South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Thursday 9 April

Find out all the latest news in South Africa by checking in on all major headlines making waves across the country on Thursday 9 April.

While the minister of communications feels the president’s wrath after violating the stringent lockdown laws, law enforcement agencies redouble efforts to crack down on defaulters. As government deliberates a possible lockdown extension, business owners, pleading for financial assistance, face a bleak winter ahead.

Today’s latest news in South Africa, Thursday 9 April

Ndabeni-Abrahams: Special leave and criminal charges

Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, will rue the day she decided to pop in for lunch at Mduduzi Manana’s house. After being found to have undermined lockdown laws and brought regulations of the Disaster Management Act into disrepute, Ndabeni-Abrahams was placed on special leave by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The minister has also had her pay docked for at least one month.

While the prospect of no-pay may have rattled Ndabeni-Abrahams, a far harsher consequence may lay ahead. On Wednesday, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) confirmed that criminal charges had been laid against both Ndabeni-Abrahams and Manana “for breaching lockdown regulations as stipulated by government”.

In a televised apology, Ndabeni-Abrahams asked for forgiveness from South Africans.

Cape Town’s ‘homeless lockdown project’ under fire

The City of Cape Town continues to endure fierce criticism for its handling of the homeless population during the lockdown period. After moving hundreds of the city’s homeless to a sports field in Strandfontein for the purpose of isolation and restricted movement, tensions began to flare when conditions at the camp were deemed ‘inhumane’.

On Tuesday, police opened fire, with rubber bullets, on a group of homeless citizens who attempted to break a barrier in order to escape the site. Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, noted that any homeless occupants who attempted to leave the confines of the camped settlement would face the full might of the law.

The homeless, however, argue that they have been subjected to unsafe conditions at the camp. Former Democratic Alliance (DA) member, Brett Heron, who conducted a site visit to the Strandfontein sports field, described the situation as a ‘concentration camp’.

Police Minister Cele feels the heat

Police Minister Bheki Cele has a tough task at hand — keeping millions of South Africans in line with the lockdown laws — but his recent comments and assertions have landed him in hot water.

In addition to supporting a controversial cigarette ban, which has won him no friends amongst smokers and tax justice warriors, recently Cele announced that kissing should be banned to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

With romantics and smokers already rallied against Cele, his recent comments relating to a policeman accused of rape have garnered fierce condemnation from the public at large.

The DA have since written to President Ramaphosa calling for the immediate removal of Cele, labelling the Minister of Police as a “rape apologist”.

Joburg’s informal traders cry foul

Despite the recently-revised regulations to the Disaster Management Act, which has allowed for informal traders to operate as essential services, the City of Johannesburg has taken the decision to suspend the issuing of permits.

Joburg’s economic development department decided to revoke the supply of permits after it was inundated with requests. On Wednesday, members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were roped in to dispurse a crowd of traders who had queued at the municipal offices to apply for permits.

The City of Johannesburg says that the large ‘compromised health and safety’. Informal traders, who had queued at the offices since the early hours of the morning, say they are being robbed of their livelihoods.

Police intensify operations during second half of lockdown

The South African Police Service (SAPS), with assistance from the SANDF and local law enforcement agencies, have ramped-up lockdown operations in an attempt to flatten the curve. This week, police will be conducting vehicle checkpoints in all provinces, major cities and primary highways.

On Wednesday, roadblocks brought traffic to a standstill on Johannesburg’s M1 highway. In Mpumalanga, taxis were impounded after being found to be in contravention of the stringent transport laws.

Police are also expected to assist government’s mass testing programme, which is expected to peak in the next couple of weeks.

SASSA provides food parcel relief

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has provided a solution to temporary disability grants which lapsed or expired in March 2020.

The lapse resulted in some beneficiaries not being paid their grants.

“The payment file for April 2020 payments was extracted before the 21 days lockdown was announced, meaning that all temporary disability grants which were due to lapse at the end of March 2020 had already lapsed and were not generated for payment in April,” said SASSA spokesperson Sandy Godlwana.

SASSA offices have been closed since the start of the 21-day lockdown. The closure has posed a challenge for beneficiaries whose grants expired in March, and were therefore unable to re-apply at SASSA offices.

 “In order to deal with this unintended consequence of the lockdown, SASSA is providing social relief of distress in the form of food parcels to beneficiaries whose disability grants expired in April 2020, as an interim measure to cushion the impact of the termination of the grant benefit.”

Godlwana said the situation will be fully remedied for those grants expiring in April because ministerial directions issued on 30 March 2020 enable continued payment of temporary disability grants throughout the lockdown period. (Source: SAnews)

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