision."

In a letter to editors, dated 10 January, department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said pupils would be required to obtain their statement of results from the schools they attended.

"In this way every learner's personal information with regards to the outcome of their National Senior Certificate exam will be protected," he said.

The SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) said it would seek legal advice on the decision, given the late notice.

'Single access point'

"We will get legal advice to understand if we have a legitimate complaint as media," said Sanef chairperson Sbu Ngalwa.

Media houses customarily prepared special projects to help pupils get their results before waiting for schools to open to fetch their certificates.

The Federation of School Governing Bodies (Fedsas) CEO Jaco Deacon called the move "ludicrous".

He said the student numbers published by the media did not constitute as personal information and that the public would not have any access to private information in the publishing of the matric results.

"The media perform an important service in publishing the results. It's not possible for all learners to travel to their examination centres and there shouldn't be only a single access point for learners to receive their results."

Deacon said the department had already taken steps to protect the identity of matric pupils.

"The department moved away from publishing the names of learners to protect their identity and that's why they only publish the student numbers. If this is to prevent cases of matric suicides and similar incidents, then the department should address that. Using the POPIA is not the correct response for a social issue."

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced on Tuesday that rotational classes will continue until the Covid-19 regulations are amended.

She was briefing the media on the opening of schools for the 2022 school year, explaining that for now the same Covid-19 protocols that applied at the end of last year will continue.

“Until such time that we amend the regulations things stand as they are. We had encouraged schools that were able to accommodate learners with a reduced social distancing now of 1 m to do that and make sure that we can bring back as many learners as possible,” she said.

Schools are encouraged to find more spaces to create situations to get more learners in attendance but still based on the existing protocols.

Motshekga said last year the Basic Education Department wanted the social distancing space to be reduced to 0.5 m to allow for the accommodation of more learners in schools.

The department has requested provinces to work on providing infrastructure to schools that technically were even overcrowded before Covid-19.

Motshekga said in 2021, there was a significant decline in school closures, compared with 2020's "stop and go, stop and go".

Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Education announced that a total of 276 564 grade one and grade eight online admissions applicants had been successfully placed.

The department said officials were implementing the means of providing necessary support to schools to ensure that the 1 465 applicants who remained unplaced were accommodated.

Motshekga appealed to parents to allow provinces to place learners where there were places for them.

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

Motshekga said that at the time the Department of Health (DoH) announced vaccines would be available to children aged 12 and above, the Department of Basic Education was "busy with exams" and could not put a vaccination programme in place.

She explained that working with school governing bodies, with parents and the DoH, the department will "intensify the programme to encourage young people to vaccinate and also encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated".

"We are not vaccinating in schools as yet," said Motshekga, explaining that the DoH does not have the capacity to be in schools.