Pocket Guide to South Africa 2016/17

Government Communications (GCIS)

Pocket Guide to South Africa 2016/17

Fourteenth (14th) edition

Compiled, edited and published by:

Government Communications (GCIS)

Private Bag X745, Pretoria, 0001

Telephone: 012 473 0000

Website: www.gcis.gov.za

Editor: Elias Tibane

Proofreaders: Miriam Mokoena and Malphia Honwane

Support services: Carel Mojela

Picture coordinator: Elizabeth Mpila

Images supplied by: GCIS

Design and layout: Rachel Sekhu

Professional eBook conversion by www.MYeBook.co.za

Compiled, edited and published by the GCIS.

EPUB Edition

The editorial staff has taken all reasonable care to ensure correctness of facts and statistics. However, any person requiring confirmation of any data in the Pocket Guide to South Africa, or more detailed and specific information, should consult the relevant department/institution. The information is also available on Government Online (www.gov.za).

Unless otherwise specified, information contained in this Pocket Guide to South Africa was the latest available as at October 2017.

Foreword

The Pocket Guide to South Africa 2016/17 provides a noteworthy reflection of the achievements of government, particularly those related to its cherished endeavour to address the triple challenge of inequality, poverty and unemployment by 2030, as guided by the National Development Plan (NDP). Government continues to work tirelessly to address these challenges, including the historical exclusion of black people from economic opportunities, in order to ensure a better life for all.

Remarkable progress has been made in the implementation of the Nine-Point Plan, which is an action plan to deliver on the socio-economic goals stated in the NDP, especially to achieve a higher level of inclusive growth. The focus areas include energy; manufacturing; transport; telecommunications; water; tourism; the ocean economy; mining; agriculture; reform of state-owned companies; telecommunications; Industrial Policy Action Plan and managing workplace conflict.

Government has been focusing attention on key priorities, which include job creation, fighting crime, providing quality healthcare and education, and rural development. Operation Phakisa, which was introduced to boost delivery initially in the oceans economy, education and health, has since been expanded to mining and agriculture, in particular aquaculture.

The dominant narrative in South Africa is radical economic transformation, which seeks to take the country on the path to inclusive growth and a better life for all. The country’s economy, complemented by strong institutional and governance structures, remains stable and conducive for investment. Tourism, which contributes about 9% to South Africa’s national gross domestic product, has significant potential to create more jobs, accelerate inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty.

In addition to being a primary destination of choice for a significant number of tourists, South Africa also remains a favourite host country for many international events, such as the 17th Conference of Parties to the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora held in 2016.

The roll-out of the National Health Insurance – which aims to provide access to quality, affordable personal health services for all South Africans based on their health needs, irrespective of their socio-economic status – is intended to restore the dignity of our people, especially the poor. The health sector has recorded good progress in managing communicable diseases, including HIV, AIDS and TB.

As a result of improved healthcare provision, overall life expectancy has steadily been increasing. Between 2002 and 2016, there was an overall increase in life expectancy (55,2 to 62,4 years) and a decline in infant (48,2 to 33,7 deaths per 1 000 live births) and under-five mortality rate (70,8 to 44,1 deaths per 1 000 live births).

There had been a consistent increase in the percentage of individuals that benefited from social grants, from 12,7% in 2003 to 29,9% in 2016. The promotion and protection of the rights of all persons with disabilities in South Africa remains a national priority.

Government continues to build decent human settlements and provide housing subsidies to indigent people. It has also prioritised the provision of comprehensive early childhood development programmes at day-care centres, crèches, playgroups, nursery schools and pre-primary schools.

South Africa has been maintaining positive bilateral relations with other countries in the continent and beyond, and continues to participate in mediation efforts, peacekeeping operations and peace-making initiatives in some parts of the continent.

In terms of safety and security, official statistics have shown that total crime as a percentage of the population (per capita crime) has been steadily decreasing. The fight against corruption in the Public Service has been intensified to ensure clean, effective and efficient governance. Whistle-blowers can anonymously call the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (0800 701 701) to report corruption in the Public Service.

Meanwhile, government continues to promote social cohesion, nation-building and human rights as part of creating a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

His Excellency Jacob G. Zuma

President of the Republic of South Africa

August 2017

Land surface area

1 220 813 km²

Key economic sectors

Mining services and transport, energy, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.

Population

Total: 56,52 million

Male: 27,62 million (49%)

Female: 28,9 million (51%)

Official languages

English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Afrikaans, Siswati, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

Currency

Rand (ZAR) – 100 cents equals one rand.

Time

GMT +2 hours

Government

Constitutional multiparty democracy, with three spheres – local, provincial and national government.

Capitals

Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial). The Constitutional Court is located in Johannesburg.

Provinces

Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape.

Transportation

Excellent roads, rail and air facilities (both domestic and international). Public transport in major cities include the Gautrain between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the Bus Rapid Transport System in major cities.

Telecommunications

World-class infrastructure. Internet access is widely available. There are five mobile (cellular) networks.

Health

Top-quality public and private healthcare is available throughout the country. Malaria precautions are necessary in some areas.

Source: Statistics South Africa’s Mid-year Population Estimates, 2017.

For more information, visit www.southafrica.info and www.gov.za

Modern humans have lived at the southern tip of Africa for more than 100 000 years and their ancestors for some 3,3 million years.

Some 2 000 years ago, the Khoekhoen (the Hottentots of early European terminology) were pastoralists who had settled mostly along the coast, while the San (the Bushmen) were hunter-gatherers spread across the region. At this time, Bantu-speaking agropastoralists began arriving in southern Africa, spreading from the eastern lowlands to the Highveld.

At several archaeological sites there is evidence of sophisticated political and material cultures.

European contact

The first European settlement in southern Africa was established by the Dutch East India Company in Table Bay (Cape Town) in 1652. Created to supply passing ships with fresh produce, the colony grew rapidly as Dutch farmers settled to grow crops. Shortly after the establishment of the colony, slaves were imported from East Africa, Madagascar and the East Indies.

The first British Settlers, known as the 1820 Settlers, arrived in Algoa Bay (now Nelson Mandela Bay) on board 21 ships, the first being the Chapman. They numbered about 4 500 and included artisans, tradesmen, religious leaders, merchants, teachers, bookbinders, blacksmiths, discharged sailors and soldiers, professional men and farmers.

Conflict

From the 1770s, colonists came into contact and inevitable conflict with Bantu-speaking chiefdoms some 800 km east of Cape Town. A century of intermittent warfare ensued during which the colonists gained ascendancy over the isiXhosa-speaking chiefdoms.

In 1795, the British occupied the Cape as a strategic base against the French, controlling the sea route to the East.

In the 1820s, the celebrated Zulu leader, Shaka, established sway over a vast area of south-east Africa. As splinter Zulu groups conquered and absorbed communities in their path, the region experienced a fundamental disruption. Substantial states, such as Moshoeshoe’s Lesotho and other Sotho-Tswana chiefdoms were established.

This temporary disruption of life on the Highveld served to facilitate the expansion northwards of the original Dutch settlers’ descendants, the Boer Voortrekkers, from the 1830s.

Occupation

In 1806, Britain reoccupied the Cape. As the colony prospered, the political rights of the various races were guaranteed, with slavery being abolished in 1838.

Throughout the 1800s, the boundaries of European influence spread eastwards. From the port of Durban, Natal settlers pushed northwards, further and further into the land of the Zulu. From the mid-1800s, the Voortrekkers coalesced in two land-locked white-ruled republics, the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State.

The mineral revolution

South Africa’s diamond mining industry dates back to 1867, when diamonds were discovered near Kimberley in what is today known as the Northern Cape. The Kimberley diamond fields, and later discoveries in Gauteng, the Free State, and along the Atlantic coast, emerged as major sources of gem-quality diamonds, securing South Africa’s position as the world’s leading producer in the mid-twentieth century.

Gold

The discovery of the Witwatersrand goldfields in 1886 was a turning point in South Africa’s history. The demand for franchise rights for English-speaking immigrants working on the new goldfields was the pretext Britain used to go to war with the Transvaal and Orange Free State in 1899.

The Anglo-Boer/South African War was the bloodiest, longest and most expensive war Britain engaged in between 1815 and 1915. It cost more than 200 million pounds and Britain lost more than 22 000 men. The Boers lost over 34 000 people and more than 15 000 black South Africans were killed.

Union and opposition

In 1910, the Union of South Africa was created out of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Free State. It was to be essentially a white union. Black opposition was inevitable, and the African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 to protest the exclusion of black people from power. In 1921, the South African Communist Party was established at a time of heightened militancy. More discriminatory legislation was enacted. Meanwhile, Afrikaner nationalism, fuelled by job losses arising from a worldwide recession, was on the march.

The rise of apartheid

In 1948, the pro-Afrikaner National Party (NP) came to power with the ideology of apartheid, an even more rigorous and authoritarian approach than the previous segregationist policies. While white South Africa was cementing its power, black opposition politics were evolving. In 1943, a younger, more determined political grouping came to the fore with the launch of the ANC Youth League, a development, which was to foster the leadership of people such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu.

Repression

In 1961, the NP Government under Prime Minister HF Verwoerd declared South Africa a republic after winning a whites-only referendum. A new concern with racial purity was apparent in various legislation and residential segregation was enforced.

Separate development

At a time when much of Africa was on the verge of independence, the South African Government was devising its policy of separate development, dividing the African population into artificial ethnic “nations,” each with its own “homeland” and the prospect of “independence.” Forced removals from “white” areas affected some 3,5 million people, and vast rural slums were created in the homelands.

In 1949, the ANC adopted its Programme of Action, expressing the renewed militancy of the 1940s. The programme embodied a rejection of white domination and a call for action in the form of protests, strikes and demonstrations.

Defiance

The Defiance Campaign of the early 1950s carried mass mobilisation to new heights under the banner of non-violent resistance to the pass laws. In 1955, the Freedom Charter was drawn up at the Congress of the People in Soweto. The charter enunciated the principles of the struggle, binding the movement to a culture of human rights and non-racialism.

Soon the mass-based organisations, including the ANC and the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), were banned. Matters came to a head at Sharpeville in March 1960 when 69 PAC anti-pass demonstrators were killed. A state of emergency was imposed, and detention without trial was introduced.

Struggle days

Leaders of the black political organisations at this time either went into exile or were arrested. In this climate, the ANC and PAC abandoned their long-standing commitment to non-violent resistance and turned to armed struggle.

Top leaders still inside the country, including members of the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), were arrested in 1963.

At the Rivonia Trial, eight ANC leaders, including Nelson Mandela, convicted of sabotage (instead of treason, the original charge), were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The resurgence of resistance politics in the early 1970s was dramatic. June 1976 marked the beginning of a sustained anti-apartheid revolt. School pupils in Soweto rose up against apartheid education, followed by youth uprisings throughout the country.

Strong, legal vehicles for the democratic forces tested the State, whose response until then had been invariably heavy-handed repression.

Reform

Shaken by the scale of protest and opposition, the government embarked on a series of limited reforms in the early 1980s.

In 1983, the Constitution was reformed to allow the coloured and Indian minorities limited participation in separate and subordinate houses of parliament.

In 1986, the pass laws were scrapped. The international community strengthened its support for the anti-apartheid cause.

Mass resistance increasingly challenged the apartheid State, which resorted to intensified repression accompanied by eventual recognition that apartheid could not be sustained.

Apartheid’s last days

Afrikaner élite openly started to pronounce in favour of a more inclusive society, with a number of businesspeople, students and academic leaders meeting publicly and privately with the ANC in exile.

Petty apartheid laws and symbols were openly challenged and eventually removed.

Together with a sliding economy, increasing internal dissent and international pressure, these developments inevitably led to historic changes and the fall of apartheid.

Democratic government

South Africa held its first democratic election in April 1994 under an interim Constitution. The ANC emerged with a 62% majority. South Africa was divided into nine new provinces to replace the four existing provinces and 10 black homelands. In terms of the interim Constitution, the NP and Inkatha Freedom Party participated in a government of national unity under President Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

The second democratic election, in 1999, saw the ANC increasing its majority to a point just short of two-thirds of the total vote.

In the April 2004 election, the ANC won the national vote with 69,68% and the celebration of 10 Years of Freedom attended by heads of state and government delegations from across the world.

In 2008, Kgalema Motlanthe became President following the recalling of President Thabo Mbeki. On 22 April 2009, South Africa held national and provincial elections with about 76% of registered voters casting their votes. Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as President of South Africa on 9 May 2009.

The following year, a significant milestone for South Africa was the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Municipal elections were held on 18 May 2011, electing new councils for all municipalities in the country.

October 2011 saw Statistics South Africa conducting a comprehensive national census. The census, which analysed the country’s demographics, population distribution and access to services, average household size, income, migration, and mortality, was the third national population and housing count in post-apartheid South Africa. The exercise saw 156 000 field staff employed to count more than 14,6 million households.

South Africa has continued to build on its international profile. On 1 January 2011, the country started its second term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council between 2011 and 2012, serving alongside the five permanent members, China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as elected members Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Germany, India, Lebanon, Nigeria and Portugal.

In 2011, as part of government’s commitment to secure a better quality of life for all, the National Planning Commission in The Presidency finalised the draft National Development Plan: Vision for 2030. The plan is a step towards charting a new path for South Africa in dealing with the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

On 8 January 2012, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, the ANC, celebrated 100 years of existence. This was a historic achievement, not only for the movement, but also for South Africa and the continent.

In May 2012, the Square Array Kilometre (SKA) Organisation announced that the SKA Project would be shared between South Africa and Australia, with a majority share coming to South Africa. The full dish array and the dense aperture array will be built in Africa.

In November 2012, South Africa was elected by the members of the UN General Assembly to the UN’s 47-member Economic and Social Council.

In December 2012, President Zuma was re-elected as the president of the ANC during the ruling party’s congress in Mangaung, Free State with Cyril Ramaphosa elected as the party’s deputy president.

In July 2013, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, was appointed executive director of the UN Women Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, and Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, was appointed director in the UN Development Programme’s Bureau for Development Policy.

On 5 December 2013, South Africa’s first democratically elected President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. Mr Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital. His body lay in state at the Union Buildings from 11 to 13 December. He was buried in his home town of Qunu in the Eastern Cape on 15 December 2013.

South Africa celebrated 20 Years of Freedom in 2014, which was a historic milestone for the country. The Twenty Year Review, which was released in 2013, and the National Planning Commission’s 2011 Diagnostic Report, highlight that poverty, inequality and unemployment continue to negatively affect the lives of many people.

Despite progress in reducing rural poverty and increasing access to basic services in rural areas over the past 20 years, rural areas are still characterised by great poverty and inequality. As stated in the NDP, by 2030, South Africa’s rural communities must have better opportunities to participate fully in the economic, social and political life of the country.

Government’s programme of radical economic transformation is about placing the economy on a qualitatively different path that ensures more rapid, sustainable growth, higher investment, increased employment, reduced inequality and deracialisation of the economy. The NDP sets a growth target of at least 5% a year, and emphasises measures to ensure that the benefits of growth are equitably shared.

South Africa’s fifth general elections were held on 7 May 2014. It was also the first time that South African expatriates were allowed to vote in a South African national election.

The ANC won the National Assembly election (62,1%) and the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) won 22,2% of the votes, while the newly formed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) obtained 6,4% of the vote.

The ANC also won eight of the nine provincial legislatures. The EFF obtained over 10% of the votes in Gauteng, Limpopo and North West, and beat the DA to second place in Limpopo and North West. In the other six provinces won by the ANC, the DA obtained second place. In the Western Cape, the only province not won by the ANC, the DA increased its majority from 51,5% to 59,4%.

In 2015, South Africa celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter, which called for peace and friendship among nations. The 40th Anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Soweto Student Uprising was celebrated in 2016, along with the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.

The 2016 municipal elections were held on 3 August 2016. The ANC won 53,9% of the total vote, followed by the official opposition DA with 26,9% and the EFF with 8,2%.

In 2017, South Africa celebrated five years since the launch of the National Development Plan, which outlines the goals to achieve the vision of a prosperous South Africa by tackling the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality by 2030.

South Africa celebrated the Centenary of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo in 2017, under the theme: “Life and Legacy of OR Tambo”. He was one of the key drivers of South Africa’s liberation and one of the founding fathers of the country’s constitutional democracy.

People

For 2017, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) estimates the mid-year population at 56,52 million. Approximately 51% (approximately 28,9 million) of the population is female.

Gauteng comprises the largest share of the South African population. Approximately 14,3 million people (25,3%) live in this province. KwaZulu-Natal is the province with the second largest population, with 11,1 million people (19,6%) living in this province. With a population of approximately 1,21 million people (2,1%), Northern Cape remains the province with the smallest share of the South African population.

About 29,6% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and approximately 8,1% (4,60 million) is 60 years or older. Similar proportions of those younger than 15 years live in Gauteng (21,1%) and KwaZulu-Natal (21,1%). Of the elderly aged 60 years and older, the highest percentage 24,0% (1,10 million) reside in Gauteng. The proportion of elderly persons aged 60 and older is increasing over time.

Migration is an important demographic process in shaping the age structure and distribution of the provincial population. For the period 2016–2021, Gauteng and Western Cape are estimated to experience the largest inflow of migrants of approximately, 1 595 106 and 485 560 respectively.

Life expectancy at birth for 2017 is estimated at 61,2 years for males and 66,7 years for females. The infant mortality rate for 2017 is estimated at 32,8 per 1 000 live births.

The estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is approximately 12,6% among the South African population. The total number of people living with HIV is estimated at approximately 7,06 million in 2017. For adults aged 15–49 years, an estimated 18,0% of the population is HIV positive.

Languages

South Africa is a multicultural society that is characterised by its rich linguistic diversity. Language is an indispensable tool that can be used to deepen democracy and also contribute to the social, cultural, intellectual, economic and political life of the South African society.

The country is multilingual with 11 official languages, each of which is guaranteed equal status. Most South Africans are multilingual and able to speak at least two or more of the official languages.

According to Stats SA’s Community Survey 2016, isiZulu is the most common home language spoken by 24,6% of the population, followed by isiXhosa (17%), Afrikaans (12,1%), Sepedi (9,5%), Setswana (8,8%), and English (8,3%), Sesotho (8%), Xitsonga (4,2%), Siswati (2,6%), Tshivenda (2,4%) and isiNdebele (1,6%).

Government passed the Use of Official Languages Act in 2012, as part of promoting social cohesion and nation-building.

Among other things, the legislation requires every government department, public entity and enterprise to establish a language unit and adopt a language policy.

It also encourages national government departments and public entities to use the official languages to enhance communication with the public in order to improve the quality of their lives.

Religious beliefs

According to Stats SA’s Community Survey 2016, the distribution of religious beliefs in South Africa is as follows:

Christianity – 43 423 717

Islam – 892 685

Traditional African religion – 2 454 887

Hinduism – 561 268

Buddhism – 24 808

Bahaism – 6 881

Judaism – 49 470

Atheism – 52 598

Agnosticism – 32 944

No religious affiliation/belief – 5 964 892

Other – 1 482 210

Do not know – 704 358.

The mandate of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) includes value chains, inputs, production and consumption in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors. The department’s mandate is derived from a range of legislation, including the Sea Fisheries Act of 1988, the National Forests Act of 1988, the Agricultural Products Standards Act of 1990, and the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act of 1993.

The DAFF was expected to focus on improving food security, creating decent jobs, and sustainably increasing the contribution of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors to GDP.

By pursuing these objectives, the department contributes to the realisation of the goal of the National Development Plan (NDP) to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, and Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth), Outcome 7 (comprehensive rural development and land reform) and Outcome 10 (protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).

The DAFF continues to work with local business and labour to rebuild confidence, promote investment and improve prospects for more inclusive growth. Broad-based economic transformation in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors is deemed essential to create jobs and business opportunities, reduce inequality and boost income growth.

Improving food security

Over the medium term, the department plans to support around 435 000 subsistence and smallholder farmers through: providing farm equipment, fencing, fertilisers, seedlings and other essentials; disbursing a grant through the comprehensive agricultural support programme; and repairing flood-damaged infrastructure.

The DAFF will support the agri-park initiative, in collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. The initiative aims to establish and maintain producer support infrastructure such as markets and agro-processing facilities; create networks and provide logistical services for producers and input suppliers; and coordinate activities for producer support and development to create jobs and develop rural economies.

Through the Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme Grant, the DAFF will play a crucial role in supporting smallholder farmers who will supply produce to agri-park initiatives across South Africa. It will also provide support to farmers by putting one million hectares of land into production, and provide farmers with advisory services and training on the basic components of food security.

The department plans to increase financial support to emerging producers and increase their participation in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

The department planned to conduct an agricultural census, in collaboration with Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), to create a registry of subsistence, smallholder and commercial farmers, and gather baseline information. The gathered information will be used to properly target support to farmers, avoid duplicating support to emerging farmers, and allow for a proper ratio of extension officers to ensure the productivity of emerging farmers.

The department aims to deploy at least 150 veterinarians each year over the medium term, to strengthen primary animal healthcare, support smallholder animal production, and contribute to productivity and food security.

According to Stats SA’s General Household Survey 2016, only 14,8% of South African households were involved in agricultural production. Most crop production took place in backyard gardens and households involved in agricultural activities were mostly engaged in the production of food.

Food production consisted of fruit and vegetables (50,8%), grains (45,5%), livestock farming (36,0%) and poultry (33,1%). Only 11,1% of the households involved in agriculture reported getting agricultural-related support from the government. Nationally, 2,2% of the households reported receiving training and 7,0% received dipping/livestock vaccination services.

Creating jobs

The Revitalisation of the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Value Chain (RAAVC), is one among the plans to drive economic growth and create jobs.

Informed by the NDP, the RAAVC sets a target of one million jobs by 2030. A sizeable portion of these jobs reside within the Agro-Processing sector and through the support of smallholder producers.

Positive signs are emerging as the number of people employed in the agricultural sector increased by 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016. The number increased from 860 000 persons in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 919 000 persons in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Key focus areas of RAAVC for 2017/18 include Land Reform, Market Access and Trade, Producer Support, Research and Innovation, and Production. A further focus of RAAVC will be to provide support to strategic industries such as the fruit and vegetable, poultry, red meat, grains and aquaculture industries.

To contribute to the creation of 60 000 job opportunities over the medium term, the DAFF plans to spend more than R1,7 billion on the Ilima/Letsema projects grant, which is transferred to provinces for food production initiatives.

The department’s LandCare Programme Grant promotes sustainable land and soil management practices, and the prevention of land degradation and desertification in rural areas, thereby contributing to job creation through the establishment of more arable farmland.

The programme is projected to create job opportunities through refurbishing forested and deforested plantations; rehabilitating hectares of land by reducing the spread of invasive alien plants, erecting fencing and protecting agricultural land from degradation.

The Oceans Economy Operation Phakisa is expected to increase the production of fish from 4 000 tonnes per year to 20 000 tonnes per year, over the medium term.

This is expected to create 2 500 direct new jobs and 15 000 jobs in the fisheries value chain by 2020.

An additional 1 674 jobs in the fisheries sector were expected to be created over the medium term in the Expanded Public Works Programme through the Working for Fisheries project, which is implemented by the Marine Living Resources Fund.

Some of the animal improvement schemes to be implemented include Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo, a programme that assists poor farmers; and the poultry scheme, which assists poor poultry farmers to identify and manage risks associated with poultry diseases by 2018.

Drought

The impact of the nationwide drought has had a devastating effect on the agriculture sector and its value chain.

The drought conditions in 2015 and 2016 have had a devastating impact on agriculture production throughout the country.

However, in the summer planting season, South Africa received much higher levels of rainfall recorded for 2016/17 season, compared to the previous years.

The Minister of Finance, in collaboration with the department and the private sector, was working on initiatives to ensure higher agricultural production, efficient water licensing, the facilitation of agricultural exports, and increased efficiency to increase agriculture’s contribution to GDP. Crop and livestock production decreased sharply in 2016/17.

Maize production, for example, decreased by 24%, from 7,54 million tonnes in 2015/16 to 5,7 million tonnes in 2016/17. Higher yields were expected in 2017/18 as the drought is predicted to end.

The department would spend R644 million on infrastructure projects over the medium term, R75,4 million of which is allocated for the maintenance and erection of fences along the borders of the Kruger National Park.

The erection of these fences plays a critical role in the management of the incidence and the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, which has a negative impact on the export of red meat products.

Agricultural production by households

Less than one-fifth of South African households (16,9%) were involved in agricultural production activities in 2015, according to the results of the General Household Survey released by Stats SA in June 2016.

Of these, 11,8% cultivated farmland while 91,3% created backyard gardens.

Food production consisted of grains (51,6%), fruit and vegetables (50,8%), livestock farming (34,3%) and poultry (33,7%). Only 12,1% of the households involved in agriculture reported getting agricultural-related support from the government.

Nationally, 2,1% of the households reported receiving training and 6,8% received dipping/livestock vaccination services.

#Youth in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Awards (#YAFF Awards)

The #YAFF Awards is one of the delivery mechanisms of the Young Producers and Entrepreneurs Strategy. It is implemented in conjunction with existing departmental programmes aimed at supporting youth-owned and managed enterprises.

The awards recognise top achievers involved in activities along the value chain of the key components; namely livestock and poultry production, crop production, fisheries/aquaculture production, forestry and agro-processing.

The programme was launched in June 2016 in Tshwane, Gauteng, under the name #Agristars Awards. The awards ceremony is an annual celebration staged during the month of June as the premier youth engagement in commemoration of the Youth Month. This has become a flagship programme alongside the DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards.

In line with the National Youth Policy 2020, the department has developed the Young Producers and Entrepreneurs Strategy. The strategy aims to support the establishment of youth-owned and/or managed enterprises.

Role players

Credit and assistance

The six major sources of credit for farmers are banks (56%), agricultural cooperatives and agribusinesses (9%), the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (the Land Bank) (30%), private creditors (3%), and other creditors and financial institutions (2%).

Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa

The Land Bank is a specialist agricultural bank guided by a government mandate to provide financial services to the commercial farming sector and agribusiness, and makes available financial products to new entrants to agriculture from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. Today, the bank is a true South African development finance institution that serves all farmers equally.

Micro-Agricultural Financial Institutions of South Africa (MAFISA)

MAFISA is a scheme that provides production loans to smallholder operators within the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

The maximum loan size offered by MAFISA is R500 000 per client with special provision for up to R1 million for special projects.

The loans are solely for use in agriculture, forestry or fisheries enterprises. They are also for purposes of covering production input, small equipment, livestock purchase, harvesting (in the case of fruit, forestry, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries) and agro-processing.

AgriBEE Fund

The AgriBEE Fund was established to provide support to businesses owned by black South Africans to advance the transformation agenda in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

The objective of the fund are to promote entry and participation of black people in the entire value chain by providing funding for equity deals, to acquire interest in existing commercially viable and sustainable enterprises and advance enterprise development through agro-processing and value-adding activities.

For the maximum loan of R5 million, applicants are required to contribute 10% to demonstrate their level of commitment. However, the Land Bank and DAFF may approve applications of more than R5 million and applicants will be required to contribute 20%.

Agri South Africa (Agri SA)

Agri SA promotes the development, profitability, stability and sustainability of agriculture in South Africa by means of its involvement and input on national and international policy, and the implementation thereof.

Agricultural Business Chamber (ABC)

The ABC is a voluntary, dynamic and influential association of agribusinesses. Its mission is to negotiate and position for a favourable agribusiness environment where members can perform competitively and profitably.

The ABC is the only organisation that serves the broader and common business interests of agribusinesses in South Africa. The chamber facilitates considerable networking opportunities so that South African agribusinesses can play an active and creative role within the local and international organised business environment and be closely involved in the legislative and policy environment on many fronts.

Transvaal Agricultural Union South Africa (TAU SA)

TAU SA renders services to its members in terms of property rights, economic issues, and safety and security.

National African Farmers’ Union of South Africa (NAFU)

The aim of NAFU is to create a “home” for thousands of black farmers who had previously been excluded from the mainstream of agriculture. It focuses on advocacy and lobbies for access to critical resources such as land, credit, information, extension and other support services.

African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA)

AFASA’s aim is to promote competent and successful commercial South African farmers, and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the agricultural sector. Its values are to facilitate the development of African farmers to increase their meaningful participation in the agricultural sector.

Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

The ARC contributes to improved productivity, competitiveness and sustainability for animal and crop production; national biodiversity and the integrity of the ecosystem; and an increased number of smallholder farmers who have access to agriculture technologies and extension services.

Forestry

Forestry contributes a modest 0,7% to the GDP and supports manufacturing subsectors such as sawmilling and paper and pulp production, as well as mining and construction. Of the total land area of 122,3 million ha in South Africa, only (1% or 1,273 million ha) is used for forestry.

The forest products industry ranks among the top exporting industries in the country. Paper and paper board, wood pulp, wood and articles of wood, and charcoal are some of the leading export products.

There are 47 protected tree species in terms of the National Forests Act of 1998, which may not be cut, destroyed, damaged or removed. Neither may the trees or their products be collected, removed, exported or donated, unless the DAFF has granted a licence. The Act also protects live trees occurring in natural forests.

National Arbor Week, which is celebrated annually in September, serves to promote awareness for the need to plant and maintain indigenous trees throughout South Africa. Every Arbor Week celebration highlights two specific trees – one common and one rare species. The theme for the 2017 Arbor Week Campaign was: “Forests and Water”.

The South African Forestry Company was established in 1992 to ensure the sustainable management of the state’s forestry plantation assets. The company was established in terms of the Management of State Forests Act of 1992. The company’s mandate is to ensure the sustainable management of plantation forests, increase downstream timber processing and play a catalytic role in rural economic development and transformation. The company’s work includes research and development, plantation management and timber processing. Revenue is generated from the sale of forest products, sawn timber and value-added products. The company operates in the rural areas of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal and provides opportunities for economic development and rural economic transformation through providing social infrastructure for basic services such as health and education. This is aligned with Outcome 7 (comprehensive rural development and land reform) of government’s 2014-2019 MTSF.

Woodlands

The woodland, also known as savannas, constitute a forest resource of major importance in South Africa. It is the most accessible forest resource for poor communities and contributes in the region of R2 000 to R5 000 to poor households annually. While natural forests cover less than one million ha of land in total, and plantation forestry covers less than 1,3 million ha and the woodlands collectively cover about 29 million ha to 46 million ha.

Several protected tree species of the savanna, such as camel thorn and leadwood, contribute substantially to the lucrative braai wood market, and guidelines have been set for licensing processes to assist with the control of their use.

Kathu Forest in the Northern Cape is the first woodland area to be declared protected woodland under the National Forests Act of 1998.

The woodlands are a valuable source of fuel, building material, craft timber and a variety of non-timber products. These include fruit, fodder, medicinal compounds, honey, meat and mushrooms. They form the backbone of the livelihoods of millions of people.

Fisheries

The fisheries industry is estimated to provide about 27 000 direct jobs in the industry (16 000 in the primary sector and 11 000 in the secondary and tertiary sectors), while an additional 81 000 people are indirectly employed in industries that are at least partially dependent on the fishing sector.

Fisheries output is determined by catch volumes, which, in turn, depend on the health and management of fish stocks, varying according to ecological changes and subjected to overexploitation through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

The aquaculture (fish farming) sector is considered underdeveloped and as a result has been prioritised due to declining wild stocks.

Government aims to ensure the conservation, protection, rehabilitation and recovery of depleted and degraded natural resources by, among other things, developing recovery plans in prioritised areas of fish stocks such as abalone, west coast rock lobsters and deep water hake by 2018/19.

Inshore species are especially vulnerable to stock depletion, as they are easily accessed, especially illegally. For the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP) for 2015/16, the DAFF had by May 2017 started processing appeals for the Hake Inshore Trawl, Horse Mackerel, KwaZulu-Natal Beach Seine, Large Pelagic Longline, Netfish, Patagonian Toothfish, Seaweed and for the Fish Processing facilities.

The department was expected to finalise the FRAP 2020 process for the 12 fishing sectors that were allocated in 2005 and 2013, which expires on 31 December 2020.

Allocations for the West Coast Rock Lobster and Abalone sectors were finalised by 31 July 2017. The DAFF planned to establish the Fisheries Transformation Council, in accordance with the Marine Living Resource Act of 1998.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world. In South Africa, marine and freshwater aquaculture presents a good opportunity to diversify fish production to satisfy local demand; contribute to food security, job creation, economic development and rural development, and improve export opportunities. The sector also presents an opportunity to bring in the youth, women and historically disadvantaged people into the sector.

Aquaculture incorporates the breeding, trading or rearing of aquatic organisms in a controlled or selected aquatic environment for recreational, commercial or subsistence purposes. It is divided into fresh-water culture and mariculture.

South Africa’s aquaculture sector has been given a boost through its inclusion in Operation Phakisa (Big Fast Results programme) in 2014, and R40 million of the R125 million budget will fund 24 aquaculture projects over the medium term.

The projects are expected to increase current production of 4 000 tonnes of fish per year to 20 000 tonnes per year over the period, significantly contributing to food production. In addition, 210 000 jobs are expected to be created by 2030.

Species being farmed include dusky kob, abalone, Pacific oysters, Mediterranean mussels and black mussels, among others. Abalone fishing is severely restricted in South African waters, however, poaching is rife, as it is a lucrative trade.

Poaching has caused the decline in abalone numbers over the years. The species is highly coveted and fetches high prices, especially in the Far East.

As a contracting party member to three tuna regional fisheries management organisations – the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission – in 2016 South Africa successfully negotiated for an increased Southern Bluefin and Atlantic Albacore tuna allocations. In 2017, the focus was on the allocation of the Swordfish.

International agreements

In June 2016, the European Union (EU) signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Southern African Development Community group comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

The agreement includes, among others, a bilateral protocol between the EU and South Africa on the protection of geographical indications and on trade in wines and spirits.

The geographical indications protocol implies that the EU will protect South African names such as Rooibos, Honeybush, Karoo Meat of Origin and 102 wine names like Stellenbosch and Paarl.

In return, South Africa will protect more than 250 EU geographical indication names spread over food, wines and spirits. A major benefit that was negotiated for the wine industry is that the zero tariff quota increased from 50 to 110 million litres per year.

This implies that all the South African bottled wine could potentially be exported duty free to the EU and therefore enable those wines to be competitive in the foreign market.

The mandate of the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is to:

•    preserve, develop, protect and promote the cultural, heritage and linguistic diversity and legacy of South Africa;

•    lead nation building and social cohesion through societal transformation;

•    enhance archives and records management structures and systems and promote access to information; and

•    provide leadership to the art and culture sector so as to accelerate its transformation.

The National Development Plan (NDP) emphasises the need for transforming society and uniting the country. These long-term objectives guide the department’s Strategic Plan and activities over the medium term, as do Outcome 1 (quality basic education), Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth) and Outcome 14 (a diverse, socially cohesive society with a common national identity) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework.

Over the medium term, the department would focus on developing arts, culture and heritage infrastructure; positioning the cultural and creative industries as drivers of economic growth and job creation; and contributing to social cohesion and nation building.

Developing arts, culture and heritage infrastructure

The DAC’s infrastructure development initiatives aim to establish and maintain world-class heritage sites to boost tourism and create job opportunities.

Construction of the liberation heritage route, which will consist of a series of sites that express the key aspects of the South African liberation experience, will be prioritised over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. The department intends to focus on developing three key sites per province. Construction on these sites, including a Liberation Movements Museum, is set to begin in 2018/19 at a projected cost of R136 million over the medium term. An additional R100 000 over the medium term has been budgeted for the National Heroes’ Acre, with more than 500 bronze statues of those who helped create a free South Africa.

An advisory panel has been appointed to oversee a national architectural competition for the design of the acre by 2019/20. Spending on infrastructure in these programmes is to redress South Africa’s historical imbalances in the heritage sector and contribute to social transformation.

The Community Library Services Grant was established to support the building of community and dual purpose libraries to provide access to knowledge and information to improve the socioeconomic status of communities; and contribute to improved school performance, especially in areas where schools do not have libraries.

Through this grant, the department plans to build 87 new libraries and upgrade 135 existing libraries, at an estimated cost of R4,5 billion over the medium term. The department will also prioritise the provision of 63 service points for dual purpose libraries, which serve both the general community and its surrounding schools, to enhance learning outcomes at schools.

A venture capital fund aims to support the development of small, medium and micro enterprises, and sustainable arts and culture projects administered by previously disadvantaged South Africans. Over the next three years, R17,5 million is earmarked in the National Language Services subprogramme to target 920 students for the language bursary programme.

These initiatives aim to provide skills training, create jobs, and empower artists to participate in the economy.

Geographical names

The DAC continues to decolonise the heritage landscape by changing and standardising names of geographical features.

Over the 2016/17 financial year, three Government Gazettes were issued which culminated in the approval of 105 name changes. Amongst them were 20 in the Eastern Cape, 34 in Gauteng, three in the Western Cape, 44 in KwaZulu-Natal and four in the North West.

Amongst the geographical names of historical significance that were standardised was the name change of Triomph to Sophiatown in Gauteng. Sophiatown is seen as a symbol of social cohesion and proved to the apartheid government that people of divergent background could live together in harmony as one community.

The other place of historical and cultural significant that was standardised was the name change of Schotchekloof to Bo-Kaap, in the Western Cape.

Cultural Development

Tax incentive

By mid-2017, Section 18A of the Income Tax Act only provided for donors to social sectors such as education and welfare but not donors to arts, culture, and sport and recreation activities, to receive a tax deduction.

Recognising the lack of progress with regard to the department’s first submission to the Davis Tax Commission, the DAC collaborated with the Department of Sport and Recreation, and made a detailed representation in March 2017 regarding amendments to Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, amongst others, to Davis Tax Commission structures.

Art Bank

The Art Bank project of the DAC was launched in May 2017 through an exhibition featuring 100 works from young contemporary artists across the country. This collection will form a bank of artworks, which will develop over time with new work purchased every year, thereby creating direct opportunities for artists. The work will be made available for rental to government departments and other stakeholders. The exhibition will formally open the first Art Bank in Africa. Over the MTEF which started in 2016/17, R21 million has been allocated to the Art Bank.

Debut Fund

The Debut Fund programme creates training, mentoring and funding opportunities for young artists from all disciplines making their debut. This programme has been launched through a media campaign calling for applications. In partnership with Business and Arts South Africa, it is anticipated that this fund will support young artists from all over the country to take their first steps as professional artists. This new initiative was announced in 2016 and a call for applications was made.

Young Patriots Programme

The aim of the Young Patriots Programme, which was launched in 2016, is to teach youth to love their people, culture and country to honour humanity, liberty and peace.

Youth will be encouraged to respect the laws, institutions, and the rights and liberties that make us South Africans first, part of the African continent and important segment of humanity across the globe that is working for social progress.

The programme enrolled over 260 young people by end of January 2017 and was expected to recruit 300 young people in 2017.

Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route (RLHR)

By mid-2017, the DAC was developing the infrastructure of heritage sites in all nine provinces to ensure that the RLHR tells the South African story, thereby increasing the potential of attracting economic development and tourism.

Some of the sites of significance per province include the house of Charlotte Maxeke in Gauteng, the site of the Lowveld Massacre in Mpumalanga, Turfloop Campus in Limpopo, the Women Prison in Kroonstad, in the Free State, Mama Getrude Mpekwa Site in the North West, the Sarah Baartman Heritage Site in the Eastern Cape, sites associated with the Mandela Route in the Western Cape, the site of the Mayibuye Uprising in the Northern Cape and the Matiwane Museum in KwaZulu-Natal.

The following were declared World Heritage sites in 2016/17: Sites at the University of Fort Hare; Liliesleaf Farm; sites of the Sharpeville Massacre; prison sites and the Constitutional Court at Constitution Hill; the Castle of Good Hope; the Samora Machel Memorial and Crash Site; Freedom Park; the Grave of Chris Hani, the Chris Hani Memorial and Walk of Remembrance.

In 2017, the DAC was expected to develop the Raymond Mhlaba statue and construct Phase 1 of the OR Tambo project. It will also proceed with the development of the John Langalibalele Dube, Winnie Mandela and Isandlwana projects.

The Department through its agency South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) has rehabilitated and refurbished the graves of Struggle stalwarts, including former presidents of the liberation movements like Messrs Mapikela, Moroka, Sobukwe, Biko and others.

As part of recognising Heroes and Heroines, memorials were constructed for the following: Victims of the Mine Disasters in the Crown Mine Area; Rehabilitation of the grave of Magriet Jantjies; Grave of Manche Masemola, Limpopo; Memorial of Madzunya; Statue of Kgosi Mampuru; Memorial of Mme Matlala.

In preparation for the Mandela Centenary in 2018, SAHRA was planning to declare the Mandela Collection a national heritage.

Languages

South Africa is a multilingual country. The country’s Constitution guarantees equal status to 11 official languages to cater for its diverse people and their cultures. These are: English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

Other languages used in South Africa include the Khoi, Nama and San languages, Sign Language, Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, French, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu. South Africa has various structures and institutions that support the preservation and development of languages.

Community art centres and other cutural organisations

There are more than 160 community art centres in operation, varying from community-initiated to government-managed centres.

The centres are located in different places such as craft centres, community halls and theatres.

The DAC endorses and supports programmes in needy centres that are community-initiated or non-governmental. In 2015, 100 community arts programmes were implemented.

Arts and culture organisations

The following organisations play an active role in preserving and promoting South Africa’s arts and culture:

•    National Heritage Council, which engages heritage stakeholders in public and private institutions, including the various organs of civil society, mobilises debates and builds awareness about heritage.

•    SAHRA, which is the national administrative management body for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage.

•    National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), which facilitates opportunities for people to practice and appreciate the arts

•    National Film and Video Foundation, which develops and promotes the film and video industry in South Africa.

•    Pan South African Language Board, which is a constitutional institution that promotes an awareness of multilingualism as a national resource and supports previously marginalised languages.

•    Arts institutions such as the State Theatre in Pretoria, Playhouse Company in Durban, Artscape in Cape Town, Market Theatre in Johannesburg, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State in Bloemfontein and the Windybrow Theatre in Johannesburg

•    Heritage institutions such as Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en monument, Paarl; Ditsong Museums of South Africa, Pretoria; Iziko Museums, Cape Town; KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg; National Museum, Bloemfontein; National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown; Robben Island Museum, Cape Town; Voortrekker Museum, Pietermaritzburg; War Museum of the Boer Republics, Bloemfontein; William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley; Luthuli Museum, Stanger; Nelson Mandela Museum, Mthatha; Freedom Park and the Engelenburg House Art Collection.

Living Legends Legacy Programme (LLLP)

•    The LLLP has continued to hold master classes where there is transmission of Skills by Legends across the generation divides. The Living Legends Legacy Trust, which was launched in 2015, ensures the continued implementation of the programme and creation of partnerships within the private sector.

•    The development of a sustainable mechanism to support our legendary artists, and to ensure that their talents and skills are fully utilised is critical for the development of the sector. Through the LLLP, a fund was to be created to grow the resources for the benefit of the current and future legends. To celebrate South African arts and cultural legacies, the Market Theatre staged the Divas of Kofifi musical from 11 to 13 August 2016 to pay tribute to Thandi Klaasen, Abigail Khubeka and Dorothy Masuka.

Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM)

The objective of the MRM is to contribute to the development of a caring society by reviving the spirit of Ubuntu/Botho (humanity). It also seeks to realise the values and ideals enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.

Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) Strategy

The MGE Strategy aims to provide skills development and sustainable job creation opportunities for South African artists.

The strategy continues to support flagship and other programmes throughout the country. These included the:

•    We Can Arts Festival in KwaZulu-Natal that recognises excellence in the artistic endeavours of people with disabilities and celebrates their talent in the field of arts

•    the International Marimba and Steelpan Festival in July 2016, which is one of the largest Marimba and Steelpan festival of its kind in Africa.

•    5th Annual Women Theatre Festival, which celebrates women and their works.

•    The Rapid Lion – The South African International Film Festival, which has helped to put the South African film industry in general on the map in Russia, China, Brazil, India and most of the African continent.

The DAC also supported a number of public art projects in the 2016/17 financial year, including the Promotion of South African Coat of Arms and Schools Emblem Project, which used public art mosaic to promote South African National symbols among schoolgoing children; the “We the Transposed” Infecting the City festival that took art into public places in Cape Town, and the KwaNdebele Cultural Imbizo, a community festival where local people in KwaMhlanga were given an opportunity to showcase their diverse Ndebele culture, including culinary arts, traditional craft and music.

Digitisation of the archival records

Through the cooperation project between the French company L’Institut National De L’Audiovisuel (INA) and the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa involving the digitisation of dictabelts and the training of South African Archivists on the digitisation and restoration of dictabelts, the resultant Rivonia Trial Recordings were expected to be made available on 27 October 2017 to celebrate UNESCO’s World Day for Audio-Visual Heritage.

Contributing to social cohesion and nation-building

Over the medium term, the department was planning to host 99 community conversations to provide a platform for individuals and organisations to discuss their differences and form a common understanding of what it means to be South African.

In addition, the department was expected to host a National Social Cohesion Summit in 2017/18 to gauge progress made in achieving the resolutions of the 2012 summit. The summit would provide an opportunity for government, business, labour, youth formations, media, and civil society organisations to sign a compact on working together to address social issues such as racism and xenophobia.

The Young Patriots programme has been established to prioritise youth development. The programme aims to encourage young people to participate actively in building the capacity of the arts, culture and heritage sectors, and to gain meaningful skills through service delivery improvement initiatives, moral regeneration initiatives and youth social cohesion advocates programmes. The department will also support moral regeneration initiatives that aim to promote social cohesion and nation-building.

South Africa’s National Anthem

The national anthem is a combined version of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God bless Africa) and The Call of South Africa (Die Stem).

Nkosi sikelel’ i Afrika

Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo,

Yizwa imithandazo yethu,

Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,

O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,

O se boloke,

O se boloke setjhaba

sa heso,

Setjhaba sa South Afrika –

South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,

Uit die diepte van ons see,

Oor ons ewige gebergtes,

Waar die kranse antwoord gee.

Sounds the call to come together,

And united we shall stand,

Let us live and strive for freedom,

In South Africa our land.

Festivals

Arts and cultural festivals abound in South Africa and many of them have become annual events, growing in popularity and attendance numbers.

•    Aardklop, held annually in Potchefstroom, North West, is inherently Afrikaans, but universal in character. The festival provides a platform for the creativity and talent of local artists.

•    Arts Alive International Festival in Newtown in Johannesburg provides the best in homegrown and overseas entertainment in September.

•    The Cape Town International Jazz Festival features international and African artists. It also features photographic and art exhibitions.

•    The Dance Umbrella is a festival of contemporary choreography and dance, presenting work ranging from community-based dance troupes to international companies. The Dance Umbrella has established itself as the main “stepping stone” for many South African choreographers who now work internationally. They include Vincent Mantsoe, Robyn Orlin, Boyzie Cekwana and Gregory Maqoma.

•    The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, known as the KKNK, a vibrant festival for the performing arts, is held annually in Oudtshoorn and presentations include drama, cabaret, and contemporary and classical music.

•    The Mangaung African Cultural Festival in Bloemfontein is gaining status as one of the biggest cultural tourism events in southern Africa. This 10-day festival showcases the cream of African and international talent.

•    The National Arts Festival, held annually in July in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, is one of the largest and most diverse arts gatherings in Africa.

•    Oppikoppi Bushveld Bash near Northam in North West offer live performances by rock, alternative and blues bands, both local and from abroad.

•    The Splashy Fen Music Festival near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal offers a variety of mainstream and alternative rock and pop music.

•    Standard Bank Joy of Jazz is Johannesburg’s biggest annual jazz festival, with local and international artists performing at different venues across the city.

•    Up the Creek is a popular music festival on the banks of the Breede River near Swellendam in the Western Cape.

•    The White Mountain Folk Festival in the Central Drakensberg mountain range offers great music in an awesome setting for three days in September. It features acoustic performances by some of South Africa’s top folk musicians.

Other festivals that attract visitors at both national and international level are: Innibos in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga; Taung Cultural Calabash in North West; the Awesome Africa Music Festival in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal; the Windybrow Theatre Festival in Johannesburg; Hilton Arts Festival in KwaZulu-Natal, and the One City Many Cultures in Cape Town, Western Cape.

The inaugural Mandela International Film Festival took place in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape, in December 2015. It strives to encourage a bold new world of film-making and is committed to improving both the craft and business of film.

The Nelson Mandela Bay area offers not only an exceptional venue for the film industry but is also part of a massive investment promotion strategy that includes a range of initiatives from infrastructure to manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.

Cultural tourism

Cultural festivals, African-cuisine projects, cultural villages, heritage routes and storytelling are areas that benefit from South Africa’s booming tourism industry. Many cultural villages have been established throughout South Africa to reflect the different cultures and traditions of the country’s people.

Theatre

The theatre scene is buzzing in South Africa, with over 100 active spaces across the country offering everything from indigenous drama, music, dance, cabaret and satire to West End and Broadway hits, classical opera and ballet.

Venues range from the monolithic homes of the former state-supported performing arts councils to purpose-built theatres, a converted fruit market, country barns, casinos and urban holes-in-the-wall.

Music

Music is one of the key cultural industries identified in the Cultural Industrial Growth Strategy Report and government has committed itself to harnessing its potential. In addition to its cultural value, music plays an important economic role in the country, generating significant copyright revenue. In this industry, the department has solid foundations on which to build.

These include the annual South African Music Week, the in-school education programme run in conjunction with the Department of Basic Education, and the Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition.

The Taking South African Music to the World Programme is aimed at improving export opportunities for South African music.

The DAC funds a number of musical ensembles directly and indirectly, through the NAC. According to the Seventh South African Edition of PwC’s South African Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2016 – 2020, published in September 2016, Digital music streaming revenue was forecast to rise from R74 million in 2015 to R437 million in 2020.

South Africa is the 25th largest market for recorded music, with the industry employing more than 20 000 people.

Local music accounts for a third of all the music bought by South Africans.

Township jazz and blues, especially the kwêla music of the 40s and 50s, are being redefined; the country also has a rich choral tradition, and pop and rock musicians have made their mark internationally.

Even techno-rave and house music have found their own variations in local culture. Kwaito and hip-hop are very popular, combining elements of rap, reggae and other musical styles into a distinctly South African style. Kwaai Jazz is also gaining momentum.

South African Music Awards (SAMAs)

The 22nd annual SAMAs ceremony was held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban in June 2016. The winners were:

•    Album of the Year: Black Coffee, Pieces of Me.

•    Duo or Group of the Year: Big Nuz, For the Fans.

•    Female Artist of the Year: Zonke, Work of Heart.

•    Male Artist of the Year: Nathi, Buyelekhaya.

•    Newcomer of the Year: Nathi, Buyelekhaya.

•    Best Rock Album: Desmond & the Tutus, Enjoy Yourself.

•    Best Pop Album: Tresor, VII.

•    Best Pop Album (Afrikaans): Karlien van Jaarsveld, My Hartjie.

•    Best Adult Contemporary Album: Judith Sephuma, One Word.

•    Best Contemporary Music Album (Afrikaans): Elvis Blue, Êrens in die Middel van Nêrens.

•    Best African Adult Album: Dizu Plaatjies & Friends, Ubuntu – The Common String.

•    Best Alternative Album: Petite Noir, La Vie Est Belle/Life is Beautiful.

•    Best R&B/Soul/Reggae Album: Nathi, Buyelekhaya.

•    Best Rap Album: Emtee, Avery.

•    Best Kwaito Album: Big Nuz, For the Fans.

•    Best Dance Album: Black Coffee, Pieces of Me.

•    Best Traditional Faith Music Album: TYGC Family, The Journey Begins.

•    Best Contemporary Faith Music Album: Ntokozo Mbambo, Spirit and Life.

•    Best Maskandi Album: Imithente, Ichakijana.

•    Best Jazz Album: Marcus Wyatt & the ZAR, One Night in the Sun Jazz Orchestra.

•    Best Classical and/or Instrumental Album: Wouter Kellerman, Love Language.

•    Best Live Audiovisual Recording: Jimmy Dludlu, Live at Emperors Palace.

•    Best Collaboration: Dbn Nyts ft. Zinhle Ngidi, Shumaya & Trademark.

•    Best Music Video of the Year: Jack Parow & FreshlyGround, Army of One.

•    Best Produced Album of the Year: Zahara, Country Girl.

•    Best Engineered Album of the Year: Black Coffee, Pieces of Me.

•    Best Remix of the Year: DJ Sliqe, Do Like I Do Remix.

•    International Achievement Award: Black Coffee.

•    Lifetime Achievement Awards: Nana Coyote (posthumous), Bhekumuzi Luthuli (posthumous) and Roger Lucey.

•    Best Selling Album: Nathi, Buyelekhaya.

•    Best Selling DVD: Joyous Celebration, Volume 19: Back to the Cross.

•    Best Selling Overall Music Download: Sfiso Ncwane, Bayede Baba.

•    Best Selling Music Download (Ring-back Tone): Sfiso Ncwane, Bayede Baba.

•    Best Selling Full-track Music Download: Nathi, Nomvula.

•    Highest Radio Airplay of the Year: DBN Nyts, Shumaya.

•    Highest Radio Airplay Composers’ Award: Samkele Maphumulo, Kabelo Masekane, Cebo Ngcobo, Wanda Shabalala and Lwazi Yokwana for Shumaya by Dbn Nyts.

•    Best Selling Digital Download Composers’ Award: Sfiso Ncwane, Bayede Baba.

•    Record of the year: Roll Up by Emtee.

South African Traditional Music Achievement (SATMA) Awards

The SATMA Awards are aimed at promoting, preserving, uplifting, developing, honouring and awarding traditional musicians across racial and ethnic backgrounds. The 11th SATMA Awards ceremony was helid in October in 2016 in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal and the winners were:

•    Best Song of the Year: Jessica Mbangeni, Qula Kwedini.

•    Best Vernacular Hip Hop Song: Fifi Cooper, 20FIFI.

•    Best Female Artist: Osukasambe.

•    Best Afro Soul: Amanda Mankayi.

•    Best African Jazz Song: Zodwa Mabena, Aline Volo!.

•    Best Reggae Album: Chomza, Stop Xenophobia.

•    Best Praise Singer: Rorisang “Jah-Rose” Motseki.

•    Best Poet: Gugu Nzimande.

•    Best Indigenous Comedian: Nomthandazo Ruth (Nonto)Rubushe.

•    Best Newcomer Artist: Uglama Kamaskandi.

•    Best Traditional Dance Group: IIngwekazi Cultural Group.

•    Best Video: Primrose Maota.

•    Best Sepedi Album: Primrose Maota, Tsoga Lerato.

•    Best Ndebele Album: Buhlebethu.

•    Best Venda Album: Mazwale Vol 2.

•    Best Xitsonga Album: Tirhani Mabasa, Ben 10.

•    Best Ndebele Album: Buhlebethu, Babelethi Ningasihloboki.

•    Best Isixhosa Album: Nolundi Bomela, Eloyo Yiyole.

•    Best Setswana Album: The Best of Kopano ke Matla, Ngwa ya Rona.

•    Best Indian Album: Mahenthri Pillay, Shraddnjali.

•    Best Sesotho Album: Haeso Ha Ramatla No.2, Tora Haeowela Motho.

•    Best Boeremusiek: Vinkel en Koljander, Boeremusiek en Vriendskap.

•    Best Maskandi Album: Vumile Mngoma, Izumba Lentombi.

Orchestras

The National Arts Council is responsible for funding the KwaZulu-Natal, Cape and Gauteng orchestras as well as the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra.

Dance

Dancing is part of the African way of life and has become a prime means of artistic expression, with dance companies expanding and exploring new territory.

Contemporary work ranges from normal preconceptions of movement and performance art or performance theatre to the completely unconventional.

Added to this is the African experience, which includes traditional dance inspired by wedding ceremonies, battles, rituals and the trifles of everyday life.

An informal but highly versatile performance venue in Johannesburg, The Dance Factory, provides a permanent platform for a variety of dance and movement groups. The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Theatre is another popular dance venue.

Visual arts

South Africa has a rich variety of visual art, with influences ranging from pre-historic, ancient and indigenous art to western, Asian and contemporary art.

Art galleries, ranging from small privately owned commercial galleries, to major regional galleries such as the South African National Gallery in Cape Town, the Durban Art Gallery in KwaZulu-Natal, the Johannesburg Art Gallery in Gauteng and King George VI Gallery in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, showcase collections of indigenous, historical and contemporary works.

Rock art

There are many traces of ancient cultures that existed in southern Africa in the distant past. Experts estimate that there are 250 000 rock-art sites south of the Zambezi.

The San people left a priceless and unique collection of Stone Age paintings and engravings in the region, which also represents the largest collection of its kind in the world.

Photography

With its scenic beauty, abundant wildlife, diversity of cultures and rich historical heritage, South Africa is a photographer’s paradise.

Many South African photographers have been acclaimed for their work, which features in coffee-table books, documentaries, local and overseas exhibitions, magazines and newspapers.

Architecture

South Africa has a rich architectural heritage, reflecting contributions from all the cultural groups in the country. Through the centuries, a unique trend has developed in South Africa’s architectural style, which has been referred to as an innovative marriage of traditions.

This is evident in the variety of architectural structures found all over the country, ranging from humble dwellings, historical homesteads and public buildings, to modern, commercial buildings reflecting state-of-the-art technology and designs that match the best in the world.

Crafts

South African beadwork, once the insignia of tribal royalty alone, has found a huge range of applications, from the creation of coverings for everything from bottles to matchboxes.

With workplaces ranging from the pavements and markets of the big cities to dwellings in deep rural areas, South Africans produce a remarkable range of arts and crafts, including various forms of traditional artwork and innovative new products.

These range from jewellery, tableware, home decorations, embroidery and key rings to skilfully crafted wooden engravings and wirework sculptures. In addition to the standard materials such as beads, grass, leather, fabric and clay, many other mediums are also used, including telephone wire, plastic bags, empty cans, bottle tops and even food tin labels, to create brightly coloured paper mâché bowls.

Shops, markets and collectors dealing in African crafts provide much-needed employment and income to communities.

Literature

South Africa has a rich and diverse literary history, and the local literature sector has become globally competitive and the country’s writers continue to command respect throughout the world.

The annual National Book Week, a partnership between the South African Book Development Council and the DAC, was celebrated from 5 to 11 September 2016. The commemoration coincides with International Literacy Day on 8 September.

Reading statistics report that only 14% of the South African population are active book readers, and a mere 5% of parents read to their children. National Book Week is an important initiative in encouraging the nation to value reading as a fun and pleasurable activity and to showcase how reading can easily be incorporated into one’s daily lifestyle.

South African Literary Awards (SALA)

The 11th SALA were held in Pretoria on 7 October 2016. The winners were:

•    Posthumous Literary Award: TT Cloete and Chris van Wyk, for their body of work.

•    Poetry Award: Gilbert Gibson (Vry) and Arja Salafranca (Beyond Touch).

•    Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award: Sandra Hill, Unsettled and Other Stories.

•    Literary Translators Award: Leon de Kock & Karin Schimke, Flame in the Snow: The Love Letters of Andre Brink & Ingrid Jonker.

•    Lifetime Achievement Literary Award: Ingrid Winterbach and Johan Lenake, for their body of work.

•    K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award: Willem Anker (Buys) and Panashe Chigumadzi (Sweet Medicine).

•    First-time Published Author Award: Francois Smith, (Kamphoer) and Jacob Dlamini (Askari).

•    Chairperson’s Award: Gcina Mhlophe, for body of work.

Film

The South African Government recognises the significant role played by the film sector in nation-building, promoting social cohesion, reconciliation and supporting economic growth and job creation.

Government offers a package of incentives to promote its film production industry. The Foreign Film and Television Production incentive aims to attract foreign-based film productions to shoot on location in South Africa, and the South African Film and Television Production and Co-production incentive aims to assist local film producers in producing local content.

The South African Emerging Black Filmmakers incentive, a sub-programme of the South African Film and Television Production and Co-production Incentive, which aims to assist local emerging black filmmakers to nurture and grow them to take up big productions and thus contribute towards employment creation.

The three largest film distributors in South Africa are Ster-Kinekor, United International Pictures and Nu-Metro. Ster-Kinekor has a specialised art circuit, called Cinema Nouveau, with theatres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.

Film festivals include the Durban International Film Festival; the North West Film Festival; the Apollo Film Festival in Victoria West; the Three Continents Film Festival (specialising in African, South American and Asian films); the Soweto Film Festival; and the Encounters Documentary Festival, which alternates between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Museums

South Africa can justifiably be called the “museum country of Africa”, with the earliest of its museums dating back to the first half of the 19th century.

There are more than 300 museums in South Africa. They range from museums of geology, history, the biological sciences and the arts, to mining, agriculture, forestry and many other disciplines.

Visitors can find exhibits, both conventional and eccentric, on every conceivable topic – from beer to beadwork, from fashion to food.

By mid-2017, the Nelson Mandela Museum in Soweto, Johannesburg had signed a partnership with Google to launch the Google Expedition that would provide a virtual tour of the museum.

National Library of South Africa (NLSA)

The NLSA is a custodian and provider of the nation’s key knowledge resources. Its collections contain a wealth of information sources, including rare manuscripts, books, periodicals, government publications, foreign official publications, maps, technical reports, and special interest material, including Africana and newspapers.

South African Library for the Blind (SALB)

The SALB is a statutory organisation located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Its purpose is to provide, free of charge as far as is reasonably possible, a national LIS to serve blind and print-handicapped readers in South Africa.

It is partly state-funded and depends for the remainder of its financial needs on funds from the private sector and the general public.

The SALB also produces documents in special media such as Braille, audio and tactile formats. It develops standards for the production of such documents and researches production methods and technology in the appropriate fields.

It also acquires, manufactures and disseminates the technology people with visual disabilities use to read. The SALB has a membership of about 5 427 people, an audio and Braille collection of more than 110 950 books, and an annual circulation of 141 950 books in Braille or audio format.

To make library services more accessible, the SALB partners with 115 public libraries providing accessible reading material and assistive devices.

Blind SA

Blind SA, located in Johannesburg, provides services for blind and partially sighted individuals to uplift and empower them by publishing books, magazines and other documents in Braille.

Department of Communications (DoC)

The DoC is responsible for the national communications policy and strategy; information dissemination and publicity; and the branding of South Africa. Improved communication and marketing will promote an informed citizenry and assist the country in promoting investments, economic growth and job creation.

The main role of the DoC is to energise and mobilise South Africans to participate actively in government’s socioeconomic transformation programmes, which are there to address poverty, unemployment and inequality. The work of the department supports the realisation of Outcome 14 (a diverse, socially cohesive society with a common national identity) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).

The DoC comprises the following entities: Brand South Africa (Brand SA); Film and Publication Board (FPB); Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

The DoC is spearheading the process of migrating broadcasting signals from analogue to digital. South Africa’s national digital network coverage comprises Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) transmission coverage of 84% of the population with the remaining 16% to be covered by satellite network.

DTT is a reliable and cost-efficient means to distribute linear TV content and has many advantages over the analogue broadcasting system. One of its major advantages for communities is that it clears the analogue spectrum for the delivery of broadband mobile Internet and Wi-fi services.

To view digital TV signals on an ordinary analogue TV set, consumers will need a set-top box (STB). Government will provide about five million poor TV-owning households with free STBs.

South Africa was given until June 2015 to meet the International Telecommunications Union’s deadline to switch off analogue transmitters as part of the broadcasting digital migration project. However, the project was delayed following a court ruling that declared part of the digital migration policy unlawful and invalid, and effectively placed the manufacture of digital terrestrial television STBs on hold.

As a result of the delay, Sentech continued to maintain both the analogue and digital platforms until the issue was resolved.

The Analogue Switch-Off Event took place in Carnarvon, Northern Cape in October 2016.

Brand South Africa

Brand South Africa develops and implements a proactive and coordinated international marketing and communication strategy for South Africa to contribute to job creation and poverty reduction; and to attract inward investment, trade and tourism.

Brand South Africa supports a number of initiatives to create a positive image of the country and the continent. It builds relationships, showcases South Africa’s innovation, highlights its investment potential and engages with citizens on significant topics.

South Africa took second place in the Africa Competitiveness Report and the country’s global ranking for 2016/17, improved by nine places from 56 in the 2014/15 report to 47 out of 138 countries worldwide.

Film and Publication Board

The FPB regulates and controls the creation, production, possession, exhibition and distribution of certain films, interactive computer games and publications in terms of the Films and Publications Act of 1996. The board is also responsible for monitoring age restricted business premises for compliance with their licence and registration terms.

The Act recognises the right of adults to freedom of expression, except with respect to child pornography, and requires the board to intervene where there is a risk of harm to children.

The board spearheads a national anti-child-pornography campaign to educate learners about ways to avoid victimisation. Child-pornography websites can be reported by calling the board’s toll-free number 0800 148 148.

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

ICASA regulates the South African communications, broadcasting and postal services sectors. The regulator’s mandate is defined in the Electronic Communications Act of 2005 as licensing and regulating electronic communications and broadcasting services, and in the Postal Services Act of 1998 as regulating the postal services sector.

Enabling legislation also empowers the regulator to monitor licensee compliance with licence terms and conditions, develop regulations for the three sectors, plan and manage the radio frequency spectrum, and protect consumers in relation to these services.

ICASA seeks to protect consumers from harmful practices employed by the operators in the use of premium-rated information and entertainment services. The authority seeks to increase access to high-demand spectrum from the current 566.69MHz to 958MHz in 2019/20. Access to this spectrum will enable the rollout of wireless broadband infrastructure by licensees. In 2017/18, the authority was expected to make an additional 240MHz of broadband spectrum available to licensees for the provision of broadband services.

ICASA seeks to protect consumers from harmful practices employed by the operators in the use of premium-rated information and entertainment services. This will be achieved by finalising regulations on premium-rated services in 2017/18.

Media Development and Diversity Agency

The MDDA promotes media development and diversity to ensure that all citizens can access information in a language of their choice; and to transform media access, ownership and control patterns in South Africa. Its mandate, among others, is to:

•    Create an enabling environment for media development and diversity which reflects the needs and aspirations of all South Africans.

•    Redress exclusion and marginalisation of disadvantaged communities and persons from access to the media and the media industry.

•    Promote media development and diversity by providing support primarily to community and small commercial media projects.

•    Encourage ownership and control of, and access to, media by historically disadvantaged communities as well as by historically diminished indigenous language and cultural groups.

•    Encourage the development of human resources and training, and capacity building, within the media industry, especially amongst historically disadvantaged groups.

•    Encourage the channelling of resources to the community media and small commercial media sectors.

•    Raise public awareness with regard to media development and diversity issues.

South African Broadcasting Corporation

The SABC is by far the largest and most influential broadcaster in South Africa in terms of reach, size, overall audience figures, and share of the advertising market. Nearly 28 million radio listeners in South Africa tune into one of the SABC’s 18 radio stations and the SABC’s three free-to-air television channels attract more than 21 million adult viewers each day.

The stations cater for the country’s 11 official languages, as well as the iXun and Khwe languages, and four TV channels, which include the 24-hour news channel.

The SABC has developed editorial policies which guide and give direction to the corporation’s public broadcasting mandate and licence conditions, as set by ICASA and the provisions of the Broadcasting Act of 1999.

Government Communication and Information System

The GCIS was formally established in terms of section 239 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 and as a strategic unit in The Presidency in terms of Section 7 of the Public Service Act of 1994.

The GCIS is mandated to coordinate, guide and advise on government communications, including media liaison, development communication and marketing. Its goal is to achieve integrated, coordinated and clear communication between government and South African citizens, which enables the public to be involved in the country’s transformation.

The department provides information about government policies, plans, programmes and activities to the public.

This is in support of the constitutional principles of freedom of expression, transparency and openness of government.

The GCIS uses different products and platforms to meet the information needs of various target audiences, as a constitutional right to the citizens of South Africa wherein Section 195(g) of the Constitution stipulates that to foster transparency, the public should be provided with information that is timely, accurate and accessible.

Among other things, the GCIS is responsible for maintaining government’s website (www.gov.za), which provides general information about government.

Among other products, the GCIS publishes the South Africa Yearbook, Pocket Guide to South Africa, Vuk’uzenzele newspaper, Public Sector Manager magazine and My District Today newsletter. It is also responsible for the South African Government News Agency, SAnews.gov.za.

The Thusong Service Centre Programme enables communities to access government information and services.

Thusong Service Centres are one-stop centres providing integrated services and information from government and other civil society groups, to communities close to where they live as part of a comprehensive strategy to better their lives.

They also also enable communities to access opportunities offered by other civil-society groups such as businesses, non-governmental organisations and parastatals.

The GCIS also gathers public opinion, research and analysis of media coverage to understand the communications environment and to inform government messages.

The department provides media bulk-buying services, which are designed to reduce the cost to government on advertising; facilitate a rapid response mechanism to hasten government’s response to issues arising in the media; and provide media production services to support other government departments.

Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS)

The DTPS is mandated to develop ICT policies and to ensure the development of robust, reliable, secure and affordable ICT infrastructure. The department also contributes to building an ICT skills base in the country to ensure equitable prosperity and global competitiveness.

The NDP envisages that by 2030, the ICT sector will underpin the development of a dynamic and connected information society, and a vibrant knowledge economy that is inclusive and prosperous. Drawing from this vision, the DTPS contributes to Outcome 6 (an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network) of government’s 2014-2019 MTSF by ensuring that ICT infrastructure and services are accessible, affordable, robust, reliable and secure. Over the medium term, the department will expand and modernise ICT infrastructure by implementing the South Africa Connect broadband policy, coordinating the migration to digital broadcasting, and implementing the legislative framework stemming from the 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper.

The department will also facilitate and coordinate the implementation of the national e-strategy to realise the eservices programme. Finalising a national e-strategy will plan for the digital transformation of South Africa to achieve the ideals of the NDP by prioritising sectoral electronic services such as e-health, e-agriculture and eeducation.

The six state-owned enterprises under the DTPS are the South African Post Office (SAPO), Sentech; National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA); Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA); .za.Domain Name Authority (ZADNA); Telkom; Broadband Infraco and State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

South African Post Office

The SAPO provides postal and related services to the public. Post offices have become important service-delivery centres, offering South Africans a convenient place to accept and deliver cash-on-delivery items, which is a very important service in rural communities where some people shop from catalogues.

In addition, more than a million South Africans walk through the doors of post offices near where they live to access their social grants.

Post offices also offer services that include enabling South Africans to renew their vehicle registration, and pay their municipal accounts and TV licences.

The Philatelic Services of the SAPO is responsible for producing South Africa’s postage stamps and other stamp-related products. Over the years, many of them have become valuable collector’s items.

The Postbank caters for the banking needs of the unbanked majority, thus facilitating their inclusion into the economic mainstream and expanding the existing range of banking services, including:

•    improving access to affordable services, including loans, especially in rural and lower-income communities

•    promoting a culture of saving.

Sentech

Sentech is mandated to provide broadcasting signal distribution for broadcasting licensees, with a particular focus on accelerating the implementation of government ICT interventions within the framework of the NDP and the strategic integrated project for expanding access to communication technology.

National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa

By mid-2016, NEMISA, a state-owned entity, was in the process of being incorporated into the Ikamva National e-Skills Institute (INeSI). The new organisation involves the integration of three entities: NEMISA, INeSI and the Institute for Satellite and Software Applications.

The merger was initiated to address the overlap, duplication and gaps in e-skills development within and between government departments, the education sector, business and civil society. The INeSI is aimed at developing the local e-skills required by South Africa’s ICT sector, and it will also develop ICT-user skills by training people how to use electronic devices, how to use the Internet, and how to access public services online.

NEMISA began as a non-profit institution of education and learning for skills in TV, radio and broadcasting.

Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa

The mandate of USAASA is to promote the goal of universal access and universal services by ensuring that ICTs are available, accessible and affordable to all citizens of South Africa.

The agency is charged with managing the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), which is used to fulfil universal access obligations in under-serviced areas.

Through USAF, the agency has played a pivotal role in the deployment of broadband infrastructure and access services with broadband projects having been successfully rolled out in the following underserviced areas:

USAASA continues to support, amongst others, the South Africa Connect goals by facilitating the deployment of broadband and connecting educational institutions, primary healthcare (PHC) facilities and other government institutions through USAF.

By facilitating the roll-out of broadband connections in underserviced areas and connecting educational and PHC institutions, the agency is bringing South Africa one-step closer to achieving its national targets of 100% broadband penetration by 2020; and deployment of a full range of government, educational and informational services by 2030.

.za.Domain Name Authority (ZADNA)

ZADNA is a non-profit company that manages and regulates the .za namespace. It is accountable to the DTPS, but does not receive government funding.

Telkom

Telkom is Africa’s largest integrated communications company, providing integrated communications solutions to nine different countries across Africa. The organisational structure comprises three major business units: Telkom South Africa, Telkom International and Telkom Data Centre Operations.

Broadband Infraco

Broadband Infraco provides long distance national and international connectivity to licensed private sector partners, licence-exempt project of national importance and to previously underserviced areas. The company’s critical success factors are to enable 100% high-speed broadband connectivity for all provinces, districts and municipalities in South Africa; connect to all six neighbouring countries of South Africa and connect countries on the west coast of Africa to the West Africa Cable System (WACS).

The WACS is the fifth submarine cable system linking South Africa to the world. Broadband Infraco’s investment in the WACS entitled it to 11,4% of the system’s total capacity, which would help South Africa meet its target of providing broadband connectivity to all who need it by 2020.

The cable system has 15 established terminal stations en route, and will reduce the cost to connect Africa’s west coast with the high-speed global telecommunications network for years to come.

The South Africa Connect Broadband Policy of the DTPS dictates that targets of 100% broadband penetration must be achieved by 2020. The transformation of 70% of all frontline services to e-Service is expected to be achieved by 2019.

State Information Technology Agency

SITA consolidates and coordinates the State’s information technology (IT) resources in order to achieve cost savings through scale, increase delivery capabilities and enhance interoperability.

SITA is committed to leveraging IT as a strategic resource for government, managing the IT procurement and delivery process to ensure that government gets value for money. The agency also uses IT to support the delivery of e-Government services to all citizens.

It serves as the IT business for the largest employer and consumer of IT products and services in South Africa – the Government.

Communication platforms

Radio

The SABC’s national radio network comprises 18 radio stations. Fifteen of these are dedicated specifically to public-service broadcasting and include 11 full-spectrum stations, one in each of the official languages of South Africa; a cultural service for the Indian community broadcasting in English; a regional community station broadcasting in isiXhosa and English; and a community station broadcasting in the !Xu and Khwe languages of the Khoisan of the Northern Cape. The radio stations reach 77,3% of the Adult population with 29,5 million listeners.

The SABC has three stations in its commercial portfolio – 5FM, Metro FM and Good Hope FM.

Channel Africa broadcasts live on three platforms: shortwave, satellite and the Internet. Its broadcasts are in Chinyanja, Silozi, Kiswahili, English, French and Portuguese.

SABC Radio has more than 26 million listeners weekly in South Africa.

According to the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa, community radio listernership increaced over time from 8 903 000 in 2011 to 9 557 000 in 2015. However, its reach is still less than that of commercial radio stations and African language stations.

Commercial radio stations

Commercial radio stations in South Africa include:

•    Algoa FM

•    Classic FM

•    Kaya FM

•    YFM

•    94.7 Highveld Stereo

•    702 Talk Radio

•    Metro FM

•    5FM

•    Good Hope FM

•    Jacaranda 94.2

•    OFM

•    East Coast Radio

•    567 Cape Talk

•    Radio 2000

•    Capricorn FM

•    Power FM

•    Radio KFM.

Stations such as Jacaranda 94.2, Highveld Stereo, Radio Oranje, Radio Algoa and East Coast Radio were initially SABC stations, but were sold to private owners to diversify radio ownership in South Africa as part of the transformation of the public broadcaster. Many of South Africa’s radio stations are available online.

Television

The SABC’s TV network comprises three free-to-air TV channels. SABC TV has a weekly audience of 30,248 million (86,6% of adults watch SABC TV in South Africa). South African TV is broadcast in all 11 official languages and also in Sign Language. The SABC also broadcasts a 24-hour news channel on DStv (Channel 404).

Community TV

Soweto TV was the first community TV station to obtain a seven-year broadcasting licence from ICASA.

There are five stations operational in Soweto, Cape Town, Tshwane, Empangeni and Nelson Mandela Bay.

Free-to-air TV

e.tv is South Africa’s first private free-to-air TV channel, launched in 1998. It is the largest English-medium channel in the country and the second largest overall. e.tv also has a pan-African presence through e.tv Africa, which is distributed on the DStv Africa bouquet and by local affiliates in African countries.

Satellite broadcasting

eNews Channel Africa (eNCA) is South Africa’s first and most watched independent 24-hour TV news channel on the DStv platform (Channel 403).

The 24-hour news service is broadcast live in the UK to over 10,5 million subscribers on the SKY digital satellite platform. In addition, eNCA provides live news bulletins to nearly three million South African viewers each night on e.tv (in English, isiZulu and Sesotho) and to more than 200 000 Afrikaans viewers on kykNET.

The SABC’s also has its own 24-hour news channel on DStv (Channel 404).

The Africa News Network 7 is South Africa’s third 24-hour news channel on DStv (Channel 405).

Internet

The South African Internet user population passed the 20-million mark for the first time in 2016, reaching 21 million, and was expected to grow to at least 22.5 million in 2017.

This is the main finding of of the Internet Access in South Africa 2017 study, released in July 2017 by World Wide Worx.

The report reveals that the single most common use of the Internet among South African adults is communication, reported by almost a third (31%) of respondents, followed by social networking (24,9%) and information (23,7%), both reported by almost a quarter of respondents. Only then comes entertainment at 22,1%.

According to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey (GHS) 2016, almost six-tenths of South African households (59,3%) had at least one member who used the Internet either at home, their places of work or study, or at Internet cafés.

Using any means, more than two-thirds of households in Gauteng (72,2%) and Western Cape (68,5%) had access to the Internet while only just over one-third of households in Limpopo (42,4%) had access to the Internet.

Social media

In 2017, social media was expected to become an indispensable tool for South African marketers and politicians, artists and activists, reporters and media personalities alike.

According to the 2017 edition of the SA Social Media Landscape, released in September 2016 by World Wide Worx and Ornico, 2017 was expected to see the use of as many as four social media platforms becoming pervasive marketing tools in South Africa. The study included a survey of 116 major South African brands, making for a representative sample of the country’s major brands.

Already, in 2016, some 91% of these brands were using Facebook, 88% were active on Twitter and 66% were on YouTube. LinkedIn slipped from 70% to 63%, as brands struggled to get to grips with its more serious nature. Meanwhile, Instagram increased sharply from 42% to 62% of brands making use of it.

Facebook is now used by 14 million South Africans, while YouTube has moved firmly into second place with 8,74-million users, well outpacing Twitter’s slower rise to 7,7-million. LinkedIn maintains its energetic rise, now standing at 5,5-million.

One of the most significant trends uncovered is that Facebook, with 14-million users, now has 10 million or 85% of its users, using mobile devices. This is significantly up from or 77% the year before.

While a significant number of these users are also accessing Facebook on computers and tablets, it is clear that the mobile phone has become the primary form of accessing social media.

Online retail

The South African online spend is forecasted to grow to over R53 billion by 2018. In 2016, some 43% of adults in South Africa shopped cross-border. The United States of America is the most popular cross-border online shopping destination for South African online shoppers, followed by China and the United Kingdom, according to the PayPal and Ipsos third annual cross-border commerce report.

According to the report, online shopping has been slow to take off in South Africa, but in recent years has picked up steam. The research indicated that 58% of online adults in South Africa shopped online over the past 12 months, amounting to an estimated total spend of R37.1 billion.

When it comes to buying products online, the most popular online categories for South African consumers were downloadable digital entertainment and education items (53%), event tickets (47%), clothing, apparel or footwear (45%).

With high rates of mobile penetration in South Africa, online shoppers are increasingly opting to make purchases on their mobile devices – resulting in an estimated 65% growth in online spend via mobile devices (smartphone or tablet) between 2015 and 2016, to reach an estimated R9.5 billion, with momentum expected to continue.

Cybercrime and cybersecurity

Identity fraud, stalking, online child pornography and terrorism have become daily occurrences that threaten communities’ ability to enjoy the benefits of new technologies.

The Cybersecurity Hub, pooling public and private sector threat information is responsible for processing and disseminating information to relevant stakeholders in the industry and civil society.

The Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill, which aims to create offences and prescribed penalties related to cybercrime, was tabled in the National Assembly in February 2017.

Telecommunications

South Africa has five major mobile operators, namely CellC, MTN, Vodacom, Telkom Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

According to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey 2016, nationally, only 3,5% of households did not have access to either landlines or cellular phones in 2016.

By comparison, 87,0% of households had access to at least one cellular phone, while 9,4% of households had access to both a landline and a cellular phone. Only 0,1% of households had only a landline.

However access to these means of communication differed by province. Households in historically rural provinces such as Mpumalanga (95,0%) and Limpopo (94,4%) were very reliant on the more accessible cellular telephones than landlines.

By contrast, a combination of both cellular phones and landlines in households were most prevalent in the more affluent provinces, namely Western Cape (22,0%) and Gauteng (12,5%).

The media

South Africa has a vibrant and independent media, with print, broadcast and online offerings.

Print

Newspapers

Most South African newspapers and magazines are organised into several major publishing houses. These include Media24 (part of Naspers, the largest media group in Africa), the Irish-based Independent News & Media (Pty) Ltd group, Caxton Publishers & Printers Ltd and Tiso Blackstar Group. Other important media players include M&G Media Ltd; the Natal Witness Printing & Publishing Company (Pty) Ltd; Primedia Publishing Ltd; RamsayMedia, and Kagiso Media.

Magazines

By end of the 2016, there was a significant decline in magazine circulations in South Africa. Many of the international titles such as Heat, FHM, Elle, GQ, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire were being published under agreement with their international owners.

Media organisations and role players

The non-profit-making Print and Digital Media South Africa (PDMSA) was originally formed to bring together under one roof publishers of diverse print genres.

The PDMSA recognised the advantages of extending its footprint online by extending its membership to include digital media publications. By the end of 2016, the PDMSA membership included more than 700 newspaper and magazine titles that cater for four different language groups.

The members include Caxton and CTP; Independent Newspapers; Media24; Mail & Guardian, and the Association of Independent Publishers, the latter which represents the interests of more than 250 independent publishers in southern Africa. The Times Media Group – whose stable includes the Sunday Times, Sowetan, Financial Mail and The Herald – has changed its name to Tiso Blackstar Group.

Tiso Blackstar is the largest, national English-language publishing group in South Africa and the country’s second-largest digital publisher.

It also owns the largest music and independent film catalogue in Africa; TV channels, TV production facilities and radio stations in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) was formed at a meeting of the Black Editors’ Forum, the Conference of Editors and senior journalism educators and trainers.

The Forum of Journalists for Transformation, which was launched in 2015, addresses issues that directly affect its members.

Members of the public who have complaints or concerns about reports in newspapers and magazines can submit their grievances to the Office of the Press Ombudsman.

The Freedom of Expression Institute protects and fosters the rights to freedom of expression and access to information, and to oppose censorship.

The Forum of Community Journalists is an independent body that represents, promotes and serves the interests of all community-newspaper journalists in southern Africa.

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa is an independent self-regulatory body that serves as a voluntary watchdog to adjudicate complaints from the public about programmes flighted by members who subscribe to its code of conduct.

Media Monitoring Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Project) is a non-profit organisation that acts in a watchdog role to promote ethical and fair journalism that supports human rights.

The National Community Radio Forum lobbies for the airwaves in South Africa to be diversified, and for a dynamic broadcasting environment through the establishment of community radio stations.

Other press organisations operating in the country are the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Southern Africa; Printing Industries Federation of South Africa; South African Typographical Union; Specialist Press Association; South African Guild of Motoring Journalists; Professional Photographers of South Africa; Media Institute of Southern Africa; Publishers’ Association of South Africa, and various press clubs in major centres.

News agencies

The African News Agency, Africa’s first syndicated multimedia content service, began publishing South African and international news stories in March 2015.

International news agencies based in South Africa include:

•    Reuters

•    Agence France-Presse

•    Associated Press

•    Deutsche Presse Agentur

•    United Press International.

Media awards

Some of South Africa’s media awards include the:

•    Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards

•    Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards

•    South African Breweries (SAB) Environmental Media and Environmentalist of the Year Awards

•    SAB Sports Media Awards

•    Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Award

•    CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards

•    Discovery Health Journalism Awards

•    Sanef’s Nat Nakasa Award

•    Local Media Excellence Awards

•    Liberty Radio Awards

•    Isu Elihle Awards

•    Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards.

Advertising awards

South Africa has a vibrant and dynamic advertising industry.

The Loeries® are Africa and the Middle East’s premiere initiative that recognises, rewards, inspires and fosters creative excellence in the brand communication industry.

The 38th Annual Loerie Awards were held at the Durban International Convention Centre on 20 and 21 August 2016.

A total of 316 awards were handed out, including eight Grand Prix awards, from 3 112 entries from 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East.

South Africa’s ability to sustain socio-economic progress is supported by the sound institutional framework established by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 and a vibrant civil society.

The country’s strong institutions, stable macroeconomic environment, well-developed financial markets, relatively high levels of innovation capacity and strategic position in the region provide a solid platform for stronger growth. The fiscal framework and the monetary policy stance support a sustainable recovery in economic activity.

The Auditor-General of South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank, the Independent Electoral Commission, the Public Protector and the various courts are among the many institutions that are effective and independent. Policymaking is rooted in the Constitution, which sets out the basic values and principles of public administration, including:

•    A high standard of professional ethics

•    Efficient, economic and effective use of resources

•    An orientation toward development

•    The impartial, fair, equitable and bias-free provision of services

•    Transparency.

The Constitution assigns National Treasury with the responsibility to ensure transparency and expenditure control in each sphere of government, and to enforce compliance with these objectives. It also states that public procurement must be fair, equitable, transparent and cost-effective.

The country’s socio-economic roadmap, the National Development Plan (NDP), recognises that faster, broad-based growth is needed to transform the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty and inequality.

Government continues to prioritise infrastructure investment to ease bottlenecks and raise the economy’s potential growth rate.

According to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the number of employed people in South Africa rose by 235 000 people to reach 16.1 million people aged 15 to 64 years were employed in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The QLFS noted that there were 36.9 million people of working age in South Africa.

Growth in employment was driven by the services sector, which grew by 73 000, followed by transport and manufacturing which grew by 46 000 and 44 000, respectively.

Encouraging private-sector investment

Government’s initiatives that are underway to expand private-sector investment to improve productive capacity and grow the economy include:

•    Easing the regulatory burden and making it easier to invest: InvestSA has set up a one-stop shop to help investors with the procedures required to start up and run a business.

•    Reducing time spent on compliance and paperwork. As a result of increased automation at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, it now takes less than a day to register a firm. Title deeds are now available within seven days at the Deeds Office. And the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has streamlined contract enforcement, introducing court mediation to reduce legal costs.

•    Strengthening competition law. Sections of the Competition Amendment Act that came into effect earlier this year make it a criminal offence for directors or managers of a firm to collude with their competitors to fix prices or collude in tenders. This should reduce prices and increase market access.

•    Enhancing the environment for small business. The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) is updating legislation to improve support for small businesses. Government has targeted support to small firms, and is encouraging large businesses to contract more work from small companies.

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

In February 2017, representatives of government, business, the community sector and two of the three labour federations represented at National Economic Development and Labour Council signed agreements on measures to strengthen labour stability and collective bargaining and on modalities for the introduction of a NMW.

The social partners reached agreement on modalities for the introduction of a NMW of R20 an hour to be implemented from no later than 1 May 2018.

This translates to about R3 500 for those working 40 hours per week and about R3 900 for those who work for 45 hours per week.

The NMW, which is a floor below which no worker may be paid, is expected to significantly improve the lives of millions of low-paid workers and begin to address the challenge of wage inequality.

A NMW Commission will be established to recommend annual adjustments to the level of the NMW.

The NMW will also be regularly reviewed to take into account the impact of the level on employment, poverty and inequality.

Businesses that are unable to afford the NMW may apply for an exemption for up to 12 months.

National Treasury

National Treasury’s legislative mandate is based on section 216(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, which calls for the establishment of a national treasury to ensure transparency, accountability and sound financial controls in the management of the country’s public finances. This role is further elaborated in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) of 1999. The department is mandated to:

•    promote national government’s fiscal policy and the coordination of macroeconomic policy

•    ensure the stability and soundness of the financial system and financial services

•    coordinate intergovernmental financial and fiscal relations

•    manage the budget preparation process

•    enforce transparency and effective management of national revenue and expenditure, assets and liabilities, public entities, and constitutional institutions.

The NDP recognises that faster, broad-based growth is needed to transform the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty and inequality in South Africa. Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive economic growth) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) gives expression to this vision, with National Treasury’s work contributing to its realisation.

Over the medium term, the Treasury will continue prioritising infrastructure investment to ease bottlenecks and raise the economy’s potential growth rate. The department will also continue working on preventing South Africa’s credit rating from being downgraded to sub-investment grade.

The department’s strategic focus over the medium term period will continue to be on managing future spending growth and fiscal risk; reviewing tax policy; supporting sustainable employment; supporting infrastructure development and economically integrated cities and communities; making government procurement more efficient; strengthening government financial management; strengthening the regulation of the financial sector; regional and international cooperation; and managing government’s assets and liabilities.

Entities under National Treasury

•    The Accounting Standards Board develops uniform standards of generally recognised accounting practice for all spheres of government. It also promotes transparency in and the effective management of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities of the entities to which the standards apply.

•    The Cooperative Banks Development Agency’s mandate is to provide for the registration and supervision of deposit-taking financial services cooperatives, and savings and credit cooperatives, collectively referred to as cooperative financial institutions. The agency also facilitates, promotes and funds the education and training of these institutions.

•    The Financial and Fiscal Commission’s legislative mandate is to advise the relevant legislative authorities on the financial and fiscal requirements for the national, provincial and local spheres of government.

•    The Financial Intelligence Centre’s mandate is, among other things, to identify the proceeds of unlawful activities, combat money-laundering activities, combat the financing of terrorist and related activities, exchange information with law-enforcement and other local and international agencies.

•    The Financial Services Board (FSB) is an independent institution established by statute to oversee the South African non-banking financial services industry in the public interest.

•    The Government Pensions Administration Agency provides pensions administration services to the Government Employees Pension Fund.

•    The Government Technical Advisory Centre is mandated to assist organs of state in building their capacity for efficient, effective and transparent financial management.

•    The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors develops and maintains auditing and ethical standards that are internationally comparable, provides an appropriate framework for the education and training of properly qualified auditors, inspects and reviews the work of registered auditors, and investigates and takes appropriate action against registered auditors who do not comply with standards and are guilty of improper conduct.

•    The Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers is mandated to consider and dispose of complaints against financial services providers, primarily intermediaries selling investment products.

•    The Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator investigates and determines complaints lodged in terms of the Pension Funds Act of 1956. The office ensures a procedurally fair, economical and expeditious resolution of complaints in terms of the Act.

•    The Public Investment Corporation is one of the largest investment managers in Africa, managing assets worth more than R1,7 trillion. The corporation is mandated to invest funds on behalf of its clients, based on the investment mandates as agreed on with each client and approved by the FSB. The corporation’s clients are public-sector entities, most of which are pension, provident, social security, development and guardian funds.

•    South African Airways is South Arica’s national air carrier, which operates a full service network in the international, regional and domestic markets.

•    The South African Special Risks Insurance Association is mandated to support the insurance industry by providing cover for special risks such as riots, strikes, political unrest, terrorist attacks, civil commotion, public disorder and labour disturbances.

South African Reserve Bank (SARB)

The primary purpose of the SARB is to achieve and maintain price stability in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth in South Africa. Together with other institutions, it also plays a pivotal role in ensuring financial stability.

The primary function of the SARB, as the country’s central bank, is to protect the value of South Africa’s currency. In discharging this role, it takes responsibility for:

•    ensuring that the South African money, banking and financial system as a whole is sound, meets the requirements of the community and keeps abreast of international developments;

•    assisting the South African Government, as well as other members of the economic community of southern Africa, with data relevant to the formulation and implementation of macroeconomic policy;

•    informing the South African community and all stakeholders abroad about monetary policy and the South African economic situation.

The SARB is governed by the SARB Act of 1989, as amended. It has more than 600 shareholders.

South African Revenue Service (SARS)

SARS is an organ of state outside the Public Service that aims to provide a world-class, efficient, transparent and taxpayer-centred service, ensuring optimum and equitable revenue collection. Its main functions are:

•    collecting and administering all national taxes, duties and levies imposed under national legislation;

•    collecting revenue that may be imposed under any other legislation, as agreed upon between SARS and an organ of state or institution entitled to the revenue

•    advising the Minister of Finance on revenue

•    facilitating trade

•    providing protection against the illegal import and export of goods

•    advising the Minister of Trade and Industry on matters concerning control over the import, export, manufacture, movement, storage or use of certain goods.

Tax administration

National Treasury is responsible for advising the Minister of Finance on tax policy issues. As part of this role, National Treasury must design tax instruments that can optimally fulfil a revenue-raising function. These tax instruments must be aligned to the goals of government’s economic and social policy. These instruments are then administered by SARS.

A single, modern framework for the common administrative provisions of various tax Acts administered by SARS, excluding Customs, was established by the Tax Administration Act of 2011, which commenced on 1 October 2012. The Act simplifies and provides greater coherence in South African tax administration law. It eliminates duplication, removes redundant requirements, and aligns disparate requirements that previously existed in different tax Acts administered by SARS.

The Act provides for common procedures across the various tax Acts, and strives for an appropriate balance between the rights and obligations of SARS and the rights and obligations of taxpayers in a transparent relationship.

Office of the Tax Ombud

The function of the Office of the Tax Ombud is to provide taxpayers with an impartial and low-cost mechanism to resolve service, procedural or administrative difficulties that taxpayers have not been able to resolve through SARS’s complaints management channels.

South African tax system

South Africa has a residence-based income tax system. Residents are, subject to certain exclusions, taxed on their worldwide income, irrespective of where their income was earned. Non-residents are taxed on their income from a South African source. The liability of taxpayers is determined subject to the provisions of International Agreements for the Avoidance of Double Taxation.

Tax is levied on taxable income, which is calculated as gross income, less exemptions and permissible deductions, plus the applicable percentage of the net capital gain, for the year.

The main tax revenue sources are income tax (individuals, trusts and companies), value-added tax (VAT) and customs and excise duties. Relief is often available from any consumption-based tax when the goods are exported under certain terms and conditions.

Company income tax

Companies are subject to a flat tax rate, which is 28% of taxable income. Exceptions to the rule are the lower, progressive tax rates that apply to small and micro-businesses, as well as the reduced rate that applies to companies operating in designated Special Economic Zones.

Value-added tax

VAT is levied at 14% on the supply of all goods and services by VAT vendors (certain supplies are zero-rated). The quoted or displayed price of goods and services must be VAT-inclusive. A person who supplies goods or services is liable to register for VAT, if the income earned is more than R1 million in a 12-month period, or when there is a reasonable expectation that the income will exceed this amount.

A person can also register voluntarily for VAT, if the income earned from supplying goods or services for 12 months exceeded R50 000.

Personal income tax (PIT)

PIT mainly focuses on the taxation of an individual’s income. The main contributor to PIT is employment income from salary earners, and income generated from sole-proprietor activities. The tax rate applicable to PIT-related taxable income is progressive, ranging from marginal rates of 18% to 41%.

As a means of collecting income tax from salary and wage income, a mechanism known as Pay-As-You-Earn is in operation that enables employers to withhold tax due to SARS from employees and pay this over to SARS on a monthly basis, and reconciled biannually.

Excise duty

Excise duty is levied on certain locally manufactured goods and their imported equivalents, such as tobacco and liquor products, and as an ad valorem duty on cosmetics, audio-visual equipment and motor cars.

Environmental levy

The four main areas of levies in this category are plastic bags levy, electricity generation levy, electric filament levy and motor vehicle carbon dioxide emission levy.

Fuel levy

The fuel levy is a consumption-based levy that is levied on petroleum products that are imported or manufactured in South Africa.

Transfer duty

Transfer duty is payable on the acquisition of property. Property costing less than R900 000 attracts no duty. A 3% rate applies to properties costing between R900 001 and R1,25 million.

In respect of property with a value between R1,25 million and R1,75 million, the duty is R10 500 plus 6% of the value above R1,25 million. In respect of properties costing between R1,75 million and R2,25 million, the duty is R40 500 plus a rate of 8% of the value exceeding R1,75 million.

For property above R2,25 million, the duty is R80 500 plus a rate of 11% of the value exceeding R2,25 million.

For a property above R10 million, the duty is R933 000 plus 13% of the value exceeding R10 million.

Estate duty

Estate duty is levied at a flat rate of 20% on residents’ property and non-residents’ South African property. A basic deduction of R3,5 million is allowed in the determination of an estate’s liability for estate duty, as well as deductions for liabilities, bequests to public benefit organisations and property accruing to a surviving spouse.

Dividends tax

Dividends tax is a final tax at a rate of 20% on dividends paid by resident companies and by non-resident companies in respect of shares listed on the JSE. Dividends are tax exempt if the beneficial owner of the dividend is a South African company, retirement fund or other exempt person.

Non-resident beneficial owners of dividends may benefit from reduced tax rates in limited circumstances. The tax is to be withheld by companies paying the taxable dividends or by regulated intermediaries in the case of dividends on listed shares. The tax on dividends in kind (other than in cash) is payable and is borne by the company that declares and pays the dividend.

Securities transfer tax

Securities transfer tax is levied at a rate of 0,25% on the transfer of listed or unlisted securities. Securities consist of shares in companies or members’ interests in close corporations.

Skills-development levy

Affected employers contribute to a Skills Development Fund that is used for employee training and skills development. This skills development levy is payable by employers at a rate of 1% of the total remuneration paid to employees. Employers paying annual remuneration of less than R500 000 are exempt from the payment of this levy.

Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

The UIF insures employees against the loss of earnings due to termination of employment, illness or maternity leave. The contribution to the UIF is shared equally by affected employers and employees at a rate of 1% of remuneration each. The employee share of 1% is withheld by the employer and paid to SARS, together with the employer share of 1%, monthly.

Tax on international air travel

This tax is levied as follows: R190 per passenger departing on an international flight, excluding flights to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, in which case the tax is R100.

Rates on property

Property-related taxes include municipal rates and charges for refuse and sewerage, which are collected by municipalities.

Customs duty

Customs duty is a tax levied on imports by the customs unit within SARS. Customs duty rates and trade remedies relating to the importation of goods into South Africa are set by the International Trade Administration Commission under the authority of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti).

The new Customs Control Act of 2014 and Customs Duty Act of 2014 provide a platform for the modernisation of customs administration that achieves a balance between effective customs control, the secure movement of goods and people into and from South Africa and the facilitation of trade and tourism. In addition, VAT is also collected on goods imported and cleared for home consumption.

Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP)

A permanent VDP is part of a package of compliance measures aimed at encouraging non-compliant taxpayers to regularise their tax affairs.

In addition, a Special VDP allowed non-compliant taxpayers to voluntarily disclose offshore assets and income, with a limited window period, from 1 October 2016 to 31 August 2017.

Economic Development Department (EDD)

The EDD has assumed responsibilities relating to the creation of decent employment through inclusive growth.

This includes the implementation of certain aspects of the NDP, the new growth path and the national infrastructure plan, as captured in Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth), Outcome 6 (an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network) and Outcome 7 (comprehensive rural development and land reform) of government’s 2014-2019 MTSF.

The department is also responsible for five public entities, three of which are regulatory bodies and two are development finance institutions. The entities are the:

•    The Competition Commission, is empowered to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, including the abuse of dominant positions and mergers; and to promote the advocacy of competition issues to achieve equity and efficiency in the South African economy.

•    The Competition Tribunal: All large corporate mergers and allegations of restrictive practices are brought before the tribunal by the Competition Commission and interested parties for adjudication.

•    The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa is mandated to manage an efficient and effective trade administration system.

•    The Small Enterprise Finance Agency was established in 2012 and combines the operations of Khula Enterprise Finance, the South African Micro-Finance Apex Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation’s small business operations.

Why invest in South Africa

South Africa is one of the most sophisticated, diverse and promising emerging markets globally. Strategically located at the tip of the African continent, the country is a key investment location, both for the market opportunities that lie within its borders and as a gateway to the rest of the continent, a market of about one billion people.

South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa and forms part of the BRICS group of countries with Brazil, Russia, India and China. It has a wealth of natural resources (including coal, platinum, coal, gold, iron ore, manganese nickel, uranium and chromium) and it enjoyes increased attention from international exploration companies, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

The country has world-class infrastructure, exciting innovation, research and development capabilities and an established manufacturing base. It is at the forefront of the development and rollout of new green technologies and industries, creating new and sustainable jobs in the process and reducing environmental impact.

South Africa has sophisticated financial, legal and telecommunications sectors, and a number of global business process outsourcing operations are located in the country.

It has a host of investment incentives and industrial financing interventions that are aimed at encouraging commercial activity and its trade rules favour a further expansion in South Africa’s burgeoning levels of international trade.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs)

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) is the shareholder representative for government at the state-owned companies (SOCs) in its portfolio. The department’s mandate is to fulfil oversight responsibilities at these SOCs to ensure that they contribute to the realisation of government’s strategic objectives, as articulated in the NDP, MTSF, the New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).

SOCs are crucial to driving the state’s strategic objectives of creating jobs, and enhancing equity and transformation. The department does not directly execute programmes but seeks to use state ownership in the economy to support the achievement these objectives.

The DPE oversees the following six SOCs, which are key drivers of economic growth:

•    Alexkor – A diamond mining company primarily operating in Alexander Bay and the greater Namaqualand.

•    Denel – A defence company and although it is established as a private company in terms of the Companies Act of 2008, government exercises full control over it.

•    Eskom – It generates, transmits and distributes electricity to industrial, mining, commercial, agriculture and residential customers and redistributors.

•    South African Forestry Company – It is the government’s forestry company, conducting timber harvesting, timber processing and related activities both domestically and regionally.

•    South African Express Airways – South African Express Airways is a domestic and regional air carrier with a mandate to be an African airline.

•    Transnet – It is a freight and logistics company responsible for pipelines, ports and rail transport infrastructure operations in South Africa.

Department of Trade and Industry

The dti works to promote industrialisation and transformation, and respond to unemployment, poverty and inequality. The strategic direction of this work is derived from the National Development Plan, and is underpinned by Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth), Outcome 7 (comprehensive rural development and land reform) and Outcome 11 (create a better South Africa and contribute to a better Africa and a better world) of government’s 2014-2019 medium-term strategic framework.

Through the implementation of its higher-impact IPAP, the department will focus over the medium term on providing industrial financing, strengthening export capabilities, and developing industrial infrastructure. Cabinet has since approved the ninth annual iteration of the IPAP 2017/18 to 2019/20. Drivers of IPAP 2017-2020 include a redoubled commitment to radical economic transformation and ongoing efforts to secure shared and inclusive growth.

Other drivers include the rapid acceleration of the Black Industrialist Programme, and a much stronger and ongoing focus on labour intensity across the value chains that link the primary sectors of the economy to the manufacturing and services sectors.

By February 2017, the Black Industrialists Programme had supported 22 black industrialists and created 1 500 jobs, with R1.5 billion being injected to support the industrialists.

Department of Small Business Development

The DSBD was established in May 2014 to lead an integrated approach to the promotion and development e of small businesses and cooperatives. The department’s work in this regard focuses on the economic and legislative drivers that stimulate entrepreneurship and contribute to radical economic transformation.

The realisation of this mandate will lead to increased employment, poverty reduction and reduced inequality. The DSBD’s work supports the realisation of the National Development Plan’s goal of supporting small enterprises to transform the economy and make it more inclusive.

It also contributes directly to Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth) of government’s 2014-2019 MTSF, which sets the department the task of identifying the institutional and regulatory changes required to accelerate growth of the small business sector and increase its contribution to job creation.

The Small Enterprise Development Agency provides non-financial support and incubation to small enterprises and cooperatives through the National Gazelles and Incubator Support programmes. The National Gazelles Programme is an enterprise accelerator that identifies high-potential small enterprises and provides them with mentorship and coaching, training, market development and access to finance.

The department will continue to support small, black-owned enterprises through the Black Business Supplier Development Programme, which is a cost-sharing grant offered to small, black-owned enterprises to acquire tools, machinery, equipment and training to the maximum of R1 million per applicant.

Small enterprises will also benefit from the National Informal Business Upliftment Scheme, which aims to develop and grow informal businesses and cooperatives by providing financial and non-financial support services to improve competitiveness, facilitate market access, and leverage public and private procurement.

The department plans to continue improving coordination between all spheres of government to strengthen support for cooperatives through the cooperative incentive scheme.

The incentive is a 100% grant for registered primary cooperatives, and is aimed at improving the viability and competitiveness of cooperative enterprises by lowering the cost of doing business.

Strengthening export capabilities

The department plans over the medium term to develop and implement products for target markets, in collaboration with stakeholders such as export councils, trade and investment provincial agencies, and other national and provincial government departments in the export value chain.

It aims to provide financial assistance to 3 290 companies in the medium term to strengthen their export capabilities, including facilitating their participation at national pavilions, trade missions, and trade and investment initiatives. In providing this assistance, the department plans to balance supporting large, leading and dynamic companies with maintaining support provided to emerging exporters, SMMEs and black industrialists.

Banking industry

South Africa’s five largest commercial banks – Capitec Bank, FNB, Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank – continued to dominate the South African banking sector.

By September 2017, there were 10 locally controlled banks and six foreign controlled banks, as well as 15 branches of foreign banks in South Africa.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE Ltd)

The JSE Ltd is the largest exchange on the African continent and the 19th largest in the world.

In keeping with international practice, the JSE Ltd regulates its members and ensures that markets operate in a transparent way, ensuring investor protection.

The JSE Ltd’s roles include regulating applications for listing and ensuring that listed companies continue to meet their obligations.

Jobs Fund

The Jobs Fund, launched in June 2011, aims to co-finance projects by public, private and non-governmental organisations that will significantly contribute to job creation.

This involves the use of public money to catalyse innovation and investment on behalf of a range of economic stakeholders in activities that contribute directly to enhanced employment creation in South Africa.

To address the challenge of unemployment, South Africa requires high rates of sustained economic growth. The country’s macro-economic policy environment, infrastructure asset base, schooling system and regulatory frameworks are all key to growth. However, improving and reforming these factors is a long-term process.

As of December 2016, the Jobs Fund had supported a total of 64 enterprise development projects, across all sectors, and the SMME beneficiaries of these projects have created 77 289 permanent jobs and 13 306 short term jobs.

By April 2017, the Jobs Fund had a portfolio of 125 approved projects with a total allocation of R6.5 billion in grant funds. These projects will potentially leverage an additional R9.1 billion from the fund’s partners to create 146 008 permanent jobs.

A total of 106 implementing projects have already created 91 626 new permanent jobs and placed an additional 51 353 people in vacant permanent positions. These projects created 22 923 short-term jobs and provided work-readiness and technical training to 182 489 participants.

South Africa has prioritised the provision of comprehensive Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes to address the development needs of those aged 0–4 years. The ECD programmes are being offered at day-care centres, crèches, playgroups, and nursery and pre-primary schools.

According to the results of the General Household Survey, 2016 released by Statistics South Africa, approximately 41,3% of South African children aged 0–4 years attended day-care or educational facilities outside their homes.

The highest attendance was reported in Gauteng (56,2%) and Free State (47,6%). A much lower enrolment was, however, observed amongst children in KwaZulu-Natal (31,6%) and North West (32,9%).

Nationally, 32,8% of individuals aged five years and older attended an educational institution. Approximately 86,9% of South African individuals above the age of five years who attended educational institutions, attended school, while a further 4,8% attended tertiary institutions. By comparison, only 2,3% of individuals attended Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

Whilst the percentage in this broad age group has not changed, at peak ages of 7–15 years, attendance is almost universal. Just over a fifth (18,7%) of premature school leavers in this age group mentioned ‘a lack of money’ as the reason for not studying, while 18,9% reportedly fell out due to poor academic performance.

Although 9,9% of individuals left their studies as a result of family commitments (i.e. getting married, minding children and pregnancy), it is noticeable that a larger percentage of females than males offered this as a reason (18,5% compared to 1,3%).

Whilst this observation is accurate, the data also suggest that the ‘No fee’ school system and other funding initiatives are beginning to show improved results. The percentage of learners who reported that they were exempted from paying tuition fees increased from 0,4% in 2002 to 65,3% in 2016.

Provincially, 86,2% of learners in Limpopo and 73,2% of learners in the Eastern Cape attended no-fee schools, compared to 39,3% of learners in Western Cape and 37,4% of learners in Gauteng.

There were approximately 14 million learners at school in 2016, of which 5,8% attended private schools. Three-quarters (77,1%) of learners who attended public schools benefited from school feeding schemes. Furthermore, 69,8% of learners walked to school, while 8,2% used private vehicles.

Generally, the percentage of learners who experienced corporal punishment at school in 2016 has decreased nationally since 2011 and 9,8% of learners reportedly experienced corporal punishment at school in 2016. Corporal punishment was most common at schools in Eastern Cape (17,9%) and KwaZulu-Natal (15,0%). In terms of metros, it was most common at schools in eThekwini (14,2%).

Approximately 766 812 students were enrolled at higher educational institutions during 2016. More than two-thirds (66,4%) of these students were black African. However, proportionally this group is still under-represented.

Only 3,3% of black Africans aged 18 to 29 years were studying as opposed to 18,8% of Indian/Asian individuals and 17,5% of the white population in this age group. Only 3,5% of the coloured population was studying during 2016.

Educational attainment outcomes continue to improve with improved access to educational facilities and services. Among individuals aged 20 years and older, the percentage who attained Grade 12 as their highest level of education increased from 21,9% in 2002 to 28,4% in 2016.

Furthermore, the percentage of individuals with tertiary qualifications improved from 9,3% to 14,0%. The percentage of individuals without any schooling decreased from 10,6% in 2002 to 4,9% in 2016.

Although results show that there were declines in percentages of persons who had no formal schooling in all the provinces over the period 2002 to 2016.

Whilst functional illiteracy declined from 27,3% to 14,6% between 2002 and 2016, improved access to schooling has led to a significant decline in the percentage of functionally illiterate individuals in the 20–39 age group.

Between 2002 and 2016, the prevalence of functional illiteracy in the age group 20–39 years declined noticeably for both men (17,2% to 6,3%) and women (15,6% to 4,5%). The adult literacy rate, however, lagged behind the national average (94,4%) in provinces such as Northern Cape (89,8%), North West (90,1%) and Limpopo (90,7%).

Basic education

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is responsible for Outcome 1 (quality basic education) of government’s Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019.

The aim of the DBE, which deals with all schools from Grade R to Grade 12, is to develop, maintain and support a South African school education system for the 21st century.

The department planned to focus on: improving school infrastructure; improving curriculum delivery; increasing the number of learners completing Grade 12; providing educational opportunities to learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities; ensuring the adequate supply of quality teachers; assessing the quality of teaching and learning and continuing the National School Nutrition Programme.

The DBE aimed to provide meals at 19 800 schools to feed about nine million learners each year, in support of the vision of the National Development Plan (NDP) of eliminating poverty and supporting food security.

The priority of the DBE is to ensure that all schools have access to water, sanitation, electricity and a safe structure, as per the minimum norms and standards for public school infrastructure.

South Africa’s national basic education sector plan – the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030, is designed to achieve the long-term vision of basic education as encapsulated in the NDP: Vision 2030.

The NDP states that “by 2030, South Africans should have access to education and training of the highest quality, leading to significantly improved learning outcomes. The performance of South African learners in international standardised tests should be comparable to the performance of learners from countries at a similar level of development and with similar levels of access”.

African languages

The NDP enjoins all South Africans to learn at least one indigenous language as part of nation-building and social cohesion.

The Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) is a priority programme aimed at promoting some aspects of social cohesion in society. The IIAL was piloted in grades 1-2 in 264 schools in 2014 and 2015 across all provinces. In 2016, the IIAL was implemented in 842 schools.

Second Chance Matric Support Programme

The Second Chance Matric Support Programme started as a pilot project in 2016/17 to provide support to 10 000 registered learners preparing to rewrite the National Senior Certificate examination.

The programme provides face-to-face classes at 50 venues throughout the country, focusing on 11 subjects with high failure rates, with two teachers per subject at each venue; as well as online support.

Support for learners with intellectual disabilities

The DBE aimed to introduce a new conditional grant in 2017/18 to provide access to quality publicly funded education and support for about 8 000 learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities.

The grant seeks to fund training for teachers and officials in 155 identified schools, 31 special schools and 280 special care centres. The learners, their caregivers and teachers will be supported by various specialist educators and therapists to ensure that educationally stimulating programmes are delivered at care centres and schools catering for learners with these disabilities.

Social cohesion

The purpose of the social cohesion programmes of the DBE is to create a rights-based, socially cohesive and educationally conducive environment to support teaching and learning.

Through this approach, the DBE strives towards elevating the importance of institutional settings that acknowledge the existence of active citizenship and lays a firm foundation for social and economic development of South Africa.

The social cohesion programmes include: iNkosi Albert Luthuli Oral Hitsory Programme, National Schools Moot Court, National Heritage, Youth Citizenry, Future Career Choices Campaign and Gender Empowerment programmes.

The DBE also uses sport and enrichment programmes to directly or indirectly drive the social cohesion agenda. The sport and enrichment programmes include Spelling Bee South Africa and reading clubs, school sport leagues (which include the KAY Motsepe Schools Cup), ABC Motsepe Schools Choral Eisteddfod, and physical education, which would include the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Quality Physical Education and Let’s Play Physical Education Challenge projects.

Operation Phakisa

The Operation Phakisa Information and Communications Technology (ICT) interventions are focusing on providing an end-to-end ICT solution to schools through digital content development and distribution using offline and online platforms, provision of connectivity, hardware, teacher professional development and e-Administration systems. This will ensure that teaching and learning experiences match the needs of the changing world.

National Integrated Assessment Framework (NIAF)

The Annual National Assessment has since been reviewed and reconceptualised as the NIAF. The new model comprises three tiers, namely the Systemic Assessment will be administered in grades 3, 6 and 9, once every three years; the Diagnostic Assessment and the Summative Examination.

The Systemic Assessment was expected to be piloted in October 2017 and the first systemic assessment implemented in 2018.

Curriculum and Policy Statement (CAPS)

CAPS is a single, comprehesive and concise policy document which has replaced the Subject and Learning Area Statements, Learning Programme Guidelines and Subject Assessment Guidelines for all the subjects listed in the National Curriculum Statement Grades R – 12.

Safety in schools

The DBE has implemented various policies and measures to ensure the safety of all learners, educators and relevant stakeholders in schools.

Interventions focus on addressing elements of physical infrastructure related to proper fencing, alarm systems and burglarproofing, resilience-building programmes for young people and the strengthening of partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

The department has a solid partnership with the South African Police Service aimed at linking schools with local police stations. A National School Safety Framework has been developed to serve as a management tool for provincial and district officials responsible for school safety, principals, senior management team members, SGB members, teachers and learners to identify and manage risk and threats of violence in and around schools.

The department has developed a National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use amongst learners in schools. Schools have been provided with a Guide to Drug Testing in South African Schools.

In terms of the Regulations for Safety Measures at all Public Schools, the Minister has declared all public schools as drug-free and dangerous weapon free zones. Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Sexual Violence and Harassment have been developed and distributed to schools to support schools and school communities in responding to cases of sexual harassment and violence against learners.

The guidelines set out clearly how public schools should treat victims of sexual harassment and violence, and the steps to be taken to deal with those who have or are alleged to have committed such acts.

The department has released a handbook for learners on how to prevent sexual abuse in public schools, titled Speak Out – Youth Report Sexual Abuse. The purpose of the handbook is to equip learners with knowledge and understanding of sexual harassment and sexual violence, its implications, ways to protect themselves from perpetrators, and where to report.

The handbook also provides very useful contact details of national and provincial organisations that can assist.

Role players

Provincial departments of education

The national department shares a concurrent role with the provincial departments for basic schooling and ECD, but it is the responsibility of each provincial department to finance and manage its schools directly.

District offices are the provincial departments’ main interface with schools.

Council of Education Ministers (CEM)

The CEM, consisting of the Minister of Basic Education, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, and the nine provincial members of the executive councils for education, meets regularly to discuss the promotion of national education policy, share information and views on all aspects of education in South Africa, and coordinate action on matters of mutual interest.

Umalusi

The Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (GFET) sets and maintains standards through the development and management of the GFET qualifications sub-framework. The Nguni name means “herder” or “shepherd.”

Programmes and projects

Learning and teaching support material Educational portal

Through the Thutong Portal (www.thutong.doe.gov.za), the DBE aims to lead the drive to improve learning in the country through appropriate use of technology.

The Thutong Portal is the online point of entry to a comprehensive array of free educational resources, policy information, and interactive services concerning all aspects of the South African schooling sector. It provides relevant information and services about the South African school curriculum, teacher development, school administration and management.

Thutong – meaning “a place of learning” in Setswana – features a searchable database of web-based curriculum resources for various education sectors, grades and subjects.

School fees and exemption

School fees are set at annual public meetings of school governing bodies (SGBs), where parents vote on the amount to be paid.

Parents who cannot afford to pay school fees can apply to the SGB for conditional, partial or full exemption from paying school fees. Schools must not charge school fees for orphans.

The right not to charge school fees will be limited to the schools that have been declared no-fee schools. The names of the no-fee schools, which are determine based on the economic level of the community around the school, will be published in a provincial gazette.

Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI)

The objective of ASIDI is to eradicate the backlog in schools without water, sanitation and electricity, and to replace those schools constructed from inappropriate material such as mud, and asbestos to contribute towards levels of optimum learning and teaching. The Schools Infrastructure Backlog Grant funds the ASIDI portfolio.

Higher education and training

The NDP envisages that by 2030, South Africans should have access to a post-school education system that empowers them to fulfil their potential. Outcome 5 (a skilled and capableworkforce to support an inclusive growth path) of government’s MTSF gives effect to this vision, stating that graduates of the post-school system should possess the skills and knowledge that allow them to meet the current and future needs of society and the economy.

Outcome 5 also highlights the need to expand access to programmes that address the labour market’s need for intermediate skills and include a practical component.

The Department of Higher Education and Training is responsible for post-school education and training in universities, colleges and adult education centres.

The objective of the Post-School Education and Training function is that all South Africans have equitable access to relevant and quality post-school education and training.

South Africa’s higher education landscape comprises the following institutions:

•    Cape Peninsula University of Technology

•    Central University of Technology, Free State

•    Durban Institute of Technology

•    Mangosuthu University of Technology

•    National Institute for Higher Education, Northern Cape

•    National Institute for Higher Education, Mpumalanga

•    Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

•    North West University

•    Rhodes University

•    Sol Plaatje University, Eastern Cape

•    Tshwane University of Technology

•    University of Cape Town

•    University of Fort Hare

•    University of the Free State

•    University of Johannesburg

•    University of KwaZulu-Natal

•    University of Limpopo

•    University of Mpumalanga

•    University of Pretoria

•    University of South Africa

•    University of Stellenbosch

•    University of Venda

•    University of the Western Cape

•    University of the Witwatersrand

•    University of Zululand

•    Vaal University of Technology

•    Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape

•    Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

TVET comprises vocational, occupational and artisan education and training as offered by TVET colleges. This band of education and training is also referred to as ‘post-school’, meaning that it refers to education and training that takes place after leaving school, even if only with a Grade 9 completed. The only age restriction for a person wishing to study at the TVET level is that the person should be 16 years or older. There are 50 registered and accredited public TVET colleges in South Africa operating on more than 264 campuses spread across the rural and urban areas of the country.

Role players

South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

SAQA is a statutory body that oversees the development of the National Qualifications Framework by formulating and publishing policies and criteria for the registration of organisations. It also oversees the implementation of the national framework by ensuring the registration, accreditation and assignment of functions.

Council on Higher Education (CHE)

The CHE is tasked with developing and implementing a system of quality assurance for higher education, including programme accreditation, institutional audits, quality promotion and capacity development.

Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO)

The QCTO oversees the development and maintenance of the occupational qualifications sub-framework in the national qualifications framework, and advises the Minister of Higher Education and Training on all matters of policy concerning occupational standards and qualifications.

Sector education and training authorities (Setas)

Skills development has been identified as a key requirement for economic growth in South Africa and for the economic empowerment of the previously disadvantaged majority.

As per the Skills Development Act of 1998, Setas are mandated to implement national, sector and workplace strategies to develop and improve skills in the South African workforce; provide learnerships that lead to a recognised occupational qualification and fund skills development.

The core focus of Setas is creating a training system that caters for different needs and produces skilled individuals.

The authorities derive their objectives directly from the third National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS), which aims to: increase access to occupationally directed programmes; promote the growth of public TVET colleges; address low levels of youth and adult literacy and numeracy skills; and encourage the better use of workplace-based skills development.

These objectives are in line with Outcome 5 (a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path) of government’s MTSF 2014-2019. Setas continue to strengthen and deliver relevant priority skills to South Africa’s labour market, with particular emphasis on artisan development, apprenticeships, learnerships, internships and bursaries; and partnerships with TVET colleges, universities and the market to provide work experience opportunities.

National Skills Authority (NSA)

The NSA is an advisory body to give guidance to the Minister of Higher Education and Training on:

•    policy, strategy, implementation and NSA allocations

•    liaising with Setas about policy, strategy and sector-skills plans

•    implementing the NSDS

•    reviewing the accounts and balance sheet of NSA annually

•    receiving and using information from the Skills Development Planning Unit.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)

The NSFAS is responsible for providing loans and bursaries, developing criteria and conditions for the granting of loans and bursaries to eligible students, raising funds, recovering loans, maintaining and analysing a database of funded students, undertaking research for the better use of financial resources and advising the Minister on matters relating to student financial aid.

Government was expected to fund the increase in fees at higher learning institutions for the 2017 academic year up to a maximum of 8% for students from households earning R600 000 or less per year. A new student-centred model to be introduced by the end of 2017/18 provides an automated financial means test that allows students to apply for funding online and directly to the scheme, not through institutions.

Energy

The National Development Plan (NDP) envisages that by 2030 South Africa will have an energy sector that promotes economic growth and development through adequate investment in energy infrastructure. The plan also envisages that by 2030 South Africa will have an adequate supply of electricity and liquid fuels to ensure that economic activity and welfare are not disrupted, and that at least 95% of the population will have access to grid or off-grid electricity.

The plan proposes that gas and other renewable resources like wind, solar and hydro-electricity will be viable alternatives to coal and will supply at least 20 000 MW of the additional 29 000 MW of electricity needed by 2030.

Other recommendations in the NDP include diversifying power sources and ownership in the electricity sector, supporting cleaner coal technologies, and investing in human and physical capital in the 12 largest electricity distributors.

Energy security is at the core of current and future industrial and technological advancement.

The Department of Energy (DoE) is mandated to ensure the secure and sustainable provision of energy for socio-economic development. This is achieved by developing an integrated energy plan, regulating the energy industries, and promoting investment in accordance with the integrated resource plan.

The department’s strategic goals, among others, are to ensure that the energy supply is secure and demand is well managed, and that there is an efficient and diverse energy mix for universal access within a transformed energy sector, and implement policies that adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The DoE places emphasis on broadening electricity supply technologies to include gas and imports, as well as nuclear, biomass and renewable energy resources (wind, solar and hydro), to meet the country’s future electricity needs and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.

Goals beyond 2020 include contracting more than 20 000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, including an increasing share from regional hydro-electricity.

South Africa has committed to attain substantial reductions in carbon dioxide emissions by 2025. The country supports research, technology development and special measures aimed at environmentally sustainable economic growth.

Diversifying energy

The DoE continues to promote the optimal use of South Africa’s renewable energy resources to ensure that the country’s sustainable energy agenda is adhered to.

This includes expanding the independent power producers procurement programme. Renewable energy is an integral part of South Africa’s low-emissions development strategy, and is vital to addressing the challenges of climate change, access to energy, and energy security.

To meet the needs of the economy without compromising government’s commitment to sustainable development, the department is pursuing a balanced mix of energy that includes clean and renewable resources, as informed by the 2016 integrated resource plan. The plan has been released for public comment and is expected to be implemented over the medium term.

The newly developed Integrated Energy Plan optimises the relationship between the supply of electricity, gas and liquid fuels for meeting energy demand in the period up to 2050. Whereas detailed electricity supply options are outlined in the integrated resource plan, the integrated energy plan focuses on liquid fuels (mainly in the transportation sector), including addressing whether new oil refining capacity is required.

It also discusses piped gas, gas storage and liquefied natural gas infrastructure, considering regional gas options in terms of imports from Mozambique and Botswana, as well as local shale gas.

National Strategic Fuels Stock Policy

The National Strategic Fuels Stock Policy sets out the framework for the storage of fuel stock by government and the industry. It aims to ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products throughout South Africa by providing adequate strategic stocks and infrastructure such as storage facilities and pipeline capacity.

Strategic stocks are to be used during declared emergencies. The Minister of Energy will have the power to decide when a shortage of fuel and oil is at such a level to warrant an emergency.

National Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Strategy

The LPG Strategy’s main objectives are to provide access to safe, cleaner, efficient, portable, environmentally friendly and affordable thermal fuel for all households, and to switch low-income households away from the use of coal, paraffin and biomass to LPG.

The strategy highlights strategic options that could be adopted for the orderly development of the LPG industry in South Africa to make LPG an energy carrier of choice for thermal applications. LPG is considered one of the safest, cleanest and most sustainable energy sources.

National building standards

Energy-efficient regulations for new buildings form part of the deliverables of South Africa’s National Energy Strategy to strengthen standards and regulations for energy efficiency.

The energy-efficient regulations apply to residential and commercial buildings, places of learning and worship, certain medical clinics and other categories of building.

The regulations make it compulsory for all new buildings to be designed and constructed to a standard that makes it possible for the user to minimise the energy required to meet the functional requirements. This will save energy significantly, which will relieve pressure on the electricity supply grid.

In addition to temperature regulations, all buildings will also have to be fitted with renewable-energy water-heating systems such as solar systems, which also have to comply with South African national standards.

Role players

Sasol

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages the expertise of over 30 300 people working in 33 countries.

It develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product streams, including liquid fuels, chemicals and low-carbon electricity.

For over 65 years, Sasol has been a pioneer in the inventive monetisation of hydrocarbons. Using coal, crude oil and natural gas, along with the skills of our people and our technological advantage, it has become one of the world’s largest producers of synthetic fuels and a global chemicals player.

Its vision is to grow profitably, sustainably and inclusively, while delivering value to stakeholders through technology and the talent of its people in the energy and chemical markets in Southern Africa and worldwide.

Sasol is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa and on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States of America.

Eskom

Eskom generates, transmits and distributes electricity to about five million customers in the industrial, mining, commercial, agricultural and residential sectors, and to redistributors.

Eskom sells electricity directly to about 3 000 industrial customers, 1 000 mining customers, 49 000 commercial customers, 84 000 agricultural customers and more than four million residential customers (of whom the majority are prepaid customers). Most of the sales are in South Africa, with other southern African countries accounting for a small percentage.

Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)

The SAPP was created with the primary aim to provide reliable and economical electricity supply to the consumers of each of the SAPP members, consistent with the reasonable use of natural resources and the effect on the environment.

The SAPP allows the free trading of electricity between Southern African Development Community member countries, providing South Africa with access to the vast hydropower potential in the countries to the north, notably the Congo River (Inga Falls).

Other role players

•    iGas is the official state agency for the development of the hydrocarbon gas industry in southern Africa.

•    PetroSA is a government-owned oil and gas company.

•    The Petroleum Agency of South Africa promotes the exploration and exploitation of natural oil and gas, both onshore and offshore

•    Petronet owns, operates, manages and maintains a network of 3 000 km of high-pressure petroleum and gas pipelines, on behalf of the Government.

•    The National Energy Regulator of South Africa is the regulatory authority for electricity, piped gas and petroleum pipelines.

•    The National Nuclear Regulator is responsible for safety standards and regulatory practices for the protection of people, property and the environment against nuclear damage.

•    The Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa is responsible for undertaking and promoting research and development in the field of nuclear energy and radiation sciences. It is also responsible for processing source material, including uranium enrichment, and cooperating with other institutions, locally and abroad, on nuclear and related matters.

•    The South African National Energy Development Institute is mandated to stimulate innovation in energy research and development, transform the gender and race profile of researchers in the sector, and improve South Africa’s competitiveness in energy research internationally.

•    The Central Energy Fund researches, finances, develops and exploits appropriate energy solutions across the spectrum of energy sources to meet South Africa’s future energy needs.

•    The National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute is mandated to manage the disposal of radioactive waste nationally.

Energy resources

South Africa has very limited oil reserves. About 60% of its crude oil requirements are met by imports from the Middle East and Africa. The country produces about 5% of its fuel needs from gas, about 35% from coal and about 50% from local crude oil refineries. About 10% is imported from refineries elsewhere in the world.

South Africa has a sizeable capital stock and management capacity to produce fuel from gas. Between 2019 and 2025, the Gas-to-Power Programme is expected to procure 3 726 MW of capacity, stimulating the gas industry and associated infrastructure development.

Electricity

South Africa’s household electrification programme has seen a significant number of households with access to electricity increase from 35% in 1994 to over 85% in mid-2017.

Eskom generates 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and 45% of the electricity used in Africa.

Unit 6, one of six generating units at the Medupi Power Station in Lephalale in Limpopo, was opened in August 2015 to contribute about 800 MW to the national grid.

Once completed in 2020, Medupi Power Station will add 4 764 MW to Eskom’s grid and will be the world’s largest coal-fired power station. This is also the fourth dry-cooled, baseload station to be built in 20 years by Eskom, after Kendal, Majuba and Matimba power stations.

Unit 5 is due for commercial operation in March 2018; Unit 4 in July 2018; Unit 3 in June 2019; Unit 2 in December 2019, and Unit 1 in May 2020.

At Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga, Unit 1 is due for commercial operation in July 2018; Unit 2 in July 2019; Unit 3 in August 2020; Unit 4 in March 2021; Unit 5 in November 2021, and Unit 6 in September 2022. Once completed, Kusile will be the fourth-largest coal-fired power station in the world.

Biofuel

The biofuels industry in South Africa, the continent’s biggest agricultural producer, has been held back by an inadequate regulatory regime and concerns that biofuels would hurt food security and affect food prices.

Canola, sunflower and soya are feedstock for biodiesel, while sugarcane and sugar beet are feedstock for ethanol.

Maize, South Africa’s staple food, will not be used in the production of biofuels to ensure food security and control high prices. The biofuels sector has strong linkages to agriculture, manufacturing and distribution, and has the potential to create substantial numbers of labour-intensive jobs in the agriculture sector in particular.

In addition, second-generation biofuel technology will also contribute to South Africa meeting its renewable energy targets sustainably.

Hydropower

Energy from water can be generated from waves, tides, waterfalls and rivers and will never be depleted as long as water is available. South Africa has a mix of small hydroelectricity stations and pumped-water storage schemes.

The Grand Inga Hydro-electrical Project, in partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo, was expected to generate over 48 000 MW of clean hydro-electricity. South Africa was expected have access to over 15 000 MW.

Solar power

Most areas in South Africa average more than 2 500 hours of sunshine per year, and average daily solar-radiation levels range between 4,5 kWh/m² and 6,5 kWh/m² in one day. The southern African region, and in fact the whole of Africa, has sunshine all year round.

The annual 24-hour global solar radiation average is about 220 W/m² for South Africa.

Wind power

A study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research found that the wind and solar power capacity operational during 2015 showed an R800 million net benefit to the economy achieved during that year, followed by a further marked increase in the first six months of 2015, helping to save more than an additional R4 billion in costs to the economy.

Hybrid systems

Hybrid energy systems are a combination of two or more renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic, wind, micro-hydro, storage batteries and fuel-powered generator sets to provide a reliable off-grid supply.

There are two pilot hybrid systems in the Eastern Cape at the Hluleka nature reserve on the Wild Coast and at the neighbouring Lucingweni community.

Nuclear

Government has committed itself, by means of its Nuclear Energy Policy and Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), to an energy mix consisting of coal, gas, hydro, nuclear, solar and wind.

The nuclear new build programme will enable the country to create jobs, develop skills, create industries, and catapult the country into a knowledge economy. The IRP 2010 – 2030 envisages 9 600 MW additional nuclear capacity by 2030. The IRP is a 20-year projection on electricity supply and demand.

Eskom operates the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station near Cape Town, the only nuclear power station in South Africa and the entire African continent, which supplies power to the national grid.

Programmes and projects

Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)

The programme seeks to procure energy from small scale IPPs, with projects that generate between one MW and five MW of energy from solar, wind, biomass and landfill gas projects.

Through the REIPPPP, the DoE is targeting the procurement of 13 225 MW from IPPs by 2025.

Working for Energy Programme

The Working for Energy Programme is a social programme mainly intended to provide energy services derived from renewable resources to rural and urban low income houses in a manner that facilitates job creation, skills development, community-based enterprise development and the emancipation of youth, women and people with disabilities thereby creating sustainable livelihoods. It is an integral part of the Expanded Public Works Programme.

Water and sanitation

The Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) legislative mandate seeks to ensure that the country’s water resources are protected, managed, used, developed, conserved and controlled in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all people and the environment.

The DWS is mandated to develop a knowledge base and implement effective policies, procedures and integrated planning strategies both for water resources and services.

This entails adhering to the requirements of water-related policies and legislation, including constitutional requirements, that are critical in delivering on the right of access to sufficient food and water, transforming the economy and eradicating poverty.

In 2016, Cabinet approved the Sanitation Policy, whose pillars include planning, institutional arrangements, participation and ownership, skills and capacity, financial and economic aspects, as well as the sustainability of sanitation services.

National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS)

The NWRS2 sets out the vision and strategic actions for effective water management. These included the security of water supply, environmental degradation, and pollution of resources.

The NWRS2 outlines the key challenges, constraints and opportunities in water resource management and proposes new approaches that ensure a collective and adequate response for the benefit of all people in South Africa.

This strategy moves towards the achievement and attainment of an inclusive sustainable and equitable economy.

The NWRS2 ensures that the management of national water resources contributes towards achieving South Africa’s growth, development and socio-economic priorities in an equitable and sustainable manner over the next five to 10 years.

The strategy also responds to the priorities set by government in the NDP and National Water Act of 1998 imperatives that support sustainable development.

Dams and water schemes

The country has more than 500 government-owned dams spread across all nine provinces. They range in storage capacity from a volume of 5 500 million m³ of water down to 0,2 million m³ of water.

South Africa uses about 10 200 million m³ of water a year from its major dams. The majority of water consumption can be attributed to drinking, irrigation, electricity, mining processes and industrial processes.

Augmentation schemes

By mid-2017, the following augmentation schemes were underway to support water security in South Africa:

•    The Raising of the Clanwilliam Dam Wall and Irrigation Scheme (Western Cape) to increase water storage capacity for emerging black farmers and unleasing the economic potential of the area.

•    The Raising of Tzaneen Dam (Limpopo) will see construction for the raising of the dam wall, commencing by July 2017.

•    The Lower Thukela Regional Bulk Water Scheme (KwaZulu-Natal) was expected to be completed in December 2017. This scheme will supply additional water to the coastal and inland areas of KwaDukuza LM and Mandeni LM.

•    Mogalakwena Bulk Water Supply (Limpopo) will benefit 94 000 people and mines in the Waterberg area. The project aims to deliver water to Mokopane town and surrrounding villages.

•    The Namakwa Bulk Water Supply Scheme (Northern Cape) will benefit 11 500 households in the Namakwa Region.

•    The Hoxane Water Treatment Works (Mpumalanga) has seen the completion of phases 1 and 2. Phase 3 will provide an additional 27 million litres per day of purified water for the benefit of emerging black farmers.

•    Phase 2 of the Mokolo Crocodile West Augmentation Project (Limpopo) comprises a 160-km pipeline to transfer water from the Crocodile River West near Thabazimbi to the Lephalale area. This project will support electricity generation for the country.

Bucket Eradication Programme

In keeping with the aspirations of the NDP, steady progress is being made towards eradicating the bucket toilet system in both formal and informal areas across South Africa.

Nationally, the percentage of households without sanitation, or who used bucket toilets decreased from 12,3% to 4,2% between 2002 and 2016.

Role players

Water boards

The primary activity of water boards is to provide water services (bulk potable and bulk waste water) to other water services institutions within their respective service areas.

They may perform other activities under conditions set out in the Water Services Act of 1997. There are 15 water boards in South Africa, with the three largest being Rand Water in Gauteng, Umgeni Water in KwaZulu-Natal and Overberg Water in the Western Cape.

Catchment management agencies (CMAs)

The main responsibilities of CMAs are to manage water resources at catchment level in collaboration with local stakeholders, with specific focus on involving local communities in the decision-making processes, in terms of meeting basic human needs, promoting equitable access to water, and facilitating social and economic development.

Water-user associations (WUAs)

WUAs are cooperative associations of individual water users who wish to undertake water-related activities at local level for their mutual benefit.

Water Research Commission (WRC)

The WRC has a vital role in water research by establishing needs and priorities, stimulating and funding research, promoting the transfer of information and technology, and enhancing knowledge and capacity building in the water sector.

It also focuses on water resources management, water-linked ecosystems, water use and waste management, and water use in agriculture.

Water Trading Entity (WTE)

The DWS is responsible for the regulation of water use in South Africa by ensuring that water is allocated equitably and used beneficially in the public interest, and is also required to create a register of all water users in the country.

The National Water Act of 1998 provides for cost recovery on services rendered by the department to water users. It is against this background that the department created the WTE within its administration.

The main function of the WTE is development, operation and maintenance of specific water resources infrastructure and managing water resources in specific water management areas.

Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA)

The TCTA is a State-owned entity (SOE) specialising in project financing, implementation and liability management.

It is responsible for the development of bulk raw-water infrastructure. It also provides an integrated treasury management and financial advisory service to the DWS, water boards, municipalities and other entities that are linked to bulk raw-water infrastructure.

Komati River Basin Water Authority

The Komati Basin Water Authority was established in terms of a treaty between South Africa and Swaziland. The aim of the authority is to manage the water resources of the Komati River basin sustainably. The authority is responsible for financing, developing, operating and maintaining the water resources infrastructure in the basin, comprising the Driekoppies Dam in South Africa and the Maguga Dam in Swaziland.

Water Tribunal

The aim of the Water Tribunal is to hear appeals against directives and decisions made by responsible authorities, CMAs or water management agencies about matters such as the issuing of licences to use water. It is an independent body and can hold hearings anywhere in the country.

Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN)

The SWPN is a dynamic and cutting-edge partnership between the DWS, the private sector and civil society working collectively to close a 17% gap between water supply and demand that is anticipated to manifest by the year 2030 in South Africa.

The partnership strives to contribute to efficient, equitable and sustainable water supply and access to water for all South Africans through the identification and application of innovative and cost effective solutions and programmes.

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is mandated to give effect to the right of citizens to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. To this end, the department provides leadership in environmental management, conservation and protection towards sustainability for the benefit of South Africans and the global community.

The department manages, protects and conserves South Africa’s environment and natural resources with the aim of reducing carbon emissions and atmospheric pollutants, and creating ways of adapting to the effects of climate change.

Pursuing these objectives drives the department’s expenditure over the medium term on wildlife conservation, waste recycling, climate change and air quality, strategic oceans management and coastal conservation, and the shift towards a green economy.

It also plays an integral role in the realisation of Outcome 4 (decent employment through inclusive growth) and Outcome 10 (protect and enhance the environmental assets and natural resources) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).

Most of the department’s work – including the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems, the expansion of the conservation estate, and the sustainable management of land use – is implemented through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The programme contributes directly to the goal of the National Development Plan to create five million jobs by 2030, and positions the environmental sector as a hub for job creation.

Over the medium term, the department planned to support the enforcement of legislation and regulations governing the international trade in wild animals and plants at ports of entry and exit. Currently, environmental and conservation officials are deployed at only one of the 15 designated ports, OR Tambo International Airport.

It aims to deploy environmental management inspectors, compliance officials and enforcement officials at all designated ports.

Independent statutory organisations such as South African National Parks (SANParks) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) are valuable partners in the country’s conservation efforts.

Government is committed to protecting the country’s rich biodiversity heritage for the benefit of all, and to create a prosperous and equitable society that live in harmony with its natural resources and is signatory to the following biodiversity-related multilateral agreements:

•    Convention on Biological Diversity

•    Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

•    Ramsar Convention

•    Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

•    Convention to Combat Desertification

•    Convention on Migratory Species

•    Nagoya Protocol.

The DEA focuses on protecting the environment, reducing carbon emissions, reducing atmospheric pollutants and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Much of the associated work is implemented through the EPWP, including the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems, the expansion of the conservation estate, the protection, restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands, the protection of water resources, and the sustainable management of land use.

The EPWP concretely contributes to the national development plan’s target of creating over five million jobs by 2030, and positions the environmental sector as a hub of job creation.

The department’s other priorities include: wildlife conservation, recycling waste, climate change and air quality, the strategic management of oceans and coastal conservation, and moving towards a green economy. These support Outcome 10 (protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources) of government’s 2014-2019 MTSF.

South Africa is increasingly becoming a destination for investment in the green economy, and more specifically as a top 10 renewable energy investment destination globally.

National Action Programme (NAP) to combat desertification

South Africa, as a Party to the United Nations (UN) Convention to Combat Desertification, reviewed the 2004 NAP to combat desertification, land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought for South Africa and developed a new NAP for the period 2017 to 2027.

Since approximately 91% of South Africa’s landscape is drylands, it makes it susceptible to desertification.

Both desertification and land degradation are intricately linked to food security, poverty, urbanisation, climate change, and biodiversity and therefore are among the most critical environmental challenges in South Africa. The NAP will be a key tool in addressing these threats.

Conference of the Parties (CoP)

South Africa hosted COP17 to the CITES in September and October 2016.

By mid-2017, South Africa was implementing the decisions taken at the COP17 of the CITES, which included:

•    Provisions to strengthen actions to combat illicit wildlife trafficking, improve protection of entire groups of species, empowering youth and closer engagement with rural communities.

•    Provisions to manage the international trade in hunting trophies and the trade in cycads.

•    The CITES listing of wild ginger and Temminck’s pangolin.

•    The transfer of the Cape Mountain Zebra from Appendix I to Appendix II by CITES, which recognises a remarkable conservation success story – where a species has recovered from just less than 100 individual animals in the 1990s to over 5 000 in 2016.

•    The decision not to list South Africa’s elephant population in Appendix I, that would have introduced a ban on the international commercial trade in wild elephant.

Role players

South African National Biodiversity Institute

SANBI leads and coordinates research, and monitors and reports on the state of biodiversity in South Africa. The institute provides knowledge and information, gives planning and policy advice and pilots best-practice management models in partnership with stakeholders.

SANBI engages in ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation, leads the human capital development strategy of the sector and manages the National Botanical Gardens as ‘windows’ to South Africa’s biodiversity for enjoyment and education.

South Africa is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, after Indonesia and Brazil. The country is surrounded by two oceans, occupies only about 2% of the world’s land area, but is home to nearly: 10% of the world’s plants; 7% of the reptiles, birds and mammals and 15% of known coastal marine species. The country comprises nine biomes (unique vegetation landscapes), three of which have been declared global biodiversity hotspots.

Biodiversity richness is one of South Africa’s greatest assets, in terms of landscapes, ecosystems and species – the web of natural life – provides goods and services vital for human well-being and the survival of the planet. Goods and services such as water purification, grazing, eco-tourism, fisheries, sources of medicine, energy, food, healthy soils, pollination, carbon sinks, clean air and production of oxygen.

In the 2017/18 financial year, the DEA was expected to launch the Thohoyandou National Botanical Garden in Limpopo as the 11th National Botanical Garden to be managed by SANBI.

South African National Parks

SANParks’ primary mandate is to oversee the conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity, landscapes and associated heritage assets through a system of national parks.

In the 2016/17 financial year, SANParks received 6,7 million visitors into its 19 parks, generating approximately R2,6 billion. To ensure that national parks are accessible to all South African citizens, over 91 000 people were granted free access to national parks during the 2016/17 financial year.

The national parks are:

•    Addo Elephant National Park

•    Agulhas National Park

•    Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park

•    Augrabies Falls National Park

•    Bontebok National Park

•    Camdeboo National Park

•    Garden Route (Tsitsikamma, Knysna and Wilderness) National Park

•    Golden Gate Highlands National Park

•    Karoo National Park

•    Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

•    Kruger National Park

•    Mapungubwe National Park

•    Marakele National Park

•    Mokala National Park

•    Mountain Zebra National Park

•    Namaqua National Park

•    Table Mountain National Park (which incorporates the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain and Silvermine nature reserves)

•    Tankwa Karoo National Park

•    West Coast National Park.

SANParks is the leading conservation authority in all national parks around South Africa and responsible for protected land in 20 national parks. A transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) is a cross-border region.

The conservation status of the areas within a TFCA ranges from national parks, private game reserves and communal natural-resource management areas to hunting-concession areas. TFCAs allow tourists easy movement across international boundaries into adjoining conservation areas.

The seven TFCAs are:

•    Ai-Ais/Richtersveld

•    Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

•    Kavango-Zambezi

•    Greater Mapungubwe

•    Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

•    Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area

•    Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area.

A biosphere designation is given by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to special landscapes where people are collaborating to ensure their environmental integrity as the basis for their economic development.

Biosphere reserves are nominated by their governments for inclusion in the Man and the Biosphere Programme.

South Africa’s biosphere reserves include:

•    Vhembe, situated in the north-east of Limpopo, which includes the northern part of the Kruger National Park; the Makuleke Wetland, which is protected under the Ramsar Convention; the Soutpansberg and Blouberg biodiversity hot spots; and the Makgabeng Plateau.

•    The Kogelberg Reserve on the country’s southern coast is in the middle of the Cape Floral Region and home to 1 880 different plant species, 77 of which are found only in this region.

•    The Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve starts in Cape Town in the southern suburb of Diep River and stretches up the west coast as far as the Berg River, encompassing parts of the Cape Floral Region. The reserve includes the Ramsar-protected Langebaan Lagoon as well as Dassen Island, which is home to several protected bird species.

•    The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve includes a part of the Cape Floral Region, as well as the wine-growing region.

•    The Biosphere Reserve, in the Waterberg in Limpopo is an important catchment area for the Limpopo Basin, with four large rivers originating within its borders – the Lephalale, Mokolo, Matlabas and Magalakwena rivers.

•    The Kruger-to-Canyons Biosphere Reserve stretches from the Kruger National Park to the Blyde River Canyon. It is an important conservation area as it covers three biomes.

•    The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve is also recognised by the UNESCO in terms of the Man and Biosphere Programme.

The other biosphere reserves in South Africa are:

•    Kogelberg Reserve

•    Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve

•    Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve

•    Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

The Lake St Lucia System is the most important estuary and a key nursery for fish on the southeast African coast.

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park covers 332 000 ha and comprises 9% of South Africa’ coastline. It includes five ecosystems (marine, coastal dunes, lake systems, wetlands and woodlands). The species lists for the park are the longest in the region.

Of the species listed in the park, 56 are endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, 108 to South Africa and 467 are listed as threatened and endangered in South Africa. The park also has four Ramsar sites.

Areas of conservation

Protected areas

South Africa aims to expand the conservation areas under formal protection to the international standard of 10% of the total area of the country.

Scientific reserves

Scientific reserves are sensitive and undisturbed areas managed for research, monitoring and the maintenance of genetic sources. These include Marion Island and the Prince Edward Islands near Antarctica. Access is limited to researchers and staff.

Wilderness areas

These areas are extensive, uninhabited and underdeveloped, and access is strictly controlled with no vehicles allowed. The highest management priority is the maintenance of the intrinsic wilderness character.

Wilderness areas include the Cederberg Wilderness Area and Dassen Island in the Western Cape, and the Baviaans-kloof Wilderness Area in the Eastern Cape.

Biomes

The nine major terrestrial biomes or habitat types in South Africa are divided into 70 veld types. The biomes are the Savanna, Nama-Karoo, Succulent Karoo, Grassland, Fynbos, Forest, Albany Thicket, Desert and Indian Ocean Coastal Belt. The Fynbos Biome is one of only six floral kingdoms worldwide.

World Heritage sites

South Africa has eight World Heritage sites proclaimed by UNESCO, namely:

•    Robben Island (Western Cape). Most famous for the incarceration of political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected President of South Africa, who was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in jail.

•    iSimangaliso Wetlands Park (KwaZulu-Natal). Formerly called the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, it has both one of the largest estuary systems in Africa and the continent’s southernmost coral reefs.

•    Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng). It includes the hominid fossil sites at Swartkrans, Sterkfontein and Krom-draai.

•    Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (KwaZulu-Natal). The park has outstanding natural beauty, Africa’s highest mountain range south of Kilimanjaro, and the largest and most concentrated series of rock art paintings in Africa.

•    Mapungubwe Heritage Site (Limpopo). A “place of the stone of wisdom”, was South Africa’s first kingdom and developed into the subcontinent’s largest realm, lasting for 400 years before it was abandoned in the 14th century. Its highly sophisticated people traded gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt.

•    Cape Floral Kingdom (Western Cape). It makes up only 0.04% of the world’s land area, yet contains an astonishing 3% of its plant species, making it one of the richest areas for plants in the world and one of the globe’s 18 biodiversity hotspots.

•    Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape (Northern Cape). It covers 160 000 hectares (ha) of dramatic mountainous desert in the north-west part of South Africa

•    Vredefort Dome. Some two billion years ago, a meteorite 10 km in diameter hit the earth about 100 km southwest of Johannesburg, creating an enormous impact crater.

In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. As of 2016, South Africa had listed seven properties on its tentative list:

•    The !Xam Khomani Heartland

•    The Barberton Mountain Land, Barberton Greenstone Belt or Makhonjwa Mountains

•    Succulent Karoo Protected Areas

•    Liberation Heritage Route

•    Early Farmsteads of the Cape Winelands

•    The Emergence of Modern Humans: The Pleistocene occupation sites of South Africa

•    Human Rights, Liberation Struggle and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites.

In support of growing the eco-tourism and wildlife use sector, South Africa had by May 2017 submitted applications to UNESCO to consider:

•    designating the Garden Route as a Biosphere Reserve

•    listing the Khomani Cultural Landscape and the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains on the World Heritage List, in June 2017 and October 2018 respectively.

Wetlands

Wetlands support a range of specialised plant, insect and mammal life and also supply food, grazing, building and craft material to people. They are able to improve water quality, reduce flood impacts, control erosion and sustain river flows.

South Africa’s Ramsar sites include:

•    Barberspan

•    Blesbokspruit Nylsvley Nature Reserve

•    De Hoop Vlei

•    De Mond (Heuningnes Estuary)

•    Kosi Bay

•    Langebaan

•    Makuleke Wetlands

•    Ndumo Game Reserve

•    Ntsikeni Nature Reserve

•    Nylsvley Nature Reserve

•    Orange River Mouth Wetland

•    Prince Edward Islands in Antarctica

•    Seekoeivlei

•    St Lucia

•    the turtle beaches and coral reefs of Tongaland

•    Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park

•    Verlorenvlei Nature Reserve

•    Wilderness Lakes.

Marine protected areas (MPAs)

Government shares joint responsibility for South Africa’s MPAs with SANParks and Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.

South Africa’s MPAs include the:

•    Aliwal Shoal, KwaZulu-Natal

•    Betty’s Bay, Western Cape

•    Bird Island, Eastern Cape

•    De Hoop, Western Cape

•    Dwesa-Cwebe, Eastern Cape

•    False Bay, Western Cape

•    Goukamma, Western Cape

•    Hluleka, Eastern Cape

•    iSimangaliso, KwaZulu-Natal

•    Langebaan Lagoon, Sixteen Mile Beach, Malgas Island, Marcus Island, Jutten Island, Western Cape

•    Pondoland, Eastern Cape.

•    Robberg, Western Cape

•    Sardinia Bay, Eastern Cape

•    Stilbaai, Western Cape

•    Table Mountain, Western Cape

•    Trafalgar, KwaZulu-Natal

•    Tsitsikamma, Western Cape.

Zoological gardens

The National Zoological Gardens (NZG) of South Africa in Pretoria is the largest zoo in the country and the only one with national status.

The Johannesburg Zoological Gardens’ core business is the accommodation, enrichment, husbandry and medical care of wild animals. The Endangered Wildlife Trust is a major partner.

Mitchell Park Zoo in Durban is the country’s second oldest zoo after the NZG in Pretoria.

Breeding centres

There are a number of game-breeding centres in South Africa. The NZG of South Africa is responsible for the management of the Lichtenburg Biodiversity Conservation Centre, which covers an area of some 6 000 ha, and the Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre, covering 1 333 ha.

The Lichtenburg Biodiversity Conservation Centre houses, among other animals, Père David’s deer, which is extinct in the wild, pygmy hippopotamus, white rhino, the endangered addax, and scimitar-horned and Arabian oryx.

The Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre is home to an abundance of exotic and indigenous fauna such as lemur, the rare tsessebe, roan antelope and black rhino.

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre, situated near Pretoria, is best known for its highly successful captive-breeding programme that contributed to the cheetah being removed from the endangered list in the South African Red Data Book – Terrestrial Mammals in 1986. The De Wildt Vulture Unit is a rehabilitation and holding facility for injured, poisoned and disabled vultures.

The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre in Limpopo was initially established as a breeding programme for the then endangered cheetah. It caters for, among other animals, five species of vulture: Cape griffins as well as white-backed, hooded, whiteheaded and lappet-faced vultures. The centre is also known for its wild-dog breeding programme.

The Hoedspruit Research and Breeding Programme includes the rare black-footed cat, vulnerable African wild cat, ground hornbills (in cooperation with the NZG in Pretoria), bald ibis and the endangered blue crane.

Elephant, white rhino, buffalo, caracal, sable antelope, bushbuck and tsessebe have also been cared for and rehabilitated there.

Aquariums and oceanariums

There are aquariums in Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban and East London.

The Aquarium and Reptile Park of the NZG of South Africa in Pretoria is the largest inland aquarium in Africa.

The Port Elizabeth Oceanarium’s exhibits include an underwater observation area, a dolphin research centre, various smaller tanks containing 40 different species of bony fish and two larger tanks that display sharks and stingrays.

Officially opened on 2 December 1931, the East London Aquarium is the oldest public aquarium in Southern Africa.

At the Two Oceans Aquarium situated at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, more than 3 000 specimens represent some 300 species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, birds and plants supported by the waters along the Cape coast.

The aquarium at uShaka Marine World in Durban incorporates both fresh and sea-water species.

Snake and reptile parks

The Port Elizabeth Snake Park at Bayworld has a wide variety of South African and foreign reptiles.

The Aquarium and Reptile Park at the NZG in Pretoria houses 80 reptile species from all over the world.

The Hartbeespoort Dam Snake and Animal Park near Pretoria features one of the finest reptile collections in southern Africa.

The Pure Venom Reptile Farm is one of the largest of South Africa’s reptile parks. It is situated inland from Shelly Beach, on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast.

The Croc River Enviro Park in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga is the largest facility of its type in Africa.

Khamai Reptile Centre’s primary aims are conservation, breeding of endangered reptiles and education. Located outside Hoedspruit, it offers a close-up look at many local as well as exotic snakes, crocodiles and lizards.

Protecting environmental resources

Private sector involvement

More than 400 organisations in South Africa concentrate on conservation, wildlife and the general environment, while more than 30 botanical and horticultural organisations concentrate on the conservation of the country’s fauna and flora. These include the:

•    BirdLife South Africa

•    Botanical Society of South Africa

•    Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife

•    Conservation International

•    Delta Environmental Centre

•    Dolphin Action Protection Group

•    EcoLink

•    Endangered Wildlife Trust

•    Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

•    Green Trust

•    Keep South Africa Beautiful

•    KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board

•    National Conservancy Association of South Africa

•    Peace Parks Foundation

•    Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds

•    Trees and Food for Africa

•    Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa

•    World Wildlife Fund of South Africa.

Biodiversity

South Africa is home to some 24 000 species, around 7% of the world’s vertebrate species, and 5,5% of the world’s known insect species (only about half of the latter have been described).

In terms of the number of endemic species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians found in South Africa, the country ranks as the fifth richest in Africa and the 24th richest in the world.

Marine biodiversity is also high, with more than 11 000 species found in South African waters, which is about 15% of global species. More than 25% of these species (or 3 496 species) are endemic to South Africa, many of which are threatened, especially in river ecosystems (82%) and estuaries (77%).

The DEA’s 14-year National Biodiversity Economy Strategy aims to increase the biodiversity contribution to Gross Domestic Product between now and 2030 while conserving the country’s ecosystem. It focuses on enhancing growth in both the wildlife and tourism sectors by facilitating the entry of previously disadvantaged individuals.

This objective of the strategy is to capitalize on the conservation successes of the country to contribute towards the socio-economic development of communities. A key component is to make communities owners of wildlife.

In 2016, jointly with the Department of Tourism, the DEA co-hosted a Biodiversity Economy Operation Phakisa Delivery Lab to accelerate the economic growth and job creation opportunities in the biotechnology and biodiversity conservation sectors, in particular through the eco-tourism and wildlife sectors.

The Biodiversity Economy implementation plans target the creation of 100 000 jobs and support for 4 000 new small, medium and micro enterprises by 2030.

Recycling

The Waste Management Bureau, which was established in April 2016, works to reduce waste through recycling. The bureau monitors recycling plans, and provides specialist services to government and recycling companies.

By the end of 2016, the bureau was planning to introduce the recycling enterprise support programme, which will provide support services, training and advice to transporters, storage depot operators and tyre recyclers. Substantial funding was expected to be allocated over the medium term to the plastics programme, which will promote waste minimisation, create awareness in the plastics industry, expand collector networks and support rural collection by building the capacity of small, medium and micro enterprises. The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications also receives funding to implement compulsory specifications for plastic bags.

The National Recycling Forum is a non-profit organisation created to promote the recovery and recycling of recyclable materials in South Africa.

Collect-a-Can, one of the oldest recycling initiatives in South Africa, has been instrumental in creating a culture of recycling in the country. It has obtained local and international acclaim for its contribution towards protecting the environment, as well as its significant contribution to job creation and poverty alleviation.

Rhino poaching

A total of 1 054 rhino were poached in 2016, compared to 1 175 in the same period for 2015, representing a decline of 10.3%.

Specifically for the Kruger National Park, a total of 662 rhino carcasses were found in 2016 compared to 826 in 2015. This represents a reduction of 19.85% in 2016. This is despite a continued increase in the number of illegal incursions into the Kruger National Park.

During 2016, the SAPS reported that a total of 680 poachers and traffickers were arrested for rhino-related poaching offences nationally. This is a marked increase (over double) in arrests from 317 in 2015. Of this number, 417 were arrested both within and outside the Kruger National Park.

A total of 148 firearms were seized inside the park in 2016, and six just outside the park.

During 2016, 11 rhino were internally translocated away from boundaries in the KNP for security reasons, thereby complimenting the internal movements that started during 2014. (So far, evaluations on the translocations show that young cows and sub-adult males tend to integrate easily into existing rhino populations.)

During 2016, a total of 106 rhino were translocated to private rhino strongholds, following suitability assessments conducted by SANParks. Overall, translocations have been successful and no translocated rhino were poached.

During September 2016, a rhino survey using the scientifically accepted block count method recorded that a total of 6 649 – 7 830 white rhino lived in Kruger National Park. This is lower than the 8 365 – 9 337 that lived in the Kruger National Park during 2015. A total of between 349 and 465 black rhino lived in the Kruger National Park in 2016 compared to between 313 and 453 in 2015.

Through the People and Parks Window of the Environment Programme, government has created 1 585 408 job opportunities.

Collaboration with the Government of Mozambique continues to improve and the partnership has been greatly successful in the past year. Over 30% of the families from eight villages have been relocated.

Climate change

Over the medium term, the DEA was expected to roll-out the Let’s Respond toolkit, which provides a process map for a projected 40 municipalities to integrate their climate change responses into the department’s planning documents.

By mid-2017, South Africa was planning to phase down Hydro-fluorocarbons, in terms of obligations in the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the 1986 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Based on a study, the DEA planned to manage the public health and environmental impacts of mercury pollution, in terms of obligations in the Minamata Convention on Mercury that South Africa signed in 2015.

The DEA is managing the phasing out of the import and export of hazardous chemicals and waste, in terms of obligations in the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

Green economy

Through South Africa’s Green Economy Strategy, the DEA continues to promote equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and social development. The strategy has eight key pillars, namely:

•    Green buildings and the built environment;

•    Sustainable transport and infrastructure;

•    Clean energy and energy efficiency;

•    Natural resource conservation and management;

•    Sustainable waste management;

•    Water management;

•    Sustainable consumption and production; and

•    Agriculture food production and forestry.

Regarding green buildings and the built environment, the department was implementing energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure projects as part of its Green Cities Programme.

Pollution

The department plans to increase the number of government-owned air quality monitoring stations reporting to the South African air quality information system, from 115 in 2016/17 to 125 in 2019/20, in an attempt to reduce air pollution.

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the Constitution as “distinctive, interdependent and interrelated.”

The Constitution

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. No other law or government action can supersede the provisions of the Constitution. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 was approved by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996 and took effect on 4 February 1997.

Government

Government consists of national, provincial and local spheres. The powers of the legislature, executive and courts are separate.

Parliament

Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Parliamentary sittings are open to the public. Several measures have been implemented to make Parliament more accessible and accountable.

National Assembly

The National Assembly consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members, elected through a system of proportional representation for a five-year term. It elects the President and scrutinises the executive.

National Council of Provinces

The NCOP consists of 54 permanent members and 36 special delegates. The purpose of the NCOP is to represent the interests of the provinces in the national sphere of government.

Government clusters

Clusters were established to foster an integrated approach to governance that is aimed at improving government planning, decision making and service delivery. The main objective is to ensure proper coordination of all government programmes at national and provincial levels.

The seven clusters are:

•    Infrastructure Development

•    Economic Sectors and Employment

•    Governance and Administration

•    Human Development

•    Social Protection and Community Development

•    International Cooperation, Trade and Security

•    Justice, Crime Prevention and Security.

The Presidency, May 2014

President: Jacob Zuma

Deputy President: Cyril Ramaphosa

Izimbizo

The Izimbizo programme is a communication platform that enables the citizenry to have a meaningful and direct engagement with members of the national, provincial and local executive. It promotes unmediated face-to-face communication with the public. It provides an opportunity to political principals to share government plans to improve service delivery and to listen to issues facing communities.

Government embarked on the 6th National Imbizo Focus Week of the current administration from 17 to 23 April 2017. President Jacob Zuma had declared 2017 as the Year of Oliver Reginald Tambo. The year marked the centenary of the late President and national Chairperson of the ANC, an international icon and hero of the South African liberation struggle.

In celebrating his legacy, the National Imbizo Focus Week focused on the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) vision 2030, which underpins the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019.

Inter-Ministerial Committees (IMCs)

President Jacob Zuma (and in certain instances the Cabinet) appoints IMCs for specific purposes that require the attention and dedication of a team of certain Ministers. The mandate of the IMCs is limited to the matter that they are established to execute. They included:

•    IMC on the Prevention and Combating of Corruption;

•    IMC on Information and Publicity;

•    IMC on State funerals;

•    IMC on the Revitalisation of Distressed Mining communities;

•    IMC on Migration;

•    IMC on Investment Promotion;

•    IMC on Local Government Elections.

The Presidency

The Presidency is the executive manager of government. It is situated in the Union Buildings, Pretoria, and has a subsidiary office in Tuynhuys, Cape Town.

There are two Ministers in The Presidency, one responsible for Women and the other for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. The NDP offers a long-term socio-economic development road map. The NDP: Vision for 2030 focuses on the following strategic areas of development:

•    creating jobs

•    expanding infrastructure

•    sustainable use of resources

•    transforming urban and rural spaces

•    improving education and training

•    providing quality healthcare

•    building a capable state

•    fighting crime and corruption

•    uniting the nation.

The Deputy President

The President appoints the Deputy President from among the members of the National Assembly.

Cabinet

Cabinet consists of the President, as head of the Cabinet, the Deputy President and Ministers. The President appoints the Deputy President and Ministers, assigns their powers and functions and may dismiss them. No more than two Ministers may be appointed from outside the National Assembly.

Premiers, as at October 2017

Province

Premier

Eastern Cape
Phumulo Masualle

Free State
Ace Magashule

Gauteng
David Makhura

KwaZulu-Natal
Willies Mchunu

Limpopo
Stanley Mathabatha

Mpumalanga
David Mabuza

Northern Cape
Sylvia Lucas

North West
Supra Mahumapelo

Western Cape
Helen Zille

Provincial government

Each of the nine provinces has its own legislature of 30 to 80 members. They elect the premiers who head the executive councils.

Traditional leadership

The National House of Traditional Leaders was established in terms of the then National House of Traditional Leaders Act of 1997. Its objectives and functions are to promote the role of traditional leadership within a democratic constitutional dispensation, enhance unity and understanding among traditional communities and advise national government.

Provincial houses of traditional leaders were established in all six provinces that have traditional leaders, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West.

The national and provincial houses of traditional leaders enhance the cooperative relationships within national and provincial government, while the establishment of local houses of traditional leaders deepens and cements the relationship between municipalities and traditional leaders on customary law and development initiatives.

Local government

Local government is the sphere of government closest to the people. In accordance with the Constitution and the Organised Local Government Act of 1997, which formally recognises organised local-government associations, organised local government may designate up to 10 part-time representatives to represent municipalities and participate in proceedings of the NCOP.

Municipalities

Recent developments include the redemarcation of municipal boundaries in South Africa after the 2016 Local Government Elections. This reduced the number of municipalities from 278 to 257, comprising eight metropolitan, 44 district and 205 local municipalities. Municipalities govern on a four-year term basis and run local affairs subject to national and provincial legislation. They are focused on growing local economies and providing infrastructure and services.

South Africa has eight metropolitan municipalities:

•    Buffalo City (East London)

•    City of Cape Town

•    Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (East Rand)

•    City of eThekwini (Durban)

•    City of Johannesburg

•    Mangaung Municipality (Bloemfontein)

•    Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth)

•    City of Tshwane (Pretoria).

Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA)

The Department of CoGTA is mandated to: develop and monitor the implementation of national policy and legislation aimed at transforming and strengthening key institutions and mechanisms of governance in national, provincial and local government to fulfil their developmental role; develop, promote and monitor mechanisms, systems and structures to enable integrated service delivery and implementation within government; and promote sustainable development by providing support to and exercising oversight of provincial and local government.

Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers, as at October 2017

Portfolio

Minister

Deputy Minister

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Senzeni Zokwana
Bheki Cele

Arts and Culture
Nathi Mthethwa
Makhotso Sotyu

Basic Education
Angie Motshekga
Enver Surty

Communications
Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane
Tandi Mahambehlala

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
David van Rooyen
Obed Bapela
Andries Nel

Defence and Military Veterans
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Kebby Maphatsoe

Economic Development
Ebrahim Patel
Madala Masuku

Energy
David Mahlobo
Thembi Majola

Environmental Affairs
Edna Molewa
Barbara Thomson

Finance
Malusi Gigaba
Sfiso Buthelezi

Health
Aaron Motsoaledi
Joe Phaahla

Higher Education and Training
Hlengiwe Mkhize
Buti Manamela

Home Affairs
Ayanda Dlodlo
Fatima Chohan

Human Settlements
Lindiwe Sisulu
Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks

International Relations and Cooperation
Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
Nomaindia Mfeketo
Luwellyn Landers

Justice and Correctional Services
Michael Masutha
Thabang Makwetla
John Jeffery

Labour
Mildred Oliphant
Patekile Holomisa

Mineral Resources
Mosebenzi Zwane
Godfrey Oliphant

Police
Fikile Mbalula
Michael Mkongi

Public Enterprises
Lynne Brown
Ben Martins

Public Service and Administration
Faith Muthambi
Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba

Public Works
Nathi Nhleko
Jeremy Cronin

Rural Development and Land Reform
Gugile Nkwinti
Candith Mashego-Dlamini
Mcebisi Skwatsha

Science and Technology
Naledi Pandor
Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi

Small Business Development
Lindiwe Zulu
Nomathemba November

Social Development
Bathabile Dlamini
Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu

Sport and Recreation
Thulas Nxesi
Gert Oosthuizen

State Security
Bongani Bongo
Ellen Molekane

Telecommunications and Postal Services
Siyabonga Cwele
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams

The Presidency:
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Jeff Radebe
_

The Presidency: Women
Susan Shabangu
–

Tourism
Tokozile Xasa
Elizabeth Thabethe

Trade and Industry
Rob Davies
Gratitude Magwanishe

Transport
Joe Maswanganyi
Sindisiwe Chikunga

Water and Sanitation
Nomvula Mokonyane
Pamela Tshwete

The department’s Back to Basics strategy, which was launched in 2014, aims to improve the quality of basic services, foster good governance and build institutional capacity in local government, encourage public participation, and create work opportunities.

The five pillars of the strategy are:

•    Batho Pele (Putting People First): Put people and their concerns first and ensure constant contact with communities through effective public participation platforms.

•    Deliver Reliable Services: Create decent living conditions by consistently delivering the right quality and standard of municipal services. This entails planning and budgeting, delivering infrastructure, amenities and maintenance and ensuring that there are no service failures. Should failures occur, restore services with urgency.

•    Sound Financial Management: Demonstrate good governance and administration, which include waste reduction, prudent public funds expenditure, recruitment of competent staff and transparency and accountability.

•    Good Governance: Ensure sound financial management and accounting and manage resources effectively to sustain service delivery and community development.

•    Build Capable Institutions: Build and maintain sound institutional and administrative capabilities that are administered and managed at all levels by dedicated and skilled personnel.

The Department of CoGTA is also responsible for managing and transferring the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), which provides specific capital finance for basic municipal infrastructure backlogs for poor households, micro-enterprises and social institutions servicing poor communities.

The MIG enables the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, roads and community lighting in poor communities.

Public Service Commission (PSC)

The PSC is tasked and empowered to, amongst others, investigate, monitor, and evaluate the organisation and administration of the Public Service.

This mandate also entails the evaluation of achievements, or lack thereof of government programmes. The PSC also has an obligation to promote measures that would ensure effective and efficient performance within the Public Service and to promote values and principles of public administration as set out in the Constitution, throughout the Public Service.

National School of Government (NSG)

The NSG is intended to educate, train, professionalise and develop a highly capable, skilled and committed public service cadre, with a sense of national duty and a common culture and ethos. It nurtures a culture of professionalism and innovative thinking and serve as a catalyst for reform and modernisation in pursuit of a performance-oriented public service.

Department of Public Works (DPW)

The DPW aims to promote the government’s objectives of economic development, good governance and rising living standards and prosperity by providing and managing the accommodation and infrastructure needs of national departments, by leading the national Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and transforming the construction and property industries.

The EPWP remains an effective part of government’s response to the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Through the EPWP, projects such as building low-cost bridges over rivers, were making a real difference to people’s lives. The projects carried out by the EPWP sought to improve the quality of life of poor communities in particular.

Community development workers (CDWs) serve as a link between communities with many government services and programmes. Located within communities, CDWs assist citizens by helping them to access services such as health, welfare, housing, agriculture, economic activity, education and training, and employment opportunities.

Department of Home Affairs (DHA)

The DHA is the custodian of the identity of all South African citizens, critical to which is issuing birth, marriage and death certificates; identity documents and passports; as well as citizenship; naturalisation and permanent residency certificates.

The department is also responsible for the effective, secure and humane management of immigration.

Statutory bodies falling under the department are the:

•    Immigration Advisory Board

•    Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs

•    Refugee Appeal Board.

Government Printing Works (GPW)

The GPW, a division of the DHA, is mandated to provide security printing and ancillary services to all organs of state in all spheres of government.

It deals with the printing of passports, visas, birth certificates, smart-card identification documents and examination materials, as well as government stationery and publications, such as tender bulletins and government gazettes. The GPW also provides printing services to some Southern African Development Community states.

The Bill of Rights in Section 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 states unequivocally that access to healthcare is a basic human right. The Department of Health (DoH) contributes directly to the realisation of Outcome 2 (a long and healthy life for all South Africans) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework.

In line with the vision of the National Development Plan (NDP) of ensuring a long and healthy life for all South Africans, the department focuses on sustainably expanding HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) treatment and prevention, revitalising public healthcare facilities, and ensuring the provision of specialised tertiary hospital services.

According to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) Mid-year population estimates for 2017, the total number of persons living with HIV in South Africa increased from an estimated 4,94 million in 2002 to 7,06 million by 2017.

HIV prevalence among the youth aged 15–24 has declined over time from 7,3% in 2002 to 4,6 in 2017. The rate at which the population in South Africa is being infected is estimated to be declining from 1,9% in 2002 to 0,9% in 2017.

Life expectancy at birth for 2017 was estimated at 61,2 years for males and 66,7 years for females. The infant mortality rate for 2017 is estimated at 32,8 per 1 000 live births.

The estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is approximately 12,6% among the South African population. The total number of people living with HIV is estimated at approximately 7,06 million in 2017. For adults aged 15–49 years, an estimated 18,0% of the population is HIV positive.

The number of AIDS-related deaths declined consistently since 2007 from 345 185 in 2006 to 126 755 in 2017. Access to antiretroviral treatment has changed historical patterns of mortality and thus extended the lifespan of many HIV-positive people in South Africa.

Access to medicines:

(i) Stock Visibility System (SVS)

The SVS is an electronic way of measuring stock at the clinic by scanning the back code on the package or bottle with a specially supplied cellphone with a special application.

When the nurse scans at the clinic the stock level is automatically and in real time, reported to an electronic map of all clinics in our country at the central tower in Pretoria.

There is an SVS in 3 163 clinics, 658 of which are within the NHI pilots. This project started in July 2014, in partnership with the Vodacom Foundation.

With the SVS alone, stocks in clinics have improved as follows:

•    ARVs from 69,5% to 92,5%;

•    TB medication from 65,7% to 88,5%; and

•    Vaccines from 64,5% to 94,5%.

(ii) Rx Solution and other electronic stock management systems (ESMS)

The system reports levels of stock electronically from each of these hospitals to the central control tower in Pretoria. If the stock levels are low, it automatically submits an order.

By mid-2017, this system had been installed in 80% of 10 central hospitals, in 94% of 18 provincial tertiary hospitals, 83% of 47 regional hospitals and 71% of 254 district hospitals.

(iii) Central Chronic Medicines and Dispensing and Distribution Programme

In this programme, patients who are stable on chronic medication do not have to visit clinics anymore, except after six months for check-up.

They collect their medicines in 401 pickup points around the country. More than 1,3 million patients are using this system, relieving congestion in clinics or hospitals.

Record management and Unique Patient Identifier

Working with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Home Affairs, the DoH has introduced the Unique Patient Identifier, a patient information system that allows a patient to be followed from one facility to the other.

By 10 May 2017, the Unique Patient Identifier had reached 1 859 clinics, 705 of which are in the NHI pilots. Over 6,3 million had registered in this system in preparation for the NHI. The is linked to a patient’s ID number in Home Affairs and is a lifetime number.

School health

By the end of 2016, the DoH had completed screening 3,2 million school kids for physical barriers to learning such as eyesight, hearing, speech and oral health. A total of 500 004 school kids, specially in the NHI pilots, were found to have the following health problems:

•    8 891 have speech problems needing a speech therapist;

•    34 094 had hearing problems needing an audiologist or hearing aids;

•    119 340 had eyesight problems needing an optometrist, ophthalmologist or maybe spectacles;

•    337 679 had oral health problems needing a dentist, dental therapist or oral hygienists.

HIV, AIDS and TB

South Africa has increased the number of people who receive ARVs to over 3,4 million people in 2016.

The DoH expects ARV therapy to reach five million South Africans by 2018/19. This expansion is part of South Africa’s progressive scaling up towards 90-90-90 targets for 2020 of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, namely: 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained ARV therapy, and 90% of all people receiving ARV therapy will have viral suppression.

Further increases in the HIV and AIDS, TB, Maternal and Child Health Programme of R60 million in 2017/18 and R140 million in 2018/19 will be used to scale up HIV-prevention programmes, such as condom distribution, medical male circumcision and social behaviour change communication campaigns.

The 8th Annual South African AIDS Conference was held in Durban on 15 June 2017.

The conference, themed “The Long Walk to Prevention: Every Voice Counts”, was an opportunity to understand the state of HIV and AIDS epidemic in terms of treatment and prevention, and finding possible innovative solutions to ensure that South Africa achieves an AIDS-free society.

National Health Insurance (NHI)

The aim of the NHI is to provide access to quality and affordable healthcare services for all South Africans based on their health needs, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

The NDP envisions a health system that works for everyone, produces positive health outcomes and is accessible to all.

By 2030, the NDP expected South Africa to have, among other things, raised the life expectancy of South Africans to at least 70 years; produced a generation of under-20s that is largely free of HIV; achieved an infant mortality rate of less than 20 deaths per thousand live births, including an under-five mortality rate of less than 30 per thousand; achieved a significant shift in equity, efficiency and quality of health service provision.

Potential benefits from the NHI Fund would include:

•    treatment for schoolchildren with physical barriers to learning such as eyesight, hearing, speech and oral health;

•    free ante-natal care in the form of eight visits to a doctor to each of the 1,2 million women who fall pregnant annually. Family planning, breast and cervical cancer screening and where appropriate, treatment, will be provided;

•    better services for mental health users, such as screening;

•    assistive devices for the elderly like spectacles, hearing aids and wheelchairs.

National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS)

The NHLS is mandated to support the DoH by providing cost-effective diagnostic laboratory services to all state clinics and hospitals.

It also provides health science training and education, and supports health research. It is the largest diagnostic pathology service in South Africa, servicing more than 80% of the population, through a national network of 268 laboratories.

Its specialised divisions include the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the National Institute for Occupational Health, the National Cancer Registry and the South African Vaccine Producers as its subsidiary.

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA)

As of April 2017, the SAHPRA was established as a public entity responsible for the regulation of medicines, medical devices and radiation control. These functions were previously performed by the Medicines Control Council. As part of the transition, the SAHPRA would operate more independently and retain the revenue collected from the pharmaceutical industry.

Over time, SAHPRA aims to absorb some of the external evaluators as full-time employees to enhance its capacity. By doing so it will reduce the current backlog of applications and gradually improve turnaround times for applications and priority products to 75% within three months by 2019/2020.

Once regulations for medical and diagnostic devices have been developed and gazetted in 2017/18, the SAHPRA is expected to also regulate these products and control certain non-medical products for hazardous radiation.

Medical schemes

By August 2017, there were about 87 medical schemes in South Africa, with around 8,8 million beneficiaries. These schemes have a total annual contribution flow of about R129.8 billion.

According to Stats SA’s General Household Survey 2016, nearly a quarter (23,2%) of South African households had at least one member who belonged to a medical aid scheme.

However, a relatively small percentage of individuals in South Africa (17,4%) belonged to a medical aid scheme in 2016.

Health entities

The Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works is mandated to compensate workers and ex-workers in controlled mines and works for occupational diseases of the cardiorespiratory organs and reimburse for loss of earnings incurred during TB treatment.

•    The Council for Medical Schemes is a regulatory authority responsible for overseeing the medical schemes industry in South Africa. Its functions include protecting the interests of beneficiaries, controlling and coordinating the functioning of medical schemes, collecting and disseminating information about private healthcare and advising the Minister of Health on any matter concerning medical schemes. The council has improved the turnaround time for resolving complaints from scheme beneficiaries and aims to resolve 85% of all complaints within 120 days by 2019-2020.

•    The Office of Health Standards Compliance is mandated to monitor and enforce the compliance of health establishments with the norms and standards prescribed by the Minister of Health in relation to the national health system; and ensure the consideration, investigation and disposal of complaints relating to non-compliance with prescribed norms and standards in a procedurally fair, economical and expeditious manner.

•    The South African Medical Research Council is mandated to promote the improvement of health and quality of life through research development and technology transfer. Research and innovation are primarily conducted through council funded research units located within the council and in higher education institutions. The council’s three-year R30 million programme on maternal, infant and neonatal health, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to identify innovations in gestational diabetes, perinatal haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and neonatal survival. The council also collaborates with a number of other research partners, including the Newton Fund, the British Medical Research Council, GlaxoSmithKline and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration

The 21-year-old Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration programme continues to add value to the human resources capacity of South Africa’s health services.

By mid-2017, there were 427 Cuban doctors deployed mostly in rural health facilities, with only a handful in Gauteng. A total of 2 905 students were in the programme in Cuba, with 76 in the fifth year of study.

The Department of Human Settlements (DHS) derives its core mandate and responsibilities from Section 26 of the Constitution and Section 3 of the Housing Act of 1997, read in conjunction with approved policies and chapter 8 of the National Development Plan (NDP).

This allows the DHS, in collaboration with provinces and municipalities, to establish and facilitate a sustainable national housing development process. The department does this by: determining national policy and national norms and standards for housing and human settlements development; and setting broad national housing delivery goals, and monitoring the financial and non-financial performance of provinces and municipalities against these goals.

In executing these roles and responsibilities, the department also builds capacity for provinces and municipalities, and promotes consultation with all stakeholders in the housing-delivery chain, including civil society and the private sector.

The DHS is committed to the NDP’s vision of transforming human settlements and the spatial economy to create more functionally integrated, balanced and vibrant urban settlements by 2030.

Outcome 8 (sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) guides the department’s work over the medium term towards ensuring that poor households have access to adequate housing in better living environments, and that institutional capacity and coordination is improved.

Building on the 2004 Breaking New Ground Strategy, the DHS was expected to produce a new White Paper on Human Settlements by 2017/18. The document is intended to formalise the shift in the department’s approach from providing housing to developing sustainable human settlements. Under the new approach, the state seeks to develop partnerships with the private sector, communities and individual households to deliver sustainable and affordable accommodation in close proximity to social and economic opportunities. When approved, the White Paper will form the basis of new human settlements legislation to replace the Housing Act of 1997.

The DHS’s goal is to deliver over 1,5 million houses by 2019, as set out in the 2014-2019 MTSF. It also seeks to ensure, among other things, that poor households have access to adequate housing in better living environments.

Human Settlements Vision 2030

Housing the poor was an ingredient of the department’s three-part response to the State’s Vision 2030 Strategy. “Gap housing” is a term that describes the shortfall or gap in the market between residential units supplied by the State and houses delivered by the private sector. The gap housing market comprises people who typically earn between R3 500 and R15 000 per month, which is too little to enable them to participate in the private property market, yet too much to qualify for state assistance.

Gap housing is a policy that addresses the housing aspirations of people such as nurses, firefighters, teachers and members of the armed forces, who earn between R3 000 and R15 000 per month and therefore do not qualify for RDP houses and do not earn enough to obtain home loans.

Nationally, the houses were financially assisted by the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) through an intervention called Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP), which gives all qualifying beneficiaries the certainty of being granted loans, bonds or mortgages by banks and other financial institutions.

Social housing

A key model for the delivery of affordable housing is social housing, which provides medium density, affordable, rental housing to low and middle income households. Social housing contributes to transforming urban spatial patterns as it promotes integration and densification in close proximity to economic and social amenities.

The DHS’s social housing programme is largely funded through the restructuring capital grant, which is transferred from the Housing Development Finance programme to be administered by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA).

The grant was expected to reach R1 billion by 2018/19 to fund the delivery of 17 333 social housing units, contributing to achieving the target of an additional 27 000 social housing units by 2019.

Housing entities

The department’s housing entities include the:

•    National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), which represents the interests of housing consumers by providing warranty protection against defined defects in new homes and to regulate the home building industry. The NHBRC also provides training and capacity building to promote and ensure compliance with technical standards in the home-building environment.

•    Community Schemes Ombud Service, which provides a dispute-resolution service for community schemes; monitors and controls the quality of all governance documentation relating to sectional title schemes; and takes custody of, preserves and provides public access to scheme governance documentation.

•    Estate Agency Affairs Board, which regulates, maintains and promotes the conduct of estate agents; issues certificates from the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund; prescribes the standard of education and training for estate agents; investigates complaints lodged against estate agents, and manages and controls the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund.

•    Housing Development Agency, which identifies, acquires, holds, develops and releases state-owned and privately owned land for residential and community purposes; and project manages housing developments for the creation of sustainable human settlements.

•    NHFC, which broadens and deepens access to affordable housing finance for low- to middle-income households by facilitating private-sector lending for housing purposes.

•    National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency (NURCHA), which provides bridging finance to contractors building low to moderate income housing, infrastructure and community facilities.

•    Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF), which facilitates access to housing credit to low income rural households by providing wholesale finance through a network of retail intermediaries and community-based organisations.

•    SHRA, which regulates the social housing sector, and ensures a sustainable and regulated flow of investment into the social housing sector in order to support the restructuring of urban spaces by providing capital grant to accredited social housing institutions.

The DHS was expected to finalise the consolidation of the NHFC, NURCHA and RHLF into a single human settlements development finance institution. Once established, the new institution is expected to provide more effective access to affordable housing finance. The department was expected to complete the strategic framework and legislation for the new institution by the end of 2017/18.

Subsidies

A housing subsidy is a grant by government to qualifying beneficiaries for housing purposes. One of the DHS areas of responsibility in the delivery of human settlements relates to the bottom-most end of the market, where it provides housing subsidies to the poor. This is where the bulk of the housing backlog exists, affecting mainly those who earn below R3 500 a month.

Government Employees Housing Scheme (GEHS)

The Department of Public Service and Administration has partnered with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) in terms of which the PIC, through its Developmental Investment Policy, has invested R11 billion in support of the GEHS Housing Finance Access Service to promote and increase home-ownership among public service employees.

Prior to the GEHS, over 954 000 employees received housing allowance of R900 per month, which increased to R1 200 with effect from 1 July 2015.

The scheme was established in response to the housing finance and access gap that exists with households in the monthly bracket of R3 500 and R15 000, who continue to remain underserviced and excluded from accessing home loans in spite of their regular income and relatively secure employment.

People Housing Process (PHP)

The PHP is people-driven and beneficiaries have a say in the process and can decide what type of housing should be built. It aims to deliver better human settlement outcomes based on community contribution and partnerships.

National Housing Needs Register (NHNR)

The NHNR is a central database that offers households the opportunity to register their need for adequate shelter by providing information about their current living conditions, household composition and to indicate the type of housing assistance they require from government.

Households are also able to update their information to ensure that their details are relevant to their current situation. Records of households that have registered their need on other systems/waiting lists are received from provincial human settlement departments and municipalities.

The records received by the DHS are validated before being added to the NHNR. The NHNR has the functionality that ensures that the allocation of housing opportunities that are created through the various programmes contained in the National Housing Code is done in a fair, transparent and auditable manner. This is done by selecting households from relevant geographical areas based on the agreed criteria, such as age, preference, employment and income status.

National Upgrading Support Programme (NUSP)

Through the NUSP, the DHS aims, amongst others, to promote incremental upgrading and strengthen capacity of government and professional practitioners to implement community-based upgrading.

South Africa’s foreign policy is guided by government’s apex strategy, the National Development Plan (NDP), which sets out a long-term vision that seeks to address the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality, and put South Africa on a path towards long-term development and prosperity.

In this regard, Chapter 7 of the NDP envisions an active role for South Africa in the region, the continent and the world. The country seeks to build strategic partnerships for development to advance its national interests and promote the enduring values that define the nation, namely democracy, human rights and good governance.

The country continues to pursue regional political and economic integration, and promote Africa’s development through sustained South-South solidarity and mutually beneficial relations with the North.

South Africa has managed to increase the volume of out-bound trade and inward investment, tourism, skills and technology transfers. As of December 2016, South Africa’s total trade with Africa stood at R436 billion. In 2016, the country grew its exports to Africa by 4,67%, while total bilateral trade grew by 3,84%.

The President of the Republic of South Africa is responsible for the foreign policy and international relations of the country, according to the Constitution. It is the President’s prerogative to appoint heads of mission, receive foreign heads of mission conduct state-to-state relations, and negotiate and sign all international agreements.

International agreements that are not of a technical, administrative or executive nature will only bind the country after being approved by Parliament, which also approves the country’s ratification of or accession to multilateral agreements. All international agreements must be tabled in Parliament for information purposes.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) focuses, among other things, on consolidating South Africa’s global economic, political and social relations, strengthening the African Agenda and regional integration.

South Africa continues to engage with strategic formations of the North, while advancing mutually beneficial South-South cooperation through structured bilateral mechanisms and multilateral agreements. The country’s foreign policy outlook is based on its commitment to the values and ideals of Pan-Africanism, solidarity with people of the South and the need to cooperate with all peace-loving people across the globe in pursuit of shared prosperity and a just, equitable and rules-based international order.

The DIRCO also planned to use the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act as a platform for industrialisation and regional integration, and relations with the European Union (EU) on the establishment of joint infrastructure projects were at the advanced stages by mid-2016.

These engagements are complementary with ongoing participation in United Nations (UN) structures and multilateral organisations and forums. The department will strengthen and consolidate South-South relations, reflecting the shift in the balance of the global distribution of power and the increasing influence of emerging economies in the multilateral trading system.

The department continues to use its membership and engagements with groupings of the South, such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the Group of 77, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS), to advance South Africa’s foreign policy objectives.

The adoption of the strategy for the BRICS economic partnership was expected to facilitate trade and investment, enhance market access opportunities and facilitate market interlinkages between the countries. The BRICS’ New Development Bank is expected serve as an instrument for financing infrastructure investment and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other developing countries and emerging market economies.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation is entrusted with the formulation, promotion, execution and daily conduct of South Africa’s foreign policy. The department’s strategic objectives are to:

•    protect and promote South African national interests and values through bilateral and multilateral interactions

•    conduct and coordinate South Africa’s international relations and promote its foreign policy objectives

•    monitor international developments and advise government on foreign policy and related domestic matters

•    contribute to the formulation of international law and enhance respect for its provisions

•    promote multilateralism to secure a rules-based international system

•    maintain a modern, effective department driven to pursue excellence provide a world-class and uniquely South African state protocol service.

African Union (AU)

South Africa’s future is inherently linked to that of the rest of the African continent. The DIRCO continues to support regional and continental processes, responding to and resolving crises, strengthening regional integration, contributing to an enabling trade environment, increasing intra-Africa trade, and championing sustainable development and opportunities. Strengthening the AU and its structures is a key priority for deepening continental integration.

The department continues to make contributions to: operationalising the tripartite agreement between South Africa, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in support of the peace and security framework agreement for the Great Lakes region; deploying the Southern African Development Community (SADC) intervention brigade; and, working with the Department of Defence, operationalising the AU Peace and Security Architecture and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises, which is the multinational African interventionist standby force set up in November 2013.

The AU’s Agenda 2063, under the theme “The Africa We Want”, seeks to chart a new development trajectory for Africa towards self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity. The first 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063 identifies the key outcomes by 2023. The DIRCO will be involved in rationalising regional economic communities towards a Continental Free Trade Area, revitalising the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) on infrastructure development, and promoting good governance systems through the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Among others, Agenda 2063 aspires to a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. It also seeks an integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance.

The AU Agenda includes the commitments to support railway and road infrastructure, power generation and distribution networks, industrial and technology parks and human resources development. Agenda 2063 sets out a roadmap towards an Africa where women are empowered to play their rightful role in all spheres of life, and with full equality. This is in line with the AU heads of state decision to establish the Pan African Women’s Organisation as a legal entity and a specialised agency of the AU.

The AU Heads of State and Assembly declared 2017 as the year of “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investment in the Youth”. This provides an opportunity for the continent to leverage the youth bulge to propel its socio-economic development.

Africa Day

On 25 May 2017, President Jacob Zuma hosted the national 2017 Africa Day celebration at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria.

Africa Day is celebrated annually on 25 May within the African continent to mark the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963 and the AU in 2002, as well as chart the progress made by the continent since then to advance democracy, peace, stability and socio-economic development.

The theme for Africa Month 2017 was “The Year of OR Tambo: Building a Better Africa and a Better World”. South Africa used the day to reaffirm support for the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and committed the country to playing its role within the AU to ensure the successful implementation of the vision and plan to build a better Africa.

The 2017 Africa Day also mark the celebration of 23 years since the country’s reintegration into the OAU/AU and the international community, following the dawn of freedom and democracy in 1994.

New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)

NEPAD, an AU strategic framework for pan-African socio-economic development, is both a vision and a policy framework for Africa in the 21st century. NEPAD provides unique opportunities for African countries to take full control of their development agenda, to work more closely together, and to cooperate more effectively with international partners.

NEPAD manages a number of programmes and projects in six theme areas namely:

•    agriculture and food security

•    climate change and national resource management

•    regional integration and infrastructure

•    human development

•    economic and corporate governance

•    cross-cutting issues, including gender, capacity development and information and communication technology (ICT).

Through NEPAD, Africa has expanded its development priorities. Development and funding in agriculture, information and communications technology, science and technology, infrastructure and education has improved the quality of life for millions of Africans.

South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

The SADC developed from the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, which was established in 1980. It adopted its current name during a summit meeting in Windhoek, Namibia in August 1992. The initial member states are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South Africa became a member after 1994.

South Africa has championed a “developmental regionalism” approach that combines market integration, cross-border infrastructure development, and policy coordination to diversify production and boost intra-African trade.

As SADC Chair of Summit for the 2017-2018 period under the theme: “Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value-chains”, South Africa aimed to focus on harnessing the participation and involvement of the regional private sector in the implementation of the SADC Regional Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap.

Efforts were also underway to accelerate the implementation of the SADC-Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa-East African Community Free Trade Area, which would enhance intra-Africa trade and build towards the achievement of the Continental Free Trade Agreement.

South Africa and Africa

Peace and stability on the continent is a prerequisite for development and prosperity. Notwithstanding the political stability experienced in the greater part of the continent, pockets of instability and insecurity remained a challenge in the following countries: South Sudan, Burundi, the DRC, Mali, Libya, Somalia, the CAR, Lesotho, the Great Lakes, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

The continent has committed to Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020, in alignment with commitments to Agenda 2063.

The African Standby Force and its Rapid Deployment Capability was expected to respond quickly in conflict situations to save lives and bring stability.

In 2016, various post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives were undertaken and humanitarian aid delivered to various countries – Namibia, Malawi, Swaziland, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, and Burundi – in support of the consolidation of peace, political stability and constitutionally based institutions, as well as building human capacities within partner governments and parliaments.

Africa is the second fastest growing region in the world after Asia, growing steadily at a rate of 5% per year over most of the last decade.

This growth has been attributed to the increasingly sound macro-economic environment with low government debt, rising domestic resource mobilisation and reduced inflation rates.

North Africa and The Horn

This region comprises 14 countries, of which nine are defined as North Africa and five as Horn of Africa. These countries stretch from Mauritania in the West through to Somalia in the East.

South Africa enjoys a special relationship with the countries of the region. This is epitomised by joint commissions held annually with three countries at Ministerial level (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia), and an annual Binational Commission at Presidential level with Algeria. North African countries represent the largest economies in Africa apart from South Africa and Nigeria.

Asia and Australasia

The PRC has become Africa’s largest trade partner, and Africa is now one of the PRC’s major import sources and fourth largest investment destination.

The 7th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC will be held in the PRC in 2018.

By mid-2017, some 80 South African students – under the aegis of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Africa Business Education initiative – were studying for Master’s degrees in highly technical fields in Japan, which would be followed by internships at Japanese companies.

South Africa and Australia have a history of productive cooperation across a range of sectors and issues, including fisheries protection, mining, law enforcement, sport, tourism, education and training [in fields such as information and communications technology, public administration, mining and resources management], defence relations and customs cooperation.

At bilateral level, South Africa and New Zealand enjoy close cooperation in business, tourism, agriculture, disarmament, fisheries, environmental protection, indigenous people and human rights issues.

The Middle East

South Africa’s relationship with the Arab States remains cordial, with ongoing engagements at various political and economic levels that are anchored by the strategic objective of strengthening South-South relations.

South Africa supports peace between Israel and the Arab world, which must involve an end to the illegal occupation by Israel of Arab land, in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, which has led to conflict and violence between the people of the region over the last six decades.

The Americas

The USA is a major economic partner for South Africa and continues to feature high on the list of trade and investment partners. There are about 600 companies from the USA trading in South Africa, which provide over 120 000 local jobs.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was re-authorised in June 2015 for 10 years until 2025, with South Africa’s inclusion. This will secure continued market access for South African products, including in value-added generating sectors such as agriculture and automobiles.

This agreement provides South Africa with preferable market access for certain exports to the USA. The expansion of business and technological networks continue to mutually benefit the two countries.

While the USA is a significant market for South Africa, South Africa is the USA’s biggest market in Africa.

Bilateral trade between South Africa and the USA grew from R15,9 billion in 1994 to more than R73 billion in 2016. The USA remains the largest single source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in South Africa with over US$50 billion. Development Assistance from the USA amounts to approximately US$450 million, the bulk of which is directed at health cooperation.

The Caribbean

South Africa enjoys cordial relations with the countries of the Caribbean. The majority of inhabitants of the Caribbean are of African descent and have strong historical and cultural links to the continent.

South Africa’s endeavour in conjunction with the AU and Caricom to strengthen cooperation between Africa and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean has given added impetus to bilateral and multilateral relations.

South Africa attaches importance to strengthening its relations with the Caribbean and developing common positions on global issues such as access to the markets of the industrial north, reform of international institutions and promoting the development agenda and protection of small island states.

Europe

Since 1994, building on shared values and mutual interests, South Africa and the EU have developed a comprehensive partnership based on the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement.

The SA-EU relationship is guided by the principle that the EU should support South Africa’s national, regional and African priorities and programmes to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment.

The EU is South Africa’s main development assistance partner. The South Africa-EU Multi-Annual Indicative Programme for South Africa is R4,3 billion for the cycle 2014-2020. The EU also contributes R1,8 billion to infrastructure development for domestic and regional programmes. Bilateral trade between South Africa and Europe amounted to about R860 billion in 2016.

Benelux countries

The Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) remain important trade and investment partners of South Africa, and major providers of tourism. The Netherlands is the second-most important source of FDI into South Africa.

There has been important trilateral cooperation with the Netherlands and Belgium in the past in support of peace and security in Africa, inter alia on capacity building in the Great Lakes Region. Such trilateral cooperation can be further expanded in the future.

There is a regular exchange of views between South Africa and Belgium, as well as with the Netherlands, on the issues and complicated processes necessary to find durable solutions to the conflicts in the region.

German-speaking countries

Bilateral relations between South Africa and the German-speaking countries cover various issues, including investment and trade, science and technology, defence, culture, the environment, tourism, sport, development cooperation and energy, but also entail multilateral and trilateral engagements.

Nordic countries

South Africa enjoys good relations with all the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Flowing from the strong grassroots support in these countries for democratisation in South Africa, relations have been established in virtually every field at both public and official levels. The scope of Nordic development cooperation is broad and has benefited civil society and government.

Relations in the international arena have seen close cooperation on multilateral issues. The Nordic countries are strong supporters of NEPAD and are directly involved in conflict resolution and reconstruction projects in Africa.

International bodies

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)

BRICS is the acronym for a grouping of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa was expected to take over the Chairship of the BRICS as from 1 January to 31 December 2018, and the country will host the 10th BRICS Summit.

The country planned to focus on deepening BRICS’s cooperation for common development, enhancement of global governance to jointly meet shared challenges, carrying out people-to-people exchanges to support BRICS cooperation, and institutional improvements, among others.

India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA)

IBSA is a coalition of the south that has facilitated dialogue at a level previously unimaginable. Development cooperation, along with the views on tackling socio-economic distress and trading among the three nations distinguishes IBSA from BRICS. All the IBSA members are democracies and can discuss issues which cannot be discussed in BRICS summits.

The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in fields such as agriculture, trade, culture and defence. South Africa was expected to assume the Indian Ocean Rim (IORA) chairship in August 2017. IORA is a strategic formations that create a platform for countries in the Indian Ocean Rim to deepen cooperation in areas such as oceans economy for shared prosperity.

United Nations

The year 2015 marked the 70th Anniversary of the formation of the UN and the deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The UN occupies the central and indispensable role within the global system of governance. South Africa looks to the UN to advance the global development agenda and address under-development, social integration, full employment and decent work for all and the eradication of poverty globally.

Through participation in multilateral forums, South Africa also upholds the belief that the resolution of international conflicts should be peaceful and in accordance with the centrality of the UN Charter and the principles of international law. South Africa was one of the 51 founding member of the UN in 1945. Since then, UN membership has grown to 193 states.

After being suspended in 1974, owing to international opposition to the policy of apartheid, South Africa was readmitted to the UN in 1994 following its transition to democracy. South Africa participated in the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th Session of the Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol held from 30 November to 11 December 2015 in Paris, France.

In line with South Africa’s national interest as an African and developing country that will require post-2020 support, South Africa continues to defend the UNFCCC’s core principles of equity and differentiation.

UN General Assemby (UNGA) and the UN Security Council (UNSC)

President Zuma led the South African delegation to the 71st Session of the UNGA 71, which took place in New York in the USA from 19 to 25 September 2016 under the theme: “The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform Our World”.

The General Debate presented an opportunity for member states to take stock of the effectiveness of the UN and deliberations focused on UN reform, including on the revitalisation of the UNGA; improvement of the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and most importantly, the substantive reform of the UNSC to expand its membership in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.

This was also the final General Debate of the former Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, whose term ended on 31 December 2016.

Commonwealth

The modern Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent member countries. Membership is diverse and includes both developed and developing countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and the South Pacific.

Since rejoining the Commonwealth in 1994, South Africa has interacted closely with the work of the Commonwealth contributing politically, financially and in terms of capacity and expertise to the work of the organisation.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

The NAM, with its 120 member states, is the largest political grouping of countries outside the UN, making it an important lobby group of developing countries in global affairs.

The NAM consists of 120 member states. South Africa formally joined the movement in 1994 and has played a leading role in NAM deliberations and meetings ever since.

Group of Twenty (G20)

South Africa is a member of the G20, which consists of 19 countries, including the EU. G20 members have been meeting regularly since 1999 to discuss global economic policy coordination.

The G20 was conceptualised to stabilise and strengthen the global economy, by bringing together the major advanced and emerging market economies. These economies together represent around 85% of global GDP, 80% of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.

South Africa’s participation in the G20 is aimed at advancing the national agenda to create a better South Africa and contribute to a better and safer Africa and a better world.

The country’s participation in the G20 is to provide strategic foresight in establishing an economic and international policy platform that will drive and negotiate the best possible outcomes for South Africa, Africa and the developing world.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

South Africa is a member of the WHO, whose goal is to build a better, healthier future for people all over the world.

New Development Bank (NDB)

The BRICS NDB opened its headquarters in Shanghai, China, on 21 July 2015. Together with its regional office in South Africa, the African Regional Centre, and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, the NDB constitutes the first formal BRICS financial institutions.

The purpose of the NDB is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies, and developing countries to complement the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.

The responsibilities of both the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) are to ensure a just, peaceful and safe society.

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

The DoJ&CD’s constitutional mandate provides a framework for the effective and efficient administration of justice and to promote constitutional development through the development and implementation of legislation and programmes to advance and sustain constitutionalism and the rule of law.

At the same time, the department also provides an enabling environment for the judiciary and constitutional institutions to exercise their constitutional powers and functions freely and independently. The department’s functions include, among other things, the:

•    establishment and functioning of magistrates’ courts and Specialised Courts;

•    appointment of judges and other judicial officers, their conditions of service, discipline and training;

•    establishment and functioning of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU),

•    conduct of criminal proceedings, the investigation of organised crime and corruption, and the forfeiture of assets obtained through illicit means;

•    establishment and functioning of bodies responsible for legal aid, law reform and rule making;

•    appointment of masters of the high courts and the administration of the Guardian’s Fund and deceased and insolvent estates; the regulation and provisioning of legal advisory services to government departments; the promotion, protection and enforcement of certain human rights; the protection of vulnerable groups; and support to Chapter 9 institutions.

The strategic goals of the department relate to ensuring safer communities, fighting corruption and enhancing accountability for all people in South Africa to feel and be safe.

The department facilitates the effective and efficient resolution of disputes by providing accessible, efficient and quality administrative support, thereby improving the finalisation rates of cases; helping to clear the backlogs of criminal, civil and family matters by the courts and justice service points; providing access to quality guardian and probate services for citizens.

The courts

Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg is the highest court in all constitutional matters. It is situated on a historical site called Constitution Hill in a building specially designed to reflect the values of the new constitutional democracy.

The Constitutional Court makes the final decision on whether an Act of Parliament, a provincial Act or the conduct of the President is constitutional. It consists of the Chief Justice of South Africa, the Deputy Chief Justice and nine Constitutional Court judges.

Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA)

The SCA, situated in Bloemfontein in the Free State, is the highest court in respect of all matters other than constitutional ones. It consists of the President and Deputy President of the SCA, and 23 other judges of appeal. The SCA has jurisdiction to hear and determine an appeal against any decision of a high court.

Decisions of the SCA are binding on all courts of a lower order, and the decisions of high courts are binding on magistrates’ courts within the respective areas of jurisdiction of the divisions.

High courts

A high court has jurisdiction in its own area over all persons residing or present in that area. These courts hear matters that are of such a serious nature that the lower courts would not be competent to make an appropriate judgment or to impose a penalty. Except where a minimum or maximum sentence is prescribed by law, their penal jurisdiction is unlimited and includes handing down a sentence of life imprisonment in certain specified cases.

There are 13 high courts: the Eastern Cape High courts in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Mthatha and Bhisho; the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein; the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria; the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg; the KwaZulu-Natal High courts in Pietermaritzburg and Durban; the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou; the Northern Cape High Court, Kimberley; the North West High Court, Mafikeng; and the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town.

The following specialist high courts exercise national jurisdiction:

•    The Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court in Braamfontein, Gauteng, which adjudicate over labour disputes and hear labour appeals, respectively.

•    The Land Claims Court, in Randburg, Gauteng, which hears matters on the restitution of land rights that people lost after 1913 as a result of racially discriminatory land laws.

•    The Competition Appeal Court, situated in Cape Town, which deals with appeals from the Competition Tribunal.

•    The Electoral Court, situated in Bloemfontein, which sits mainly during elections to deal with associated disputes.

•    The Tax Court, situated in Pretoria, which deals with tax-related matters, including non-compliance with tax obligations.

Regional courts

Regional courts are established largely in accordance with provincial boundaries with a regional court division for each province to hear matters within their jurisdiction. There are nine regional court presidents and 351 regional court magistrates.

Magistrates’ courts

Magistrates’ Courts form an important part of the judicial system as it is where ordinary people come into contact with the justice system daily. Besides the 43 new courts, the department has refurbished and equipped a further 24 branch courts and elevated them into proper courts. The outstanding 65 branch courts and 230 periodical courts have been lined-up for rehabilitation consistent with the National Development Plan.

Small claims courts

The Small Claims Court allows you to institute minor civil claims not exceeding R15 000 in a speedy, affordable and simple manner without using an attorney.

Equality courts

Any person who has been unfairly discriminated against in terms of section 9 of the Constitution may approach the Equality Court. Most of the complaints dealt with include hate speech, unfair discrimination and harassment.

Community courts

Community courts, such as the Hatfield Community Court in Pretoria, are normal district magistrates’ courts that assist in dealing with matters in partnership with the community and business. These courts focus on restorative justice processes, such as diverting young offenders into suitable programmes.

Traditional courts

There are traditional courts (formerly chiefs’ courts established at traditional community areas in rural villages.

Sexual offences courts

The courts feature specially trained officials, procedures and equipment to reduce the chance of secondary trauma for victims. By March 2016, the DoJ&CD had upgraded 46 regional courts into sexual offences courtrooms.

National register for sex offenders (NRSO)

The NRSO is a record of names of those found guilty of sexual offences against children and mentally disabled people.

The register gives employers in the public or private sectors such as schools, crèches and hospitals the right to check that the person being hired is fit to work with children or mentally disabled people.

Maintenance

Maintenance is the obligation to provide another person, for example a minor, with housing, food, clothing, education and medical care, or with the means that are necessary for providing the person with these essentials.

As part of further improving the maintenance system, the Maintenance Amendment Act of 2015 was enacted to ensure that every child receives the appropriate parental care, basic nutrition, shelter, basic heathcare services, education and other related support. The amendment also ensures the blacklisting of defaulters.

Domestic violence

To curb gender-based violence, government has adopted a zero-tolerance towards rape, violation of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender and intersex people, and other forms of violence towards women and children.

Human trafficking

Human trafficking has become a focus of attention in the country following the introduction of the new visa requirements for children travelling through South Africa’s ports of entry. Legislation aimed at preventing trafficking defines trafficking to include the recruitment, transportation, sale or harbour of people by means of force, deceit, the abuse of vulnerability and the abuse of power for exploitation.

Drug abuse

To curb the growing abuse of drugs, the DoJ&CD has amended Schedules 1 and 2 of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992 to make the use and possession of drugs such as Nyaope a criminal offence.

The use, possession and sale of dependence-producing drugs is strictly prohibited and punishable in South Africa. If convicted, a fine and/or imprisonment period of up to 15 years can be imposed. Selling or dealing in Nyaope is punishable with a fine and/or imprisonment for a period of up to 25 years.

Role players

Legal Aid South Africa (Legal Aid SA)

Legal Aid SA provides legal aid or makes legal aid available to indigent persons within the budget allocated to it by the State.

Special Investigating Unit

The SIU works closely with the NPA to ensure that prosecutions take place as soon as possible. It also works with the AFU in cases where the powers of this unit are more suitable for recovering the proceeds of crime.

National Prosecuting Authority

The NPA structure includes the National Prosecutions Service (NPS), the Witness-Protection Programme, the AFU and units such as the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit, the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) and the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit.

Asset Forfeiture Unit

The AFU can seize and forfeit property that was bought from the proceeds of crime, or property that was used to commit a crime.

The family advocate

The role of the Family Advocate is to promote and protect the best interests of the children in civil disputes over parental rights and responsibilities.

Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit

SOCA acts against the victimisation of vulnerable groups, mainly women and children. One of the unit’s key achievements in ensuring government’s commitment to the fight against sexual offences and gender-based violence is the establishment of Thuthuzela care centres (TCCs).

The TCC concept is recognised by the UN General Assembly as a “world best-practice model” in the field of gender-violence management and response. The TCCs are one-stop facilities located in public hospitals that aim to provide survivors with a broad range of essential services – from emergency medical-care counselling to court preparation – in a holistic, integrated and victim-friendly manner. The Thuthuzela Project is supported by the roll-out of victim support rooms in an effort to show empathy to victims of violent crime, especially in cases of sexual offences, child abuse and domestic violence.

The family violence, child protection and sexual offences units (FCS)

The FCS units have been reintroduced in all 176 South African Police Service clusters across the country. To give further impetus to the investigation of crimes of this nature, forensic social workers were appointed to assist in cases of child sexual abuse by conducting forensic assessments, compiling court reports and providing expert evidence in court.

Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU)

The PCLU is a specialist unit mandated to tackle cases that threaten national security. The PCLU was created by presidential proclamation and is allocated categories of cases either by the President or by the National Director.

National Prosecutions Service

A significant majority of the NPA’s prosecutors are housed in the NPS, the organisation’s biggest unit. The NPS is headed by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs). They head the respective regional jurisdictions, which are attached to the high courts of the country. All the public prosecutors and state advocates manning the district, regional and high courts report to the DPPs in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Specialised Commercial Crime Unit

The SCCU’s mandate is to effectively prosecute complex commercial crime cases emanating from the commercial branches of the SAPS. The client base of the unit comprises a broad spectrum of complainants in commercial cases, ranging from private individuals and corporate bodies to state departments.

Public Protector

The Public Protector investigates complaints from the public or on own initiative against government at any level, its officials, persons performing public functions, corporations or companies where the State and statutory councils are involved. The Public Protector’s services are free and available to everyone.

Complainants’ names are kept confidential as far as possible. The President appoints the Public Protector on recommendation of the National Assembly and in terms of the Constitution, for a non-renewable period of seven years.

The Public Protector is subject only to the Constitution and the law, and functions independently from government and any political party. No person or organ of State may interfere with the functioning of the Public Protector.

The Public Protector has the power to report a matter to Parliament, which will debate it and ensure that the Public Protector’s recommendations are followed.

Department of Correctional Services

The DCS remains committed to placing humane and safe detention and rehabilitation at the centre of service delivery. In doing so, the department strives to promote corrections as a societal responsibility, contributing to enhanced public safety and reducing re-offending.

The DCS has various offender rehabilitation programmes which focus on restorative justice, skilling, training, reading and offender reintegration.

The strategic goals of the department are to ensure that:

•    the efficiency of the justice system is improved through the effective management of remand processes

•    society is protected through incarcerated offenders being secured and rehabilitated

•    society is protected by offenders being reintegrated into the community as law-abiding citizens.

In this way, the department contributes to ensuring that all people in South Africa are and feel safe.

Other roleplayers

Medical Parole Advisory Board

The Correctional Matters Amendment Act of 2011 provides for a new medical parole policy and correctional supervision.

Correctional Supervision and Parole Board

Correctional Supervision and Parole boards are responsible for dealing with parole matters and matters of correctional supervision. The Correctional Supervision and Parole boards have decision-making competency except:

•    decisions regarding the granting of parole to people who are declared dangerous criminals in terms of Section 286A of the CPA of 1998.

•    the converting of sentences of imprisonment imposed in terms of Section 276 (A) (3) of the CPA of 1998 into correctional supervision

•    decisions with regard to those sentenced to life imprisonment.

In such cases, recommendations are submitted to the courts that in turn will make a decision in respect of conditional placement.

There are 52 Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards countrywide. These boards are chaired by community members who are regarded as suitable and capable of carrying out the responsibilities.

The DCS provides the members with intensive training in respect of the processes, legislative implications and relative policies.

Mining plays a pivotal role in South Africa’s socio-economic development objectives and remains one of the Government’s strategic tools for the economic emancipation of its people.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) continues to focus, among other things, on ensuring the best utilisation of mineral resources, monitoring mining rights, and ensuring compliance with safety and environmental legislation, all of which in turn, contribute towards promoting investment in South Africa, as well as contributing more broadly to an equitable and inclusive economy.

Specific initiatives include promoting investment in the minerals and upstream petroleum sector include research on shale gas; assisting small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs); marketing and providing information, and licensing.

In the medium term, the department planned to focus on accelerating transformation and empowerment in the mining sector by: eradicating barriers to the socio-economic development of mining communities; providing technical support to beneficiation projects; increasing the participation of small-scale miners; and fostering greater value chain integration.

Further focus areas include ensuring the health and safety of miners and mining communities, protecting and rehabilitating the environment, ensuring the best use of mineral resources, and attracting investment in the minerals and upstream petroleum sectors.

The department aims to eradicate illegal mining through stakeholder forums established in Mpumalanga, Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape and Limpopo. The purpose of stakeholder forums (which include miners, the Chamber of Mines, workers and government representatives) is to implement a segmented approach to enforcement, and efforts to ensure compliance. These measures include:

•    promoting legitimate mining activities; sealing off holes and old mining shafts; policing and law enforcement;

•    conducting training workshops for all stakeholders; and rehabilitating illegal mining sites.

Mineral wealth

South Africa’s mineral wealth is typically found in the following geological formations and settings:

•    the Witwatersrand Basin yields some 93% of South Africa’s gold output and contains considerable uranium, silver, pyrite and osmiridium resources.

•    the Bushveld Complex is known for platinum group metals (PGMs) (with associated copper, nickel and cobalt mineralisation), chromium and vanadium-bearing titanium-iron ore formations and industrial minerals, including fluorspar and andalusite.

•    the Transvaal Supergroup contains enormous deposits of manganese and iron ore.

•    the Karoo Basin extends through Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Limpopo, hosting considerable bituminous coal and anthracite resources.

•    the Phalaborwa Igneous Complex hosts extensive deposits of copper, phosphate, titanium, vermiculite, feldspar and zirconium ores.

•    kimberlite pipes host diamonds that also occur in alluvial, fluvial and marine settings.

•    heavy mineral sands contain ilmenite, rutile and zircon.

•    significant deposits of lead-zinc ores associated with copper and silver are found near Aggeneys in the Northern Cape.

Mining Qualifications Authority

The future of mining in the country depends largely on the successful implementation of skills development initiatives.

Particular focus is placed on artisan and artisan aid as well as other technical skills. Capacity building within the DMR and associated institutions has also been prioritised in respect of identified critical areas of skills shortage and necessary interventions have been introduced, which include learnership programmes and bursary schemes.

The Mining Qualifications Authority was established as a sector education and training authority, and facilitates the development of appropriate knowledge and skills in the mining, minerals and jewellery sectors.

Petroleum Agency South Africa

The Petroleum Agency South Africa regulates exploration and production activities, and is the custodian of the national petroleum exploration and production database. The agency funds its activities from the sale of data and reserves accumulated from its exploration work.

As the custodian of South Africa’s petroleum data, the agency will conduct research, source data, and enhance and store such data on a world-class data management platform. The platform ensures that quality data is accessible for potential and existing operators. The agency will evaluate South African oil and gas reserves (including shale gas) to determine prospects, and attract oil and gas investment into South Africa.

Shale gas exploration

The potential of shale gas exploration and exploitation provides an opportunity for South Africa to begin exploring the production of its own fuel and marks the beginning of the re-industrialisation of the economy.

Reserves

Gold

There are 35 large-scale gold mines operating in South Africa, including the record setting TauTona mine, which extends 3,9 km underground. TauTona means “great lion” in Setswana. South Africa accounts for 11% of the world’s gold reserves.

Coal

The coal sector is important for the South African economy. The accelerated demand for coal, accompanied by an increase in international coal prices, has invariably changed the buying patterns and structure of the local coal export industry.

In the national energy plan, coal remains an important component of the country’s future energy mix and requirements.

Platinum group metals

Platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium and iridium occur together in nature alongside nickel and copper. Platinum, palladium and rhodium, the most economically significant of the PGMs, are found in the largest quantities.

The remaining PGMs are produced as co-products. South Africa is the world’s leading platinum and rhodium producer, and the second-largest palladium producer after Russia. South Africa’s production is sourced entirely from the Bushveld Complex, the largest known PGM-resource in the world.

Platinum

South Africa accounts for 96% of known global reserves of the PGMs.

The Merensky Reef, stretching from southern Zimbabwe through to the Rustenburg and Pretoria regions, is the centre of platinum mining in South Africa, playing host to companies such as Rustenburg Platinum Mines and Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mines.

Amplats is the industry leader in the mining, marketing, and distribution of platinum. Amplats produces 40% of the world’s total platinum group metals.

Other key platinum mining companies in South Africa include BHP Billiton and Impala Platinum.

Palladium

South Africa is the world’s second-largest palladium producer. All of South Africa’s production is sourced from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, which hosts the world’s largest resource of PGMs.

Palladium, together with platinum, is more abundant than any of the other PGMs. It has the lowest melting point (1 554°C) of all the PGMs. Its most remarkable property is its ability to absorb enormous amounts of hydrogen at room temperature.

Ferrous minerals

It is the largest new investment in the manganese industry in the country and supports government’s drive to increase the beneficiation in South Africa.

The furnace is designed to produce 120 000 kt of High Carbon Ferro Manganese a year, and includes improvements to ensure increased reliability, availability and also improved pollution control during the production process.

Copper

Palabora, a large copper mine, smelter and refinery complex managed by the Palabora Mining Company in Limpopo is South Africa’s only producer of refined copper.

Producing about 80 000 t per year, it supplies most of South Africa’s copper needs and exports the balance.

Useful byproduct metals and minerals include zirconium chemicals, magnetite and nickel sulphate as well as small quantities of gold, silver and platinum.

Manganese

South Africa has significant proven manganese reserves, but exploitation of the mineral has not reflected its development potential.

Diamonds

South Africa plans to process a greater proportion of its gems locally to keep more profit in the country.

Government wants to cut and refine 70% of the diamonds mined in South Africa by 2023.

Industrial minerals

There are some 680 producers of industrial minerals in South Africa, of which almost half are in the sand and aggregate sector.

There are some 153 producers of clays (brickmaking), 40 limestone and dolomite, 79 dimension stone, 28 salt and 20 silica producers.

Bulk consumption of industrial minerals is realised in the domestic market, as most are low-priced commodities and sold in bulk, making their economic exploitation highly dependent on transport costs and distance to markets.

Geology

South Africa has a long and complex geological history dating back more than 3 700 billion years.

The preservation of so much Archaean geology, dating back more than 2 500 million years, has resulted in the Archaean Witwatersrand Basin, as well as several greenstone belts, being preserved.

By end of 2016, the Council for Geoscience – whose principal mandate is to develop and publish world-class geoscience knowledge products, and to provide geoscience related services to the South African public and to industry – was collaborating with the Mine Health and Safety Council in a project which sought to bridge the gap in the monitoring of mine seismicity within South Africa between the underground mining networks and the South African National Seismograph Network.

Law-enforcement services in South Africa fall under the Department of Police, which is responsible for policy determination, direction and overall execution of the department’s mandate in relation to relevant legislation.

The National Police Commissioner answers directly to the Minister of Police. Entities reporting to the Minister of Police are the:

•    Civilian Secretariat for Police

•    Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID)

•    South African Police Service (SAPS)

•    Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority.

South African Police Service

The SAPS derives its powers and functions from section 205 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 and from the SAPS Act of 1995. This legislation regulates the police service in terms of its core function, which is to prevent, investigate and combat crime.

The National Commissioner heads the SAPS. Deputy national commissioners (under whom the divisions and components of the SAPS fall) and provincial commissioners (under whom the police stations fall) report to the National Commissioner.

The SAPS’s policing objectives, in accordance with the provisions of Section 205 of the Constitution, are to:

•    prevent, combat and investigate crime

•    maintain public order

•    protect and secure the inhabitants of South Africa and their property

•    uphold and enforce the law.

The vision of the SAPS is to create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa.

The mission of the SAPS is to:

•    prevent and combat anything that may threaten the safety and security of any community

•    investigate any crimes that threaten the safety and security of any community

•    ensure offenders are brought to justice

•    participate in efforts to address the root causes of crime.

The National Development Plan (NDP) complements the Constitution by emphasising the form of policing that is required in a democratic South Africa.

The NDP denotes “Building Safer Communities” as a key objective and establishes the following as the vision for the country by 2030: “In 2030, people living in South Africa feel safe at home, at school and at work, and they enjoy a community life free of fear. Women walk freely in the streets and children play safely outside. The police service is well-resourced and professional, staffed by highly skilled officers who value their work, serve the community, safeguard lives and property without discrimination, protect the peaceful against violence, and respect the rights to equality and justice.”

The NDP sets five priorities for the achievement of the above vision:

•    Strengthen the criminal justice system

•    Make the police service professional

•    Demilitarise the police

•    Build safety using an integrated approach

•    Build community participation in safety.

By mid-2017, the White Paper on Policing had been developed for the establishment of a single police service.

The improvement of the conditions of service of the members of the SAPS at all levels, in particular those at lower ranks, was also underway following the establishment of a Transformation Task Team to produce, develop and retain a “Proud, Patriotic and Honest Police Personnel”.

The SAPS also aimed to establish street committees to enable civil society to assist in the fight against crime.

An estimated total of 1,5 million crime incidents were experienced by approximately 1,2 million households in 2016/17. Most common crimes were housebreaking/burglary (53%), theft of livestock (11%), home robbery (10%) and theft of motor vehicles.

Forensic Science Services and Criminal Record Centre

The function of the Criminal Record Centre is to identify and confirm any previous convictions of suspects in crimes being investigated by the SAPS.

The Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management arm expanded its frontline service delivery capacity to make it more accessible to local investigating officers and to improve response times in attending to crime scenes.

The forensic science laboratory renders a support service to investigating officers by analysing physical evidence collected from various crime scenes.

Visible policing

Visible policing is regarded as a line-function division of the SAPS, specifically responsible for combating crime through crime operations; providing for the activities at police stations; combating crimes in the railway environment; dealing with crimes affecting the social fabric of society, including crimes against women and children and community-based crime prevention; providing a rapid-response service in respect of crimes in progress; eradicating the proliferation of illegal firearms available for use in crime and violence; and ensuring effective compliance and enforcement of liquor control and second-hand goods legislation to address serious crime in South Africa.

The SAPS aims to provide a proactive and responsive policing service to discourage and prevent serious crimes by reducing the number of serious crimes reported, from 1 820 796 in 2014/15 to 1 685 136 in 2018/19, by implementing sector policing at all stations and crime-prevention operations in identified hotspots; and providing enhanced training for detectives and forensic specialists.

Victims, women and children

The main responsibility of the SAPS towards empowering victims is to render a victim-friendly service to all victims of crime. It includes:

•    developing, monitoring and implementing policies, directives and instructions aimed at improving services to victims of crime

•    sensitising and training SAPS members to render a professional, victim-friendly service

•    ensuring that SAPS facilities are victim-friendly.

Community partnership programmes

Community policing forums at police stations serve as the instrument for ensuring that the SAPS engages and cooperates with communities.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate

The function of IPID is to ensure independent oversight of the SAPS and the municipal police services (MPS), conduct independent and impartial investigations of identified criminal offences allegedly committed by members of the SAPS and the MPS, and make appropriate recommendations.

The IPID Act of 2011, which came into effect on 1 April 2012, grants the directorate an extended mandate and changes the focus of the directorate’s work from a complaints-driven organisation to one that prioritises the investigative function.

The Act further places stringent obligations on the SAPS and MPS to report matters that must be investigated by the directorate and ensure the implementation of the disciplinary recommendations of the directorate.

Defence

The primary role of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is to defend South Africa against external military aggression. In this regard deployment in an internal policing capacity is limited to exceptional circumstances and subject to parliamentary approval.

The SANDF’s core mandate is the protection of the country, its territorial integrity and its people.

Peace support

South Africa has been active in the formation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Brigade as part of the overall African Standby Force whose mandate is to provide the African Union with a rapid reaction capability consisting of five regionally based brigades. The manner in which South Africa’s has undertaken peace-keeping missions in the past is in line with the country’s defence policy.

Maritime safety and security

The substantial increase in acts of piracy along Africa’s coastline threatens the peace, security and stability of the continent. South Africa has an exclusive economic zone of 1 553 000 km² of which the areas around the Marion and Prince Edward Islands comprise 474 400 km².

The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast, the Indian Ocean borders the east and south coast and the southern ocean surrounds the Marion and Prince Edward Islands. South Africa has tabled its claim to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for the extension of the continental shelf.

This means that South Africa will have to exercise control and enforce state authority over 4 340 000 km² of maritime territory.

Department of Military Veterans (DMV)

The DMV’s aim is to formulate policies and standards aimed at providing a comprehensive delivery system to military veterans and their dependants in recognition of their role in the democratisation of South Africa.

The department’s strategic goals over the medium term are to:

•    coordinate and facilitate the provision of socioeconomic support services to military veterans

•    manage and coordinate military veterans’ empowerment and stakeholder relations services

•    ensure that the needs of military veterans and their dependants are addressed.

The DMV provides socio-economic services to facilitate employment opportunities for military veterans with the support of line-function departments, private companies and State agencies.

Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor)

Armscor is an acquisition agency for the Department of Defence and other organs of state. Armscor is renowned for its acquisition expertise in providing defence turnkey solutions, which encompasses technology development, product development and support, product upgrading, as well as disposal of equipment. Its research and development focuses on producing cutting-edge technology products.

Denel Group of South Africa

Denel is a state-owned commercially driven company and strategic partner for innovative defence, security and related technology solutions. It groups together several defence and aerospace divisions and associated companies.

Denel provides turn-key solutions of defence equipment to its clients by designing, developing, integrating and supporting artillery, munitions, missiles, aerostructures, aircraft maintenance, unmanned aerial vehicle systems and optical payloads based on high-end technology.

Intelligence services

The State Security Agency’s (SSA) mandate is to provide government with intelligence on domestic, foreign or potential threats to national stability, the constitutional order, and the safety and well-being of its people. This enables government to implement and improve policies to deal with potential threats and to better understand existing threats.

The SSA comprises:

•    the Domestic Branch (formerly the National Intelligence Agency)

•    the Foreign Branch (formerly the South African Secret Service)

•    the Intelligence Academy (formerly the South African National Academy of Intelligence)

•    National Communications, which includes the former National Communications Centre, Office for Interception Centres and Electronic Communications Security (Pty) Ltd.

The SSA focuses on matters of national interest, including terrorism, sabotage, subversion, espionage and organised crime.

Vetting

Part of the SSA’s objective is to be able to conduct vetting for all government departments in a user-friendly and speedy manner, in line with its counter-intelligence mandate that ensures that the department creates conditions of security, which enable government and key state entities to do their work.

South Africa has been aptly described as a microcosm of the world, a place where civilisations meet. With its spectacular views, stunning wildlife and unbeatable biodiversity in contrast with its bustling modern cities, and vibrant economy, South Africa is often described as “A world in one country.”

The country has more than 290 conservation parks. It is home to almost 300 mammal species, and about 860 bird species, and 8 000 plant species.

The annual sardine run is the biggest migration on the planet.

There are eight World Heritage Sites and seven different biomes. It is considered the cradle of humankind and boasts 40% of all hominid finds on Earth. The country has a lot to offer in the form of places of interest and varying forms of amusement.

South Africa has nine provinces, which vary considerably in size. The smallest is tiny and crowded Gauteng, a highly urbanised region, and the largest the vast, arid and empty Northern Cape, which takes up almost a third of South Africa’s total land area.

Each province has its own Legislature, Premier and Executive Council. The country has common boundaries with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, while Mozambique and Swaziland lie to the north-east. Completely enclosed by South African territory in the south-east is the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.

South Africa has three capitals:

•    Cape Town, in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, Western Cape, is the legislative capital and is where the country’s Parliament is found.

•    Bloemfontein, in Mangaung metropolitan municipality, Free State, is the judicial capital and home to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

•    Pretoria, in the City of Tshwane metropolitan municipality, Gauteng, is the administrative capital, and the ultimate capital of the country. It is home to the Union Buildings and a large proportion of the public service.

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape, lying on the south-eastern South African coast, is a region of great natural beauty, particularly the rugged cliffs, rough seas and dense green bush of the stretch known as the Wild Coast. In the Eastern Cape, various floral habitats meet. Along the coast, the northern tropical forests intermingle with the more temperate woods of the south.

The province is serviced by airports situated in Port Elizabeth, East London, Mthatha and Bhisho.

Free State

The Free State, a province of wide horizons and blue skies, farmland, mountains, goldfields and widely dispersed towns, lies in the heart of South Africa.

Between the Vaal River in the north and the Orange River in the south, this immense rolling prairie stretches as far as the eye can see.

Mining, particularly gold, is the biggest employer, followed by manufacturing.

The Free State also produces high-quality diamonds from its kimberlite pipes and fissures, and the country’s largest deposit of bentonite is found in the Koppies district.

The National Development Plan has intensified the mining potential that still exists in the goldfields region of Matjhabeng in the Lejweleputswa District as a job intervention zone.

The capital, Bloemfontein, houses the Supreme Court of Appeal, a leading university and some top schools. Important towns include Welkom, Sasolburg, Odendaalsrus, Kroonstad, Parys, Phuthaditjhaba, Bethlehem.

The charming village of Clarens situated in the rolling foothills of the Maluti Mountains.

Some of South Africa’s most valued San rock art can be found in the Free State.

Other key tourist attractions in the province include the majestic Golden Gate National Park, the annual air show in Bethlehem, the Cherry Festival in Ficksburg, and the Fauresmith International Endurance Ride equestrian event.

The annual Mangaung African Cultural Festival, known as Macufe, is hosted in partnership with the Tourism Authority and the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State.

The Vredefort Dome, 10 km in diameter, is on the United Nations’ World Heritage Site List.

Gauteng

Gauteng is the economic centre of South Africa and the continent, responsible for over 34,8% of the country’s total gross domestic product. Although it is the smallest of South Africa’s nine provinces, Gauteng comprises the largest share of the South African population.

Financial and business services, logistics, manufacturing, property, telecommunications and trade are some of the most important economic sectors.

The province is an integrated industrial complex with major areas of economic activity in three subregional areas, namely the Vaal Triangle; the East, West and Central Rand, and Pretoria. Johannesburg houses the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited, the largest securities exchange in Africa.

Most overseas visitors enter South Africa via OR Tambo International Airport. Some 50 km north of Johannesburg lies Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa and home to the Union Buildings.

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal, one of the country’s most popular holiday destinations, is the province with the second largest population. This verdant region includes South Africa’s lush subtropical east coast. Washed by the warm Indian Ocean, it stretches from Port Edward in the south, and northwards to the Mozambique boundary.

In addition to the magnificent coastline, there is the sweeping savanna in the east, and the majestic Drakensberg mountain range in the west that offers some of the country’s most awe-inspiring landscapes.

Within the area is a vast 243 000-hectare sweep of basalt summits and buttresses. This section was formally granted World Heritage status in November 2000, and was renamed uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.

Visitors can enter the province through the King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy, north of Durban or use the extensive national road network. There are also two major harbours – the port of Durban, which is one the busiest in Africa, and Richards Bay, which is an important coal-export harbour.

There are several tertiary institutions of learning, such as the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Durban Institute of Technology.

KwaZulu-Natal is the only province with a monarchy specifically provided for in the Constitution.

Limpopo

Limpopo, South Africa’s northernmost province, borders onto Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana, making it the ideal entrance to Africa. Named after the Limpopo River that flows along its northern border, the province is rich in wildlife, spectacular scenery and a wealth of historical and cultural treasures.

This province is in the Savanna Biome, an area of mixed grassland and trees, which is generally known as bushveld. The province’s natural resources include more than 50 provincial reserves, as well as several private game reserves. The largest section of the Kruger National Park is situated along the eastern boundary of Limpopo with Mozambique.

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga means Place where the sun rises. Due to the provinces spectacular scenic beauty and abundance of wildlife, it is one of South Africa’s major tourist destinations. Mpumalanga falls mainly within the Grassland Biome. The escarpment and the Lowveld form a transitional zone between this grassland area and the Savanna Biome.

The area has a network of excellent roads and railway connections, making it highly accessible. Mpumalanga is also served by a number of small airports, such as the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.

Mbombela is the capital of the province and the administrative and business centre of the Lowveld. Other important towns are eMalahleni, Standerton, Piet Retief, Malalane, Ermelo, Barberton and Sabie.

Large-scale manufacturing occurs especially in the northern Highveld area, particularly chrome-alloy and steel manufacturing.

Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is the largest province in South Africa, covering 31% of the country’s surface area (slightly bigger than Germany). However, the Northern Cape remains the province with the smallest share of the South African population.

The province is noted for its San rock art, diamond diggings, 4X4 safaris and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It is a vast stretch of semi-desert land. The province is renowned for its spectacular display of spring flowers, which, for a short period every year, attracts thousands of tourists.

Sutherland hosts the southern hemisphere’s largest astronomical observatory, the multinational-sponsored Southern African Large Telescope. The Northern Cape is one of two sites to host the Square Kilometre Array radio-telescope (better known as the SKA Project), the largest and most advanced radio telescope in the world.

Among many other benefits, the province’s tourism and hospitality industry is profiting from the project, as scientists and other interested parties are flooding into the town of Carnarvon. Electrical power generation presents an opportunity for greater economic diversification and growth in the province.

North West

North West lies in the north of South Africa, on the Botswana border, fringed by the Kalahari desert in the west, Gauteng to the east, and the Free State to the south. Sun City, the Pilanesberg National Park, the Madikwe Game Reserve, the Cradle of Humankind Site, the Taung Heritage Site, the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust and the Lesedi Cultural Village are some of the tourist attractions.

Some of the largest cattle herds in the world are found at Stellaland near Vryburg, which explains why this area is often referred to as the Texas of South Africa. Marico is also cattle country. North West is South Africa’s major producer of white maize.

Mining contributes 23,3% to North West’s economy, and makes up 22,5% of the South African mining industry. It is known as the Platinum Province due to its abundant mineral riches of platinum, chrome and the platinum group metals. It is also home to a strong dimension stone sector, due to the riches of its slate, marble and granite deposits. The Rustenburg and Brits districts produce 94% of the country’s platinum. In addition to granite, marble, fluorspar and diamonds, the province also produces a quarter of South Africa’s gold.

Western Cape

Situated on the south-western tip of Africa, the Western Cape with its wide beaches and breathtaking scenery, complemented by a rich variety of cultures, historical landmarks, world-class restaurants and entertainment, is a world-famous tourist destination.

Table Mountain, the Cape winelands, Robben Island and the Kirstenbsch Botanical Gardens are among the province’s most popular tourist attractions.

The Western Cape is also known for its floral diversity. The Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site comprising eight separate protected areas, covers an area of more than 553 000 ha stretching from the Cape Peninsula to the Eastern Cape. The Knysna-Tsitsikamma region has the country’s biggest indigenous forests.

Cape Town has proved again that it’s a film-friendly destination and it iss reaping the benefits.

The Department of Trade and Industry’s rebate to international productions is also a big incentive for foreign film-makers.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has an ongoing commitment to build sustainable rural livelihoods. It is also mandated to create and maintain an equitable and sustainable land dispensation, and act as a catalyst in rural development, to ensure sustainable rural livelihoods, decent work and continued social and economic advancement for all South Africans.

Over the medium term, the department will continue to focus on land distribution and agrarian transformation, and ensure the success of land distribution by supporting rural farmers, enterprises and industries.

The DRDLR is targeting to provide support to 5 000 households under the One Household One Hectare Programme and it is also envisaged that 384 households will be supported under the new initiative of the One Household Two Dairy Cows Programme.

Growing rural economies

The Agri-parks initiative supports rural enterprises, develops rural industries and facilitates the efficient movement of rural produce to markets. The initiative develops networked systems of agro-production, processing, logistics, marketing, training and extension services in district municipalities and developments on underused land.

Each agri-park supports smallholder farmers by providing capacity building, mentorship, farm infrastructure, extension services, and production and mechanisation inputs. Smallholder farmers own 70% of an agri-park, while the remainder is owned by government and commercial farmers.

Agri-parks are expected to contribute to government’s targets of creating 1 million new jobs in rural economies by 2030, through the development of 300 000 new small-scale farmers and the creation of 145 000 agroprocessing jobs by 2019.

Since the inception of the initiative in 2015/16, approximately 10 566 smallholder farmers have been identified to benefit from Agri-parks, and 69 692 hectares of land has already been distributed. A total of R2 billion per year, over a 10-year period beginning in 2015/16, was allocated for the development of agri-parks in 44 districts.

Land Reform Programme

In 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act of 2014 was invalid and contrary to the Constitution. The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) was tasked to resubmit the act within two years. In the same period, the CRLR plans to settle claims lodged before 1998.

In terms of the judgment, should all claims emanating from original lodgement be processed before the two-year period lapses, the commission may approach the Constitutional Court for a review of the judgment. The Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act of 2014 extends the deadline for land claims to June 2019. The amendment also criminalises false and fraudulent claims made by illegible people, which wastes taxpayers’ money.

The Act also simplifies the procedure for the appointment of judges to the Land Claims Court, and the amendment of certain provisions aimed at promoting the effective implementation of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994.

Extending the deadline for the lodging of claims was in line with the proposals of the National Development Plan, the CRDP and other growth strategies intended to promote national reconciliation and social cohesion.

The Act seeks to reopen the window for persons or communities dispossessed of their land due to past discriminatory laws and policies to lodge claims for their properties.

The CRLR is responsible for investigating and processing restitution claims. The CRLR also develops and coordinates restitution policies and oversees restitution court cases. The restitution programme is aimed at removing the settlement of land restitution claims under the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994.

The strategic objective of the CRLR is the restitution of rights in land or awards of alternative forms of equitable redress to claimants, within Medium Term Expenditure Framework budgetary allocation.

The CRLR seeks to provide equitable redress to victims of racially motivated land dispossession, in line with the provisions of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994. It plans to increase the number of lodgement sites to 52 by 2019.

In 2016 the CRLR settled 804 land claims and finalised 672 of them. There were 1 530 claims targeted for research during the same period. However, the commission exceeded this figure and researched 1 558 claims.

The commission had committed to conclude research on all claims received before the 1998 cut-off date by June 2017.

The Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill was published in the Government Gazette in April 2016. The amendment extends the application of the Act to labour tenants who acquire land, provides for general plans for land administered by an association and repeals the provisions relating to provisional associations.

It also provides improved protection of the rights of communities, in respect of movable and immovable property administered by an association, and adds clarity on the content of annual reports expected from associations.

Recapitalising and redeveloping redistributed farms

The Office of the Valuer-General, which has been operational since 2015/16, ensures efficient acquisition and equitable valuation of land.

The Recapitalisation and Development Programme ensures that redistributed land becomes productive and profitable by providing mechanised irrigation, farmer mentorship and farm inputs.

Since the programme began in 2008/09, 1 496 farms have been created from more than 4.7 million hectares of land acquired. Over the medium term, the department aimed to acquire approximately 281 165 hectares of strategically located land.

Deeds registration

The 10 deeds registries are located in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, King William’s Town, Vryburg, Mthatha and Nelspruit. These offices register deeds and documents relating to real rights in more than eight million registered land parcels consisting of township erven, farms, agricultural holdings, sectional title units and sectional title exclusive-use areas in terms of the Deeds Registries Act of 1937 and the Sectional Titles Act of 1986.

In the 2017/18 financial year, the DRDLR was expected to initiate and implement e-lodgement as the first phase of the Electronic Deeds.

Animal and Veld Management Programme (AVMP)

The AVMP is aimed at providing relief for farmers in rural areas operating under challenging circumstances made worse by spatial congestion and environmental degradation owing to overgrazing.

The programme will also help with soil rehabilitation, spatial decongestion and regreening of the environment. It is part of government’s intervention towards reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act, which led to the majority of black people being confined to 13% of the land, resulting in challenges of overcrowding and overgrazing in communal areas.

The department will identify farmers in communal areas who have showed potential for successful farming. Based on their track record, such farmers will be moved into some of the State-owned farms to enable them to expand their farming operations.

The AVMP is expected to reach the country’s 24 poorest district municipality areas.

Comprehensive Rural Development Programme

To fulfil its mandate to develop rural areas throughout South Africa, the DRDLR developed the CRDP to tackle issues such as underdevelopment, hunger, poverty, joblessness, lack of basic services and other social ills which have become synonymous with rural areas and redistributing 30% of the country’s agricultural land.

The CRDP addresses specific needs of the communities in rural areas such as running water, sanitation, housing and development support.

Rural Enterprise Industrial Development (REID)

REID aims to create an enabling institutional environment for vibrant and sustainable rural communities.

The Social Organisation and Mobilisation Unit is primarily responsible for the promotion of a participatory approach to rural development to ensure that rural communities are able to take full charge of their collective destinies.

The approach is predicated on social mobilisation of rural communities, so that there can be ownership of rural development projects and programmes.

The participatory approach is used to assess the needs of the rural areas through the profiling of households and communities.

The needs assessments are conducted through participatory rural appraisal methods, which also offer communities the opportunity to prioritise their needs.

The Technical Support, Skills Development and Nurturing Unit provides technical support to the institutions and structures established in rural communities, through skills development and capacity building. The unit determines skills levels of rural communities through household profiles, and develops training programmes aligned to interventions and economic opportunities. It is also responsible for the implementation of the job-creation model, which is aimed at improving households’ basic needs, as well as promoting economic livelihoods.

The job-creation model further entails the empowerment of rural communities through skills transfer, developing artisans and enabling communities to start their own enterprises.

The Rural Livelihoods and Food Security Unit forms strategic partnerships that are important to the improvement of rural livelihoods, by promoting both economic development and the development of rural enterprises.

These strategic partnerships also facilitate value-added services such as agriprocessing, and the establishment of village industries and enterprises.

The strategic partners involved are from the private sector, state-owned enterprises and international organisations.

The Institutional Building and Mentoring unit is responsible for facilitating, building and mentoring institutions in rural communities.

This function involves the identification of existing institutions and the assessment of needs, including building new institutions to ensure sustainable development.

The unit is responsible for the establishment and facilitation of community structures such as the Council of Stakeholders. It is also responsible for establishing and building the capacities of cooperatives.

National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC)

The NARYSEC is a skills development initiative, which forms part of the comprehensive rural development programme’s job-creation model.

The initiative recruits unemployed youth from rural areas between the ages of 18 and 25, who have passed Grade 12 or have higher qualifications, and equips them with business and entrepreneurial skills.

The initiative expects to increase the number of new participants by 2 700 each year over the medium term to reach a total of 8 100 by 2019/20.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is committed to playing a full role in implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) by focussing on initiatives that will ensure that it makes a profound impact on economic growth and development while assisting in the eradication of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

The DST executes its mandate through the implementation of the 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology, the national research and development strategy and the 10-Year Innovation Plan. The plan aims to make science and technology a driving force in enhancing productivity, economic growth and socio-economic development.

To build an economy that grows at a sustainable rate and contributes significantly to socio-economic development, as envisaged in the (NDP), South Africa needs a better skilled and more innovative population.

The DST is pivotal to realising this goal, particularly as it relates to innovation for energy and food security, poverty alleviation and healthcare.

Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

The SKA project is an important endeavour for Africa, with huge potential to contribute to and raise the profile of science, technology and innovation. The SKA Project is an international enterprise to build the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, and will be located in Africa and Australia.

Supported by 10 member countries – Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom – SKA Organisation has brought together some of the world’s finest scientists, engineers and policy makers and more than 100 companies and research institutions across 20 countries in the design and development of the telescope. The MeerKAT, a precursor to the SKA Project, was being constructed near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. The final MeerKAT will comprise 64 antennas, and will be integrated into the mid-frequency component of the SKA Phase 1.

Until the SKA is completed, the MeerKAT will be the most sensitive radio interferometer in the L-Band in the world. The sensitivity is expected to be more than 300 square metre per Kelvin (m2/K), well above the 220 m2/K originally specified.

By mid-2017, a total of 45 antennas and 57 pedestals had been installed as part of Meerkat. About 75% of MeerKAT components have been sourced locally.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology (HFCT)

Local HFCT development holds the promise of boosting manufacturing capacity and competitiveness in South Africa.

This forms part of the technologies identified in government’s Nine-Point Plan, which seeks to boost the economy and create much-needed jobs. HFCT has been indentified as a clean and reliable alternative energy source to fossil fuels.

Titanium metal powder project

The DST supports the Titanium Metal Powder Project, which has a potentially significant economic impact for South Africa.

Titanium is used in industries such as aerospace, medical applications, transport and chemocal processing to create high-performance, lighweight parts.

The titanium powder is also used in 3D printing, which is considered an alternative mode of manufacturing.

National Bio-economy Strategy

The DST’s Bio-economy Strategy positions bio-innovation as essential to the achievement of government’s industrial and social development goals.

The strategy provides a high-level framework to guide biosciences research and innovation investments, as well as decision-making as South Africa adapts to the realities of global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Through the Bio-economy Strategy, bio-innovation would be used to generate sustainable economic, social and environmental development. The DST was aiming to have biotechnology make up 5% of the country’s gross domestic product by 2050.

The strategy focused on three sectors namely agriculture, health and industrial applications and is also closely linked to other policies such as the Industrial Policy Action Plan, the NDP and the New Growth Path.

The department seeks to use bio-innovation to contribute to the achievement of government’s industrial, health and social development goals, as well as to the development of indigenous knowledge applications.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

The CSIR is a world-class African research and development organisation that undertakes directed, multidisciplinary research and technological innovation that contributes to the improved quality of life of South Africans.

The organisation plays a key role in supporting government’s programmes through directed research that is aligned with the country’s priorities, the organisation’s mandate and its science, engineering and technology competencies.

South African National Space Agency (SANSA)

SANSA was created to promote the use of space and cooperation in space-related activities while fostering research in space science, advancing scientific engineering through the development of South Africa’s human capital and providing support to industrial development in space technologies.

SANSA continues to provide state-of-the-art ground-station services to many globally recognised space missions, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation Mars missions, and NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, which is giving scientists a better idea of how carbon is contributing to climate change, answering important questions about where carbon comes from and where it is stored.

On 24 May 2017, South Africa’s first privately owned nanosatellite, nSight1, was successfully sent into orbit from the International Space Station. Weighing just 2,5 kg, nSight1 will orbit Earth and capture images with a remote sensing camera.

South Africa has been involved in space research and technology for 50 years. The first locally designed and manufactured satellite, SUNSAT, was launched in 1999.

NSight1’s deployment follows the successful launch of South African satellites since the late nineties, including SUNSAT (1999), SumbandilaSat (2009) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s ZACUBE-1 satellite (2013). NSight1 was part of a batch of 28 nanosatellites from 23 different countries, launched on 18 April 2017 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA.

Lesedi (meaning light in Sesotho) is the name of South Africa’s newest optical satellite. Developed in partnership with a manufacturing and sales facility, APM Telescopes in Rehlingen, Germany, the new telescope is the first South African optical telescope that will be remotely operated and potentially robotic.

Lesedi will also be a teaching telescope, used mostly by postgraduate astronomy students from South African universities to develop skills in observing, processing images taken using the telescope, where possible writing up results and publishing them in scientific journals, as well as acquiring technical expertise in aspects of operating a telescope.

It will be capable of taking images of areas of the sky 70 times larger than the existing one-metre telescope, and uses the Sutherland High-Speed Optical Camera, which can take 70 images in one second to study rapid changes in stars systems.

Research and science bodies

South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)

The SABS provides standardisation and conformity assessment services to protect the integrity of the South African market, protect consumers, create a competitive advantage for South African industry, and facilitate access by South Africans to local and international markets. The bureau is the sole publisher of South African national standards.

Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)

The TIA was established to promote the development and exploitation of discoveries, inventions, innovations and improvements. The object of the TIA is to support the State in stimulating and intensifying technological innovation in order to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans by developing and exploiting technological innovations.

National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO)

NIPMO provides support to the offices of technology transfer at publicly funded research institutions, which has led to significantly improved intellectual property management in universities and other research institutions.

Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

The ARC conducts fundamental and applied research with partners to generate knowledge, develop human capital, and foster innovation in agriculture by developing technology and disseminating information.

Mintek

Mintek, South Africa’s national mineral research organisation, develops appropriate and innovative technology for transfer to the minerals industry; and provides the industry with test work, consultancy, analytics and mineralogical services.

Council for Geoscience (CGS)

As a scientific research council, the CGS provides for the promotion of research and the extension of knowledge in the field of geoscience as well as the provision of specialised geoscientific services.

Medical Research Council (MRC)

The MRC is an independent statutory body that coordinates health and medical research activities throughout South Africa. The scope of the organisation’s research projects includes tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS, cardiovascular and non-communicable diseases, gender and health, and alcohol and other drug abuse.

With a strategic objective to help strengthen the health systems of the country, in line with that of the Department of Health, the MRC constantly identifies the main causes of death in South Africa.

The MRC distinguishes and awards scientific excellence with its annual Scientific Merit Awards Gala Ceremony. These awards acknowledge the contributions of established scientists on the one hand, while recognising fresh scientists with ground-breaking efforts in their individual fields of science, engineering and technology.

National Research Foundation

The NRF provides services to the research community, especially at higher education institutions and science councils, with a view to promote high-level human capital development.

The goal of the NRF is to create innovative funding instruments, advance research career development, increase public science engagement and to establish leading-edge research platforms that will transform the scientific landscape and inspire a representative research community to aspire to global competitiveness.

In the NRF Strategy 2020, the organisation places renewed emphasis on its agency function and its role in influencing and implementing policy within the National System of Innovation.

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

The HSRC conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific projects for public-sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies.

National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS)

The NHLS is the largest diagnostic pathology service in South Africa with the responsibility of supporting the national and provincial health departments in the delivery of healthcare.

The NHLS provides laboratory and related public health services to over 80% of the population through a national network of laboratories. Its specialised divisions include the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Institute for Occupational Health, National Cancer Registry and Antivenom Unit.

Bureau for Economic Research (BER)

The BER primarily focuses on the South African macro economy and selected economic sectors. It monitors and forecasts macroeconomic economic and sector trends, and identifies and analyses local and international factors that affect South African businesses.

National Institute for Tropical Diseases

The National Institute for Tropical Diseases in Tzaneen, Limpopo, is responsible for the ongoing assessment of malaria-control programmes carried out by various authorities in South Africa. A malaria-reference service is also provided. Malaria tests are carried out by the institute, and statistical analyses of data pertaining to the programme is undertaken.

South Africa’s National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI)

The main function of SANEDI is to direct, monitor and conduct applied energy research and development, demonstration and deployment as well to undertake specific measures to promote the uptake of Green Energy and Energy Efficiency in South Africa.

Mine-safety research

The Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee is a statutory tripartite subcommittee of the Mine Health and Safety Council. It has a permanent research-management office managing the engineering, rock engineering and mine occupational health fields of research.

National Agricultural Research Forum (NARF)

The mission of the NARF is to facilitate consensus and integrate coordination in the fields of research, development, and technology transfer to agriculture in order to enhance national economic growth, social welfare and environmental sustainability.

Water Research Commission (WRC)

The WRC aims to develop and support a water-related knowledge base in South Africa, with all the necessary competencies and capacity vested in the corps of experts and practitioners within academia, science councils, other research organisations and government organisations (central, provincial and local) which serve the water sector.

The WRC provides the country with applied knowledge and water-related innovation, by continuously translating needs into research ideas and, in turn, transferring research results and disseminating knowledge and new technology-based products and processes to end-users.

Institute for Water Research (IWR)

The IWR is a multidisciplinary research department of Rhodes University. The objectives of the IWR are to contribute to the knowledge of and promote the understanding and wise use of natural water resources in southern Africa.

Coastal and marine research

The NRF supports marine and coastal research in partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs and the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research. Sustainable use and the need to preserve future options in using marine ecosystems and their resources are guiding objectives in the research and advice provided by the chief directorate.

South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)

SAEON is a research facility that establishes and maintains nodes (environmental observatories, field stations or sites) linked by an information management network to serve as research and education platforms for long-term studies of ecosystems that will provide for incremental advances in the understanding of ecosystems and the ability to detect, predict and react to environmental change.

Biotechnology

South Africa’s research institutions and universities are conducting biotechnology research to understand the nutritional components of food indigenous to South Africa, with the aim of making those with a high nutritional value available and accessible to the majority of people.

Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)

ASSAf is the official national Academy of Science of South Africa and represents the country in the international community of science academies.

Fluorspar industry

South Africa has the world’s largest reserves of fluorspar, with estimated reserves of 41 million tons. The country supplies around 10% of the flouride requirements to the global flourochemicals industry.

Women in Science Awards (WISA)

The DST hosts the annual WISA during Women’s Month in August, to reward excellence among women scientists and researchers.

The theme for the 2017 WISA was ‘Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work’, which is the 2017 priority theme for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

The 2017 WISA were held in Sandton, Johannesburg on 13 August 2017.

Winners of the Distinguished Woman Researcher were:

•    Prof Alta Schutte, North West University – (Natural and Engineering Sciences): She was the first researcher to investigate the correlation between high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in black African populations. Her work has influenced health policy across the continent. She chairs the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Early Detection and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease programme, funded by the Department of Science and Technology. She is the director of the MRC’s Extramural Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease and VP of the International Society of Hypertension. Schutte sits on the Expert Advisory Panel of TAG Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling Advisory, Advocacy and Action Group.

•    Prof Azwihangwisi Mavhandu-Muduzi, University of South Africa – (Humanities and Social Sciences): A professor in the Department of Health Studies and a nurse, Prof Mavhandu-Muduzi’s research focuses on new HIV infections and improving the quality of life of HIV-positive students at rural universities. She developed new guidelines for advocacy, care and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trangender, intersex and queer students. These new guidelines and the management model she developed have helped to empower HIV-positive women as well as gay and non-gender conforming women in the workplace.

•    Prof Henrietta de Kock, University of Pretoria – (Research and innovation leading to socio-economic impact): Prof de Kock’s research into the sensory properties of food and beverages contributes to the well-being of African consumers. With a growing urban population to feed, her work looks at ways to use Africa’s biodiversity to create food that is nutritious and appetising.

Winners of the Distinguished Young Woman Researchers Award were:

•    Dr Philiswa Nomngongo, University of Johannesburg – (Natural and Engineering Sciences): A lecturer in analytical chemistry, Dr Nomngongo’s nanotechnology research focuses on environmental pollution monitoring, desalination and water treatment.

•    Prof Roula Inglesi-Lotz, University of Pretoria (Humanities and Social Sciences): An associate professor in the Department of Economics, Prof Inglesi-Lotz runs a research methodology course for honours students and has supervised 12 MCom students. She sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Energy of Southern Africa and developed the first course on energy and environmental economics at masters level.

•    Dr Tiisetso Lephoto, University of Witwatersrand (Research and innovation leading to socio-economic impact): In 2016, Dr Lephoto was one of 87 women selected to participate in the TechWomen Emerging Leaders programme. She is also one of the Mail and Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans to watch. Her research in molecular genetics involves finding insect killing nematodes to naturally control pests in agriculture.

The Department of Social Development (DSD) is not established in terms of a single act. Several pieces of legislation determine its mandate, including the Social Assistance Act of 2004, which provides a legislative framework for providing social assistance.

The Act sets out the different types of grants payable, as well as their qualifying criteria. It also makes provision for the establishment of the inspectorate for social assistance. Other pieces of legislation define the department’s mandate further:

•    The Non-Profit Organisations Act of 1997 establishes an administrative and regulatory framework within which non-profit organisations can conduct their affairs, and provides for their registration by the department.

•    The Older Persons Act of 2006 establishes a framework for empowering and protecting older persons, and promoting and maintaining their status, rights, well-being, safety and security. It provides for older persons to enjoy good quality services while staying with their families in their communities for as long as possible. It also makes provision for older persons to live in residential care facilities.

•    The Children’s Act of 2005 sets out principles relating to the care and protection of children, and defines parental responsibilities and rights. It deals with early childhood development (ECD), drop-in centres and early intervention, children in alternative care such as foster care, child and youth care centres and the adoption of children. The national ECD policy aims to define the provision of equitable ECD services in South Africa.

•    The Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act of 2008 regulates substance abuse services and facilities.

•    The 1998 White Paper on Population Policy for South Africa is aimed at promoting the sustainable development of all South Africans by integrating population issues with development planning in all spheres of government and all sectors of society.

•    The National Disability Rights Policy deepens the mainstreaming trajectory for realising the rights of persons with disabilities. The policy does this through the development of targeted interventions that apply the principles of universal design, and guide the review of existing and development of new sectoral legislation and policies, programmes, budgets and reporting systems to bring these in line with constitutional and international treaty obligations.

•    The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare sets out the principles, guidelines, policies and programmes for developmental social welfare in South Africa. It provides the foundation for social welfare in the post-1994 era.

The DSD’s focus over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework period will be on key social protection objectives such as deepening social assistance and social security; making investments to increase access to quality ECD services; improving the welfare sector through policy and legislative reform; facilitating food and nutrition initiatives to ensure that every hungry household is supported; supporting interventions to prevent HIV transmission and strengthen HIV care, and expanding substance abuse treatment centres.

The work of the department contributes to Outcome 13 (an inclusive and responsive social protection system) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework. A key element of the outcome entails reforming and standardising the social welfare system. Reforms will largely be driven by the review of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare.

Role players

Ministry of Women

The Ministry of Women is situated in The Presidency. Its mandate is to lead, coordinate and oversee the transformation agenda on women’s socio-economic empowerment, rights and equality.

South Africa is a signatory to the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Gender and Development. The protocol prohibits marriages of girls below the age of 18 and is consistent with the objective of “She Conquers Campaign”, which is a national campaign aimed at empowering adolescent girls and young women. It aims to keep young girls at school up to the age of 24.

National Development Agency (NDA)

The NDA focuses on strengthening the institutional capacity of civil society. The agency also promotes consultation and dialogue between civil society and the State, debates policy development and conducts research.

Capacity-building interventions ensure that recipients of grant funding are not only given money to start and run their projects, but that they are empowered with the necessary skills to ensure sustainability.

The NDA’s Programme Management Unit provides project management services to private and public-sector stakeholders who wish to fund poverty-eradication projects.

Particular emphasis is placed on those in the NDA’s primary areas of focus, namely food security, ECD, enterprise development and income-generation programmes.

National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)

The main role of the NYDA is to initiate, implement, facilitate and monitor youth development interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment and promoting social cohesion.

South Africa, like most countries, is grappling with the challenge of youth unemployment.

The Youth Employment Accord (2013) and the Skills Accord (2011) – signed by business, government, labour, civil society and NGOs – aim to improve the equipping and placement of young people in jobs, and generally make the economy sensitive to the employment needs of young people.

Government strives to provide an opportunity to raise the share of youth-owned businesses and to support youth to engage in cooperatives in the country.

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)

SASSA’s core business is to administer, finance and pay social security transfers. Among other things, it is required to pay the right grant to the right person at the right time and place.

SASSA ensures the provision of comprehensive social security services against vulnerability and poverty within the constitutional and legislative framework.

The agency was expected to conduct extended beneficiary education campaigns to inform beneficiaries of their rights, and to protect them from unwarranted and unsolicited service providers marketing goods and products.

It was also expected to introduce measures to deal with disputes arising from deductions and electronic funds transfer debits from social grants.

Programmes and projects

Improving the provision of ECD services

ECD refers to the processes by which children from birth to at least nine years grow and thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, morally and socially. The South African Government recognises that increasing access to, as well as improving the quality of ECD provision, will contribute significantly to improving the learning outcomes of children within the basic education sector.

Project Mikondzo

Project Mikondzo (which means “footprint” in Xitsonga) is a nationwide service-delivery initiative to assess the footprint and impact of the social development system.

Through direct interactions with municipalities and community members, Project Mikondzo aims to monitor service delivery at community level, determine the gap between policy formulation and implementation, and understand service-delivery challenges and backlogs.

The project provides a platform for profiling households and communities, and developing community and household intervention plans. The intention is to profile 300 000 households and develop 2 400 community plans in 1 256 municipal wards between 2016/17 and 2018/19.

Tackling substance abuse

Substance abuse is a key social challenge in many South African communities, and the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act of 2008 prescribes that each province must have at least one public treatment centre.

Gender-Based Violence Command Centre (GBVCC)

The GBVCC is a 24-hour call centre that was launched in March 2014 to provide immediate, consistent, coordinated and timely support and counselling to victims of GBV. The GBVCC is linked to the services of the police, emergency medical services and the Department of Health.

The toll-free number to call to speak to a social worker for assistance and counselling is 0800 428 428 (0800 GBV GBV). Callers can also request a social worker from the Command Centre to contact them by dialling *120*7867# (free) from any cellphone.

The GBVCC has attended to a variety emergency situations including indecent assault, physical violence, rape, abandoned children and verbal abuse. It has also attended to cases such as stalking, emotional abuse, sexual harassment, forced marriages, forced prostitution, elderly citizen abuse, bullying and family disputes.

The GBVCC uses technology to geographically locate a caller from a mobile phone in order to determine the resources nearest to the caller such as a social worker, a police station, a hospital or safe house.

Social security

Social grants account for 94.3% of the department’s total budget allocation over the MTEF period and the number of beneficiaries was expected to reach 18.1 million by the end of 2019/20.

The number of beneficiaries receiving the Child Support Grant (CSG) was expected to grow from 12.3 million in 2017/18 to 12.8 million in 2019/20 as the child population grows and efforts were being made to sign up those who are eligible but currently are not receiving the grant.

The number of beneficiaries receiving the Old Age Grant is also expected to grow, from 3.4 million in 2017/18 to 3.6 million in 2019/20, as the elderly population grows. As a result of these increases in beneficiary numbers and inflationary adjustments to grant values, expenditure on grants is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 8.2% over the medium term, reaching R175.6 billion in 2019/20.

Spending on grants is also expected to increase as the DSD works towards providing a higher child support grant to orphans who are in the care of extended family members. This will bring the social protection provided to these orphans closer to parity with that of those in foster care.

These proposed changes to the CSG are contained in the Social Assistance Amendment Bill, which was submitted to Cabinet for approval in 2016/17 and were expected to go to Parliament in 2017/18.

The Child-Support and Old-Age grants are the two largest social grant programmes, constituting about 75% of total grant spending. Others are the War Veterans, Disability, Grant-in-Aid, Foster Child and Care Dependency grants.

Food for All Programme

An estimated 14 million South Africans go hungry every day. FoodBank South Africa collects edible surplus food from manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and redistributes this food to hundreds of verified NPOs that collectively feed thousands of hungry people daily. The vision is ‘a South Africa without hunger’.

FoodBank South Africa relies on the generosity of corporates and individuals to implement this cost-effective solution to feed hungry people.

HIV and AIDS support

South Africa is continually striving to do more to stop new HIV infections and prevent AIDS-related deaths. In March 2017, the country launched its third five-year National Strategic Plan (NSP) on HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis (2017–2022) under the slogan “Let Our Actions Count”.

The NSP, a guide for the country’s response to these infections, seeks to reduce new HIV infections by 63% – from 270 000 in 2016 to less than 100 000 by 2022.

People with disabilities

In March 2016, government released the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD) for public comment.

The White Paper is a call to action for government, civil society and the private sector to work together to ensure the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. Government seeks to create a caring and inclusive society that protects and develops the human potential of its children, a society for all where persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights as their fellow citizens, and where all citizens and institutions share equal responsibility for building such a society.

The WPRPD is intended to accelerate transformation and redress regarding full inclusion, integration and equality for persons with disabilities.

South Africa has been celebrating the International Day for Persons with Disabilities annually since 1997.

Children and youth

The Home Community-Based Care (HCBC) programme is the centrepiece of government’s interventions to build a protective and caring environment for vulnerable children. Most services to orphans and vulnerable children are rendered through the HCBC programme and include early identification of vulnerable children and their families, referrals, training of community caregivers and psychosocial support and material assistance, to name a few.

This approach is geared towards keeping children within their families and communities.

It is aimed at providing comprehensive care and support which is complemented by proactive action at community level. This includes linking families with poverty alleviation projects and other services in the community, such as food security initiatives and ECD services.

National Youth Policy (NYP)

The NYP for 2015 – 2020 (NYP 2020) focuses on redressing the wrongs of the past and addressing the specific challenges and immediate needs of the country’s youth.

The NYP 2020 builds on South Africa’s first NYP, which covered the period 2009 – 2014.

The policy seeks to create an environment that enables the young people of South Africa to reach their potential. It outlines interventions to enable the optimal development of young people, both as individuals and as members of South African society, enhancing their capabilities to transform the economy and the country.

This will be achieved by addressing their needs; promoting positive outcomes, opportunities, choices and relationships; and providing the support necessary to develop all young people, particularly those outside the social, political and economic mainstream. The NYP 2020 emphasises the need for various youth development efforts and interventions that holistically respond to all aspects or spheres of young people’s lives.

Blind SA

Blind SA is an organisation for the blind and is governed by the blind. Situated in Johannesburg, it is aligned with other member organisations throughout South Africa. The organisation provides, among other things, study bursaries for visually impaired students for further education, Braille publications in all of South Africa’s official languages, Braille training that entails writing and reading, and orientation and mobility training.

South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB)

The SANCB is the coordinating body for over 100-member organisations throughout South Africa. These organisations span the full spectrum of services offered for and to blind and partially sighted persons.

Support for the hearing impaired

South Africa’s national organisation for the hearing impaired is the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA), formerly the South African National Council for the Deaf, which was established in 1929. DeafSA has nine provincial chapters throughout South Africa. An estimated 500 000 to 600 000 South Africans use South African Sign Language.

Other private organisations include the National Institute for the Deaf and the South African National Deaf Association.

Older people

The DSD promotes a holistic approach to active ageing and well-being among the country’s senior citizens. A number of initiatives have been rolled out by the departments of social development, health, tourism, sport and recreation South Africa and other stakeholders to promote general health among older persons, especially through sports to promote general well-being.

The government has since 2008 implemented a national active ageing programme in line with the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing of 2002.

The Madrid Plan of Action offers a bold new agenda for handling the issue of ageing in the 21st century. It focuses on three priority areas: older persons and development, advancing health and well-being into old age and ensuring enabling and supportive environments.

The Older Persons Act of 2006 aims to enhance the quality of life and improve the health of older persons by engaging them in programmes that promote social, physical, mental and emotional well-being to prevent or delay the onset of ageing challenges and keep old age related illness at bay.

The Older Persons’ Parliament takes place annually in October. It gives elders the opportunity to engage with the executive on critical issues affecting their lives.

South African Braille Authority

The South African Braille Authority was established in May 2012 as an NGO. Its purpose is to set and maintain standards for Braille in all 11 official languages of South Africa.

The Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) oversees the development and management of sport and recreation in South Africa.

The department’s work to increase the accessibility of sport and recreation facilities contributes to the achievement of the National Development Plan’s goals of nation-building, social cohesion and a healthy national lifestyle, and Outcome 14 (a diverse, socially cohesive society with a common national identity) of government’s 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework.

Over the medium term, the department plans to encourage participation in sport and recreation at various levels, facilitate transformation in sport and recreation, and support talented and high-performance athletes in excelling and achieving success in the international sporting arena. The department is also preparing to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban.

Encouraging participation in sport

The SRSA provides opportunities for mass participation in sport and recreation through campaigns and events such as national youth camps, the Big Walk (a partnership with loveLife to encourage positive lifestyle choices), and indigenous games and school sports.

It will continue to direct resources to targeted disadvantaged communities and individuals to promote participation and increase access to sport and recreation facilities.

The department will assist 60 national federations over the medium term to support school sport programmes and improve access to sports facilities for the development of black athletes.

Provincial departments will be assisted to hold youth camps that teach young people leadership, life skills and national pride.

Young people will be given opportunities to showcase their skills at events such as the national school championships, thereby giving national federations and talent scouts wider exposure to South African sporting talent.

In partnership with the Department of Basic Education, the department supports school sport leagues. In each year of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework period, a projected 2 500 schools, hubs and clubs will receive equipment and attire; and the department will coordinate the training of educators in code-specific coaching, technical officiating, team management and sports administration. School sport aims to integrate the 16 priority sport codes (including football, cricket, rugby, netball and athletics) and indigenous games such as morabaraba and jukskei into the school sport system.

School sport leagues form the foundation of the annual national school sport championships coordinated by the department. The number of age categories per sport was reduced in 2016/17, resulting in a reduction in the number of competitors at the national event to 7 500.

The format of the National School Sport Championships will be revised in 2017/18 so that only one event instead of three will be held at the national level, accounting for the reduction in participant numbers in the national event, from 7 500 in 2016/17 to 5 000 in 2017/18. The other two events will be held as annual provincial school sport championships.

Supporting talented athletes

In line with developing talented athletes, the department awards a Ministerial Sports Bursary, valid for the duration of their high school career, to learners in grades 8 to 12 who are identified as talented young athletes.

The bursary allows them to attend a sports focus school, of which there were 23 across South Africa in 2016.

These schools are identified by provincial departments as having exceptional sports coaching and facilities. New recruits for the bursary programme were identified during the 2016 national school sport championships.

A minimum of 60 qualifying athletes, including learners already on the programme, are expected to be supported through the payment of school fees, provision of school uniforms and sport clothing, sport-scientific support, and event attendance in 2017/18.

Role players

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC)

SASCOC is the national multi-coded sporting body responsible for the preparation, presentation and performance of teams to all multi-coded events, namely the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Games, All Africa Games, Olympic Youth Games, Commonwealth Youth Games and Zone VI Games.

It also look after the various national federations affiliated to it, together with the various provincial sports councils. SASCOC is responsible for the awarding for National Protea Colours to athletes/officials who have met the criteria to represent South Africa in different sporting codes and arenas.

By mid-2017, SASCOC’s high-performance programme was supporting 40 elite athletes.

South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS)

The SAIDS promotes participation in sport without the use of prohibited performance-enhancing substances and methods, and educates sportspeople on fair play and the harmful effects of the use of prohibited performance enhancing substances and methods.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

The Africa Regional Office of the WADA was established in Cape Town in 2004 to coordinate the anti-doping activities of the agency throughout Africa.

This includes promoting and maintaining effective lines of communication between the WADA and all relevant stakeholders, governments and public authorities, the broad sports movement, national anti-doping agencies and laboratories.

South Africa continues to serve as the African representative on the Executive Committee of WADA.

Boxing South Africa (BSA)

The BSA administers professional boxing, recognises amateur boxing, creates synergy between professional and amateur boxing, and promotes interaction between associations of boxers, managers, promoters and trainers.

Programmes and projects

National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP)

The NSRP’s five strategic objectives are transformation, priority codes, ethical environment, geo-political sports boundaries and amateur versus professional sport.

Major events

Big Walk

The Big Walk is staged on the first Sunday of October to encourage participation in physical activity. The Big Walk takes place in October to align it with The Association for International Sport for All’s (TAFISA) World Walking Day.

TAFISA encourages and lobbies countries to walk by creating advocacy and awareness during October.

Annual National Recreation Day

Although not a public holiday, the day provides an opportunity to all South Africans to be actively involved by participating in recreation activities that will improve their health and well-being.

National Indigenous Games

The National Indigenous Games festival forms part of South Africa’s annual heritage celebrations and brings people from culturally diverse backgrounds together. The popularity of the festival in recent years has contributed to an increase in the number of active participants in sport and recreation events.

The games played included khokho, intonga, ncuva, morabaraba, diketo, drie stokkies, kgati, dibeke and juskei, all of which are indigenous to South Africa and played in various parts of the country. The games also provide recreational activities for young children and families.

South African Sports Awards

The 11th South African Sports Awards ceremony was held at the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Mangaung, Free State in November 2016.

The winners included:

•    Sportsman of the Year – Wayde Van Niekerk

•    Sportswoman of the Year – Caster Semenya

•    Sportsman of the Year with a Disability – Charl Du Toit

•    People’s Choice Sports Star Award – Wayde van Niekerk

•    Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability – Ilse Hayes

•    Team of the Year – Mamelodi Sundowns

•    Coach of the Year – Anna Botha

•    Volunteer of the Year – Kim Pople

•    Newcomer of the Year – Ntando Mahlangu (Athletics)

•    Photographer of the Year – Sydney Mahlangu

•    SA Sports Journalist Year – Thabiso Sithole

•    Developing School Team of the Year – Benny’s Care Academy

•    Federation of the Year – Roller Sports South Africa

•    Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achiever Awards – Thomas Kwenaite, Francois Pienaar and Mzimasi Mnguni.

Major sporting activities

Sporting codes

Major sporting codes in South Africa include, among others: Athletics; Biking; Mountain Biking; Cycling; Boxing; Cricket; Canoeing; Rowing; Golf; Hockey; Ice Hockey; Motorsport; Flying; Netball; Rugby; Running (including South Africa’s two world-renowned ultra-marathons – the Comrades Marathon in KwaZulu-Natal and the Two Oceans Marathon in the Western Cape); Soccer; Surfing; Sailing; Swimming; Tennis, and Chess.

The success of tourism in South Africa is based on the warmth of the people, the attractiveness of the unique attractions, infrastructure, iconic cultural and heritage sites, and the abundance of natural assets.

The mandate of the Department of Tourism (DoT), as outlined in the Tourism Act of 2014, is to promote growth and development of the tourism sector; promote quality tourism products and services; provide for the effective domestic and international marketing of South Africa as a tourist destination; enhance cooperation and coordination between all spheres of government in developing and managing tourism; and promote the practice of responsible tourism for the benefit of South Africa and for the enjoyment of all its residents and foreign visitors.

In recognition of tourism as a national priority, with a potential to contribute significantly to economic development, the 1996 White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa provides for the promotion of domestic and international tourism.

The national tourism sector strategy provides a blueprint for the sector to meet the growth targets contained in the National Development Plan (NDP).

Tourism is a significant and critical sector in South Africa’s economy as it contributes positively to the trade balance through foreign exchange receipts and sustains 700 000 direct jobs.

Globally, the country recorded its seventh year of sustained growth despite the economic slow down.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Immigration Regulations, which was tasked with finding a balance between ease of travel facilitation for tourists and security needs, proposed the following:

•    Long-term multiple entry visas for frequent business travellers;

•    Use of accredited travel companies to apply for their client’s visas, visa waivers in some cases and expansion of the network of visa facilitation centres.

Tourism contributes R118 928 million (3%) to the South African Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has created more than 700 000 direct employment opportunities. In 2016, over 10 million foreign tourists arrived in South Africa.

During 2016, some 2 893 268 tourists arrived through air, 7 139 580 used road transport and 11 315 used sea transport.

The majority of tourists, 9 706 602 (96,6%) were on holiday compared to 255 932 (2,5%) and 81 629 (0,8%) who came for business and for study purposes respectively.

The highest increase, 38,1% was for tourists from China (from 84 691 in 2015 to 116 946 in 2016), followed by India, 21,7% (from 78 385 in 2015 to 95 377 in 2016) and Germany, 21,5% (from 256 646 in 2015 to 311 832 in 2016).

Tourists from SADC countries (7 313 684), who increased by 11,2% from 6 575 244 in 2016. The highest increase, 26,0% was for tourists from Lesotho (from 1 394 913 in 2015 to 1 757 058 in 2016), followed by Botswana, 14,5% (from 593 514 in 2015 to 679 828 in 2016).

Tourists from ‘other’ African countries (187 828) increased by 9,9% from 170 870 in 2016. The highest increase, 20,8% was for tourists from Gabon (from 7 730 in 2015 to 9 340 in 2016, followed by Egypt, 20,5% (from 7 210 in 2015 to 8 688 in 2016).

Tourism growth

Through National Tourism Sector Strategy, the department aims to achieve over 200% growth in direct contribution to the 2015 GDP figure of R118 billion to R302 billion in 2026.

In 2016 South Africa recorded a 13% growth in international tourist arrivals.

The department was planning to work with municipalities and communities to develop the underused public recreation facilities that they own into tourism destinations.

The programme aims to develop infrastructure for tourism to attract private-sector investment, counteract seasonality, and ensure that the economic value created through tourism and leisure activities is shared equitably among those involved in creating it.

The department is expected to create job opportunities through the implementation of the Working for Tourism programme.

Tourism Month is celebrated annually in September with the aim of encouraging South Africans to explore their own country. It also provides the tourism industry with an opportunity for a sustained, heightened month-long focus on the importance of domestic tourism to the economy.

Travel Indaba

In its more than 35 years of existence, the South African Tourism’s (SAT) Tourism Indaba has made its mark as Africa’s premier travel trade show, showcasing a multiplicity of products and experiences for all categories of traveller.

Africa’s Travel INDABA 2017, held at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in May 2017, saw high-quality buyers from across the world meeting high-quality exhibitors from across the African continent, showcasing a variety of tourism products and services.

A number of exciting developments included the rebranding and renaming of Africa’s premier travel trade show to Africa’s Travel INDABA. The new positioning fully reflects the ownership of the trade show by the entire African travel industry and re-emphasises South Africa’s commitment to furthering tourism and economic development on the continent.

The INDABA attracted about 7 000 delegates, including 1 449 local and international buyers, as well as more than 1 000 exhibiting businesses from 18 African countries showcasing a diverse array of travel and tourism offerings.

A total of 692 registered media representatives attended the show, an 8% increase over 2016.

Role players

South African Tourism

Business tourism has also increased, especially since the establishment of the country’s first South African National Convention Bureau as a business unit under SAT.

More funding is intended to allow the bureau to grow tourism from meetings, incentives, conventions and events. The bureau assists organisers of this type of tourism to secure hosting rights.

Between 2013 and 2016, the bureau supported between 50 and 55 event organisers each year with bid submissions to host events. Up to R1 billion per year has been generated from delegates’ spending while attending conferences.

Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA)

Operating as a business unit of SAT, the TGCSA is the only recognised and globally credible quality assurance body for tourism products in South Africa.

Tourism in the provinces

Western Cape

The Western Cape is South Africa’s most developed tourism region. The tourism industry in the province has grown faster and created more jobs than any other industry.

One in 10 employees in the Western Cape earns a living in the tourism industry, and it contributes more than R25 billion to the provincial economy.

Key attractions

•    Table Mountain, which forms part of the Table Mountain National Park, is one of the official New Seven Wonders of Nature, following a lengthy international public voting process. A modern cableway takes visitors to the top of the mountain, providing spectacular views.

•    The Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, the Company’s Gardens, the District Six Museum, the houses of Parliament and the South African National Gallery.

•    The Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island is in the Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A Waterfront. It houses interactive multimedia exhibitions, an auditorium, boardrooms, the Robben Island Museum and a restaurant.

•    The Gold of Africa Museum, established by Anglo Gold, houses a celebrated collection of more than 350 gold artefacts.

•    The South African Rugby Museum in Newlands reflects the history of the sport as far back as 1891.

•    All South African wine routes fall under the auspices of the Wine of Origin Scheme. Production is divided into official regions, districts and wards. There are five principle demarcations – Coastal, Breede River Valley, Little Karoo, Olifants River and Boberg, covering 21 districts and 61 wards.

•    Jazz is big in Cape Town. From traditional blues through progressive jazz to African-influenced jazz, every taste is catered for at a number of restaurants, jazz cafés, cigar bars, pubs and wine farms. The top jazz event in the Western Cape is the annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Garden Route

The Garden Route features the pont at Malgas, which is one of the two remaining ponts in the country, ferrying vehicles and livestock across the Breede River. This popular route spans roughly 200 km of South Africa’s southern coast, incorporating a picturesque stretch of coastline.

Key attractions

•    Attequas Kloof Pass, South African/Anglo-Boer War blockhouses and the Bartolomeu Dias complex.

•    Great Brak River offers a historic village with many opportunities for whale- and dolphin-watching along the extensive coast.

•    The Slave Tree in George, located just outside the Old Library, was planted in 1811. It is known to be the biggest English oak in the Southern Hemisphere.

•    Nearby, bungee-jumping at the Gouritz River Gorge, hiking, mountain-biking and angling are popular pastimes.

•    The Point in Mossel Bay is popular among surfers and its natural pool formed by rock is also a favourite swimming spot at low tide.

•    Genadendal is the oldest Moravian village in Africa, with church buildings and a school dating back to 1738. The Genadendal Mission and Museum complex documents the first mission station in South Africa.

•    Villiersdorp houses the Dagbreek Museum that dates back to 1845. The historical home, Oude Radyn, is possibly the only building in the Western Cape to have Batavian wooden gutters and down pipes.

Little Karoo

The Little Karoo’s fascinating landscape is fashioned almost entirely by water. Its vegetation ranges from lush greenery in the fertile river valleys to short, rugged Karoo plants in the veld. Gorges feature rivers that cut through towering mountains, while breathtakingly steep passes cross imposing terrain. The region is also home to the world’s largest bird – the ostrich.

Key attractions

•    Excellent wines and port are produced in the Calitzdorp and De Rust areas.

•    The Swartberg Nature Reserve and Pass with their gravel roads are also worth a visit.

•    The Little Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (National Arts Festival) is held in Oudtshoorn annually.

•    The Cango Caves, a series of 30 subterranean limestone caves, bear evidence of early San habitation and features magnificent dripstone formations.

•    Amalienstein and Zoar are historic mission stations midway between Ladismith and Calitzdorp. Visitors can go on donkey-cart and hiking trails through orchards and vineyards. The Seweweekspoort is ideal for mountain-biking, hiking, and protea and fynbos admirers.

Northern Cape

The Big Hole in Kimberley is the largest hand-dug excavation in the world. In 1871, diamonds were discovered at the site and mined manually by prospectors.

Key attractions

•    The house where Sol Plaatje (African National Congress founding member and human-rights activist) lived in Kimberley, has a library of Plaatje’s and other black South African writers’ works, and several displays, including a portrayal of black involvement in the South African/Anglo-Boer War.

•    Known as the “Oasis of the Kalahari”, Kuruman is blessed with a permanent and abundant source of water that flows from Gasegonyana (Setswana for “the little water calabash”) – commonly called the “Eye of Kuruman” – which yields 20 million litres of water a day.

•    The Wonderwerk Cave at Kuruman features extensive San paintings that may be viewed by appointment.

•    The Kalahari Raptor Centre cares for injured birds. Many of these majestic creatures can be seen at close quarters.

•    Upington is the commercial, educational and social centre of the Green Kalahari, owing its prosperity to agriculture and its irrigated lands along the Orange River. A camel-and-rider statue in front of the town’s police station pays tribute to the “mounties”, who patrolled the harsh desert territory on camels.

•    Namaqualand is famous for a spectacular annual show in spring when an abundance of wild flowers covers vast tracts of desert.

•    Namaqualand is also home to the Ais-Ais/Richtersveld National Park. It is managed jointly by the local Nama people and South African National Parks.

•    De Aar is the most important railway junction in South Africa. The author Olive Schreiner lived in the town for many years. Visitors can dine in her former house, which has been converted into a restaurant.

•    Hanover is known for its handmade shoes and articles made mostly from sheepskin and leather.

Free State

This central region of South Africa is characterised by endless rolling fields of wheat, sunflowers and maize, and forms the principal bread basket of South Africa.

Key attractions

•    With its King’s Park Rose Garden containing more than 4 000 rose bushes, the Free State’s major city, Bloemfontein, has rightfully earned the nickname “City of Roses.” The city also hosts an annual rose festival.

•    Bloemfontein has a busy cultural and social-events calendar. One of the annual events is the Mangaung African Cultural Festival, popularly known as the Macufe Arts Festival, in September.

•    The National Women’s Memorial commemorates the women and children who died in concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer/South African War.

•    The Gariep Dam, more than 100 km-long and 15 km-wide, is part of the Orange River Water Scheme, the largest inland expanse of water in South Africa.

•    Between the dam and Bethulie is the Gariep Dam Nature Reserve.

•    Clocolan is known for the beauty of its cherry trees when they are in full bloom in spring. San rock paintings and engravings are also found in the area.

•    The Llandaff Oratory in the nearby village of Van Reenen is believed to be the smallest Roman Catholic church in the world.

•    At Harrismith, there are various memorials in honour of those who fought in the Anglo-Boer/South African War and World War I. Of particular interest is a memorial for the Scots Guards and Grenadier Guards.

•    The Golden Gate Highlands National Park outside Clarens has beautiful sandstone rock formations.

•    The Vredefort Dome, a World Heritage Site, is the oldest and largest meteorite impact site in the world. It was formed about two billion years ago when a giant meteorite hit Earth.

Eastern Cape

The main feature of the Eastern Cape is its magnificent coastline. Added to the diverse coastal experiences are more than 60 state-owned game reserves and over 30 private game farms, which collectively cover an area greater than the Kruger National Park.

Key attractions

•    Port Elizabeth has some beautiful parks with well-landscaped gardens, including St George’s Park, which covers 73 ha and houses the famous Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, the oldest bowling green in South Africa; Prince Alfred’s Guard Memorial; the 1882 Victorian Pearson Conservatory; and the 54-ha Settlers’ Park.

•    To the north-west of Graaff-Reinet lies the Valley of Desolation. The valley is a national monument within the Karoo Nature Reserve, formed millions of years ago by weathering erosion.

•    Varied game reserves, including the Addo Elephant, Mountain Zebra and Mkambati parks.

•    South Africa’s first marine park, the Tsitsikamma National Park extends along a rocky coastline of 50 km, and 3 km out to sea.

•    Southern right and humpback whales and their calves are regularly spotted from the high dunes, usually between May and November, while common and bottlenose dolphins are often seen close to shore.

Limpopo

The Limpopo landscape is made up of dramatic contrasts characterised by hot savanna plains and mist-clad mountains, age-old indigenous forests and cycads alongside modern plantations, and ancient mountain fortresses and the luxury of contemporary infrastructure and modern-day facilities.

Key attractions

•    The Marakele National Park is home to some rare yellowwood and cedar trees and the world’s largest colony of Cape vultures. It is also a leader in the conservation of the black rhino outside of the Kruger National Park and the KwaZulu-Natal parks.

•    Polokwane is considered the premier game-hunting destination in South Africa.

•    The Mapungubwe Archaeological Site, 80 km west of Musina, lies within the boundaries of the Mapungubwe National Park. It is one of the richest of its kind in Africa and a world heritage site. Excavations in the 1930s uncovered a royal graveyard, which included a number of golden artefacts, including the famous gold-foil rhinoceros.

•    The Kruger National Park (northern section) is one of South Asfrica’s major tourist attractions. The park is home to a large number and wide variety of amphibians, reptiles and birds, as well as 147 mammal species, including the Big Five.

North West

North West has several cultural villages that entertain and attract visitors.

A number of excellent game reserves have been established, including the Pilanesberg National Park.

Key attractions

•    The historic route of Mahikeng includes an South African/ Anglo-Boer War siege site, the Molema House where Sol Plaatje lived while writing his Mafikeng Diary, and the Mahikeng Museum.

•    The Groot Marico region is known as mampoer country and visitors can explore the Mampoer Route. The Kortkloof Cultural Village is dedicated to the Tswana people.

•    Ottosdal is the only place in South Africa where the unique “wonderstone”, or pyrophyllite, is found and mined.

•    The Ottosdal Night Race is organised in conjunction with the Diamond Marathon Club. The event consists of 42,2-km, 21,1-km,10-km races and a 5-km fun run.

•    San rock engravings, Stone Age implements and structures are found on farms such as Witpoort, Gestoptefontein, Driekuil and Korannafontein.

Mpumalanga

The climate and topography vary from cool highland grasslands at 1 600 m above sea level, through the middleveld and escarpment, to the subtropical Lowveld towards the Kruger National Park and many private game reserves.

Scenic beauty, climate and wildlife, voted the most attractive features of South Africa, are found in abundance in this province.

Key attractions

•    Barberton features many reminders of the early gold-rush era. Museums include Belhaven, Fernlea House and Stopforth House. The only known verdite deposits in the world are found in the rocks of the Barberton district. The annual Diggers Festival is held in September every year.

•    The spectacular Blyde River Canyon is a 26-km-long gorge carved out of the face of the escarpment, and is one of the natural wonders of Africa. God’s Window provides a magnificent panoramic view across miles of densely forested mountains, the green Lowveld and the canyon.

•    Sabie is the centre of the largest man-made forest in South Africa and a popular destination among mountain bikers. The Cultural Historical Forestry Museum depicts various aspects of the country’s forestry industry.

•    The Bridal Veil, Horseshoe and Lone Creek waterfalls, and Mac Mac pools and falls just outside Sabie are well worth a visit.

•    The 69-km Prospector’s Trail starts at the Mac Mac Forest Station and leads to the Bourke’s Luck potholes.

•    At the Montrose Falls in Schoemanskloof, the Crocodile River cascades 12 m into a series of rock pools. It is also the starting point of the annual Lowveld Crocodile Canoe Marathon, held in February every year.

•    The region also holds rich historical sentiments centred on the monument of the late Mozambican President Samora Machel, constructed in the village of Mbuzini.

Gauteng

‘Gauteng’ is a Sesotho word meaning “place of gold”. It is the smallest province of South Africa and also the most populous and urbanized. It is characterised by a cosmopolitan mix of people from all walks of life.

Key attractions

•    Natural areas include the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve (Heidelberg); Braamfontein Spruit Trust, The Wilds on Houghton and the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in Johannesburg; the Kloofendal Nature Reserve and Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens (in Roodepoort); and the National Botanical Garden, Smuts House Museum, and Freedom Park in Pretoria; as well as the Tswaing Crater Trail.

•    A team of Lippizaner stallions performs every Sunday at the South African National Horsemanship Centre in Kyalami.

•    The Sterkfontein caves near Krugersdorp are the site of the discovery of the skull of the famous Mrs Ples, an estimated 2,5-million-year-old hominid fossil; and Little Foot, an almost complete hominid skeleton of more than 3,3 million years old.

•    The Constitution Hill Precinct is set to become one of South Africa’s most popular landmarks.

•    A guided tour of Soweto leaves a lasting impression of this vast community’s life and struggle against apartheid.

•    The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg tells the story of the legacy of apartheid through photographs, film and artefacts.

•    The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory opened its doors to the public following the death of former President Nelson Mandela, in December 2013.

•    The Union Buildings celebrated its centenary in 2013. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, construction started in 1910 and was completed in 1913. It has since been the setting for presidential inaugurations. It is also the setting of many national celebrations, including Women’s Day and Freedom Day. In December 2013, a bronze statue of former President Mandela was unveiled at the Union Buildings.

•    The National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria is considered one of the 10 best in the world.

•    The old mining town of Cullinan is where the world’s biggest diamond, the 3 106-carat Cullinan diamond, was found.

KwaZulu-Natal

One of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, the province stretches from Port Edward in the south to the borders of Swaziland and Mozambique to the north.

Key attractions

•    The Durban area has more than 50 reserves, developed parks and specialised gardens, the most renowned being the Municipal Botanical Garden. Besides the botanical gardens, Mitchell Park is one of the most popular green spaces, which includes an outdoor restaurant, a zoo and a playground for children.

•    Annual events in and around the city include the popular Comrades Marathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, an international surfing competition, the Duzi canoe marathon, the Midmar Mile, Dolphin Mile open water swimming events, the July Handicap horse-race, the Amashova-shova cycle tour, and the Spar Mercury Ladies 10 km Challenge.

•    The Weza State Forest in East Griqualand runs through indigenous forests and commercial plantations. The forest is home to several antelope species and a huge variety of birds.

•    St Lucia and its surroundings comprises the iSimangaliso Wetland Park that have five separate ecosystems. It is a fishing and bird watching paradise. Boat trips on the lake offer opportunities for crocodile and hippo sightings. The Kosi Bay Nature Reserve is part of the Coastal Forest Reserve between Mozambique and Sodwana Bay.

•    The Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, one of the largest game parks in South Africa, is home to the Big Five, as well as cheetah and wild dogs.

•    The Battlefields Route in northern KwaZulu-Natal has the highest concentration of battlefields and related military sites in South Africa.

•    The Midlands Meander is a scenic drive between Hilton and Mooi River, with some 430 art studios, potters and painters, to herb gardens and cheese makers.

•    Midmar Dam is zoned for yachting and power-boating. The 1 000-ha Midmar Game Park has rhino, zebra, a wide variety of antelope species and waterfowl.

Top-10 reasons to visit South Africa

1.   Affordable – In South Africa, you can even afford luxury and have spending money for shopping and other treats.

2.   Natural beauty – South Africa’s scenic wonders are legendary. From Table Mountain to God’s Window, the mountains, forests, coasts and deserts will sooth your soul and delight you.

3.   World-class facilities – You will find it easy to get around, find a comfortable place to stay and have a great meal.

4.   Adventure – South Africa is the adventure capital of the world. With over 130 adventures, there is something for everyone from mountain walks to shark-cage diving.

5.   Good weather – In sunny South Africa with a great weather, you can enjoy the outdoors, play golf year-round and take advantage of the nearly 3 000 km coastline.

6.   Rainbow Nation – The Rainbow Nation celebrates all its African and immigrant cultures. South Africans are known for their friendliness and hospitality.

7.   Diverse experiences – Go almost anywhere in South Africa and experience the ultimate combination of nature, wildlife, culture, adventure, heritage and good vibe.

8.   Wildlife – The ubundant and diverse wildlife include the Big Five (African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard and black rhinoceros).

9.   Freedom Struggle – Discover a nation’s struggle for freedom whilst following the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, Hector Pieterson and many other celebrated revolutionaries.

10.  Responsible tourism – In South Africa you can travel with care as you explore protected areas, contribute to social and conservation projects, and collect arts and crafts.

Traveller’s Guide

1. Arriving in South Africa – All travellers arriving in South Africa at land, sea or air ports of entry are required to pass through immigration control, a service offered by the South African Department of Home Affairs, on arrival and before collecting their baggage. Thereafter they have to pass through customs control which falls under the auspices of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

Travellers with goods to declare must complete a Traveller Card and make a verbal declaration of their goods to a Customs Officer, who will then generate a Traveller Declaration.

Baggage may be X-rayed or examined by Customs officers to detect dutiable, restricted or prohibited goods and you may be questioned. Should travellers be found to be carrying undeclared, restricted or prohibited goods they could be fined or face prosecution.

2. Prohibited and restricted goods (A full list of Prohibited and Restricted goods is available on the SARS website: www.sars.gov.za) – It is illegal to bring in the following prohibited goods to South Africa:

•    Narcotics: All narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as habit-forming drugs such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine, Mandrax, Ecstasy and any paraphernalia relating to their use;

•    Firearms, weapons and ammunition: Fully automatic, military and unnumbered weapons, explosives and fireworks and weapons of mass destruction;

•    Poison and other toxic substances;

•    Cigarettes with a mass of more than 2kg per 1 000;

•    Goods to which a trade description or trademark is applied in contravention of any Act (for example, counterfeit goods);

•    Unlawful reproductions of any works subject to copyright; and

•    Prison-made and penitentiary-made goods.

3. Goods you have to declare – Certain goods may only be imported if you are in possession of the necessary authority/permit and these have to be declared on arrival. These include:

•    Currency: South African bank notes in excess of R25 000, gold coins, coin and stamp collections and unprocessed gold.

•    Endangered plants and animals: Species of plants or animals that are listed as endangered, whether they are alive or dead. The restriction includes any parts of and articles made from them. The restriction includes any parts of and articles made from them;

•    Food, plants, animals and biological goods: All plants and plant products, such as seeds, flowers, fruit, honey, margarine and vegetable oils. All animals, birds, poultry and products thereof, for example, dairy products, butter and eggs;

•    Medicines: Travellers are allowed to bring in no more than three months’ supply of pharmaceutical drugs and medicines for their personal use. All other pharmaceutical drugs and medicines have to be declared and have to be accompanied by a letter or certified prescription from a registered physician.

4. Duty-free allowances – The following goods may be imported into South Africa without the payment of Customs duty and Value-Added Tax (VAT):

•    Consumable goods in accompanied baggage. Goods falling within the following allowances may be imported without the payment of Customs duty and VAT as accompanied baggage. Crew members, including the master of a ship and the pilot of an aircraft, are only entitled to this rebate provided such members are returning to South Africa permanently. No more than: 200 cigarettes and 20 cigars per person; 250g of cigarette or pipe tobacco perperson; 50ml perfumery and 250ml eau de toilette per person; Two litres of wine per person; 1 litre in total of spiritous and other alcoholic beverages per person.

Persons under 18 years of age may claim duty-free allowances on goods imported by them, with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products, whether or not they are accompanied by their parents or guardians and provided that it is for their personal use.

•    Personal effects, sporting and recreational equipment. Visitors may bring in new or used personal effects, sporting and recreational equipment either as accompanied or unaccompanied baggage, for own use during their visit. You may be required to lodge a cash deposit to cover the potential duty/tax on expensive articles pending their re-exportation. The deposit will be refunded on departure after a Customs officer has physically inspected the items and verified that they are being re-exported. Visitors must notify the Customs office at which the deposit was lodged at least two days before departure to ensure that the refund is ready. You will find the office number on the documents which will be given to you when lodging your deposit.

If you are departing from a port other than the port where you lodged the deposit, the inspection report confirming the re-exportation of the items will be forwarded to the office where the deposit was lodged and a cheque will be posted to the address you had provided.

Residents of South Africa who had exported new or used personal effects, sporting and recreational equipment for their own use while abroad can bring these back either as accompanied or unaccompanied baggage.

Any goods such as jewellery which were exchanged, remodelled, processed or repaired while you were abroad, do not fall within this allowance and must be declared for duty assessment purposes. They include new and used goods.

In addition to the personal effects and consumable goods allowances, travellers are allowed new or used goods in accompanied baggage to the value of R5 000 (or R25 000 if arriving from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia or Swaziland).

This allowance is only valid once per person during a 30-day period and does not apply to goods imported by persons returning after an absence of less than 48 hours.

Crew members (including the master or the pilot) are only entitled to a duty-free allowance on a value not exceeding R700. Consumable goods as mentioned above are excluded from this entitlement.

5. Goods on which duty has to be paid – Other than those specified above, all goods and gifts acquired abroad are subject to the payment of Customs duty and VAT when they are brought into South Africa. This includes goods purchased dutyfree on board aircraft and ships or in duty-free shops.

Customs duties and taxes are payable in rands, the currency of South Africa. Goods that attract duty and do not qualify for the flat rate assessment explained below include:

•    Firearms acquired abroad or at any duty-free shop imported by residents of South Africa returning after an absence of less than six months;

•    Goods for commercial purposes; and

•    Goods carried on behalf of other persons.

In cases where residents of South Africa who are travelling abroad have had goods such jewellery re-modelled, processed or repaired, duty is payable on the costs incurred in these processes.

In cases where goods have been exchanged, duty is payable on the full value of the article received in exchange. These goods may qualify the duty free allowance of R5 000 and the flat-rate assessment. Returning residents must ensure that the goods in question are clearly described and that they can provide documentary proof of these transaction(s) and the costs involved.

Travellers have the option to pay Customs duty at a flat rate of 20% on goods acquired abroad or in any duty-free shop to expedite their passage through Customs. The total value of these additional goods, new or used, may not exceed R20 000 per person. Flat-rated goods are also exempted from payment of VAT.

This option can only be chosen if the total value of goods imported does not exceed R25 000 in value. This excludes consumable goods in excess of the quantities specified under duty-free allowances.

If the value of the additional goods exceeds R20 000 or if you decide not to use the flat rate option, the appropriate rates of duty and VAT will have to be assessed and paid on each individual item. In addition, 14% VAT will be payable on the assessed goods.

This flat-rate assessment will be allowed unlimited times per person during a period of 30 days and shall not apply to goods imported by persons returning after an absence of less than 48 hours.

The flat-rate assessment may be used by those under 18 years of age, provided the goods are for their own use. In the case of crew members, including the master of a ship or the pilot of an aircraft, the value of the items that may be assessed on a flat-rate basis is restricted to R2 000 per person.

6. Travellers in transit – Travellers in transit to countries outside the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland, who have been booked from an airport outside the common customs area, will not be required to comply with Customs formalities in South Africa.

Travellers arriving in South Africa and taking a connecting flight to another SACU member country will be required to complete all Customs formalities upon arrival. Baggage belonging to passengers in transit will automatically be transferred from the international flight at the airport of transit in South Africa.

These passengers may not leave the transit area of the airport between flights. Should you travel to your final destination by road, Customs formalities must be complied with at the port of arrival in South Africa.

7. Refund of tax on visitors’ purchases – VAT at a rate of 14% is levied on the purchase of most goods in South Africa. Tourists and foreign visitors to South Africa may apply for a refund of the VAT paid at departure points.

The tax invoices for the purchases and the goods must be presented for inspection to the VAT Refund Administrator. No refund will be made if the claim is not lodged before departure.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 identifies the legislative responsibilities of different spheres of government with regard to airports, roads, traffic management and public transport. Transport is a function that is legislated and executed at the national, provincial and local spheres of government.

The development and maintenance of an efficient and competitive transport system is a key objective of the National Development Plan (NDP) and of Outcome 6 (an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network) of the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019.

The 1996 White Paper on Transport defines the different subsectors in the transport sector. Broadly, these are the infrastructure and operations of rail, pipelines, roads, airports, harbours as well as the cross-modal operations of public transport and freight. The Department of Transport (DoT) is responsible for the legislation and policies for all these subsectors.

The DoT is therefore responsible for conducting sector research, formulating legislation and policy to set the strategic direction of subsectors, assigning responsibilities to public entities and other levels of government, regulating through setting norms and standards, and monitoring implementation.

The department’s strategic goals are to, among other things, ensure an efficient and integrated infrastructure network that serves as a catalyst for social and economic development; ensure a safe and secure transport sector; improve rural access, infrastructure and mobility; improve public transport systems, and increase the contribution of the transport sector to job creation.

Transport infrastructure and services support economic growth and development by connecting people and goods to markets. The development and maintenance of an efficient and competitive transport system is a key objective of the NDP.

The DoT aims to maintain the national and provincial road networks, upgrade rail infrastructure and services, and expand road based public transport.

The implementation of transport functions at the national sphere takes place through public entities that are overseen by the department.

The 12 public entities under the Ministry of Transport are the Airports Company South Africa; Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS); Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA); Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA); Ports Regulator; Railway Safety Regulator; Road Accident Fund (RAF); Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA); Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC); South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA); South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL). Commercial role players include Transnet, South African Airways (SAA) and South African Express (SAX).

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa

PRASA provides rail commuter services within, to and from South Africa in the public interest. In consultation with the DoT, it also provides for long haul passenger rail and bus services within, to and from South Africa. The agency was expected over the medium term to deliver 70 new train sets for Metrorail and 25 new locomotives for Shosholoza Meyl, complete 141 train station improvement projects, and refurbish 1 230 coaches for Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl.

By mid-2017, a total of 18 new trains, affectionately known as “The People’s Train”, had been delivered. The new trains are part of the first roll-out which will be implemented over the next 20 years.

The remaining 580 trains will be built in South Africa by Gibela at a local factory in Dunnottar Park, Ekurhuleni.

Transnet Limited

Transnet’s mandate is to contribute to lowering the cost of doing business in South Africa, enable economic growth, and ensure security of supply by providing appropriate port, rail and pipeline infrastructure in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Transnet remains the largest freight logistics company in South Africa, enabling competitiveness, growth and the development of the South African economy by delivering reliable freight transport and handling services that satisfy customer demand.

Gautrain

The Gautrain is an 80-km long mass rapid transit railway system that links Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport.

It was built to relieve traffic congestion in the Johannesburg-Pretoria traffic corridor and offer commuters a viable alternative to road transport, as Johannesburg had limited public transport infrastructure.

The Gautrain transports about 52 000 people a day (including weekends) or 1,2 million people a year.

Road Accident Fund

The mandate of the RAF is to compensate South African road users for loss or damage caused by the negligent driving of motor vehicles within the borders of South Africa.

Road Traffic Management Corporation

The RTMC is responsible for coordinating road-traffic management across the three spheres of government. The core mandate of the corporation is to improve traffic-law compliance and reduce road fatalities.

South African Maritime Safety Authority

The SAMSA promotes South Africa’s maritime interests, ensures the safety of life and property at sea, and prevents and combats the pollution of the marine environment by ships.

South African National Roads Agency Limited

SANRAL is responsible for the design, financing, maintenance, operation and rehabilitation of South Africa’s national toll and non-toll roads.

The toll-road network comprises about 15% of the national road network of about 21 451 km. SANRAL manages some 1 832 km of these toll roads.

South Africa has a vast road network of 750 000 km, ranging from freeways to grave roads and is the tenth longest road network in the world. In an effort to alleviate traffic congestion, save time and migrate towards cashless tolling, SANRAL is also using an optional toll-collection method that uses a tag fitted on the windscreen. SANRAL’s total road network is 21 451 km (93%) and its has awarded concessions to the following three private companies to be responsible for 6,2% of the road network:

•    Bakwena Toll Concessionaires (1,6%) manages the section of the N1 north of Pretoria up to the Bela Bela interchange, and the N4 travelling west towards the Botswana border, known as the Platinum Highway – 352 km.

•    Trans African Concessions (2,7%) is responsible for the 570 km of the road between Solomon Mahlangu off-ramp in Tshwane and the Port of Maputo in Mozambique.

•    N3 Toll Concessions manages the N3 between Heidelberg in Gauteng and Cedara near Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal – 415 km.

Cross Border Road Transport Agency

The agency’s legislative mandate requires it to advise the Minister of Transport on cross border road transport policy, regulate access to the market by the road transport freight and passenger industry in respect of cross border road transport by issuing permits, undertake road transport law enforcement, and play a facilitative role in contributing to economic prosperity of the region.

Ports Regulator of South Africa

The Ports Regulator of South Africa performs functions that relate mainly to the regulation of pricing and other aspects of economic regulation, the promotion of equity of access to ports facilities and services, the monitoring of the industry’s compliance with the regulatory framework, and the hearing of any complaints and appeals lodged with it.

Railway Safety Regulator

The Railway Safety Regulator oversees and promotes safe railway operations through appropriate support, monitoring and enforcement, guided by an enabling regulatory framework, including regulations for all rail operators in South Africa and those of neighbouring countries whose rail operations enter South Africa.

Road Traffic Infringement Agency

The RTIA promotes road traffic quality by providing for a scheme to discourage road traffic infringements to support the prosecution of offences in terms of national and provincial laws relating to road traffic, and implements a points demerit system.

National Transport Master Plan (NAPMAP)

The NATMAP 2050 is aimed at delivering a dynamic, long-term and sustainable transportation system framework which is demand responsive and that provides a coordinated transport agenda for the whole country.

Rural Transport Strategy

Rural transport development ensures better mobility and access in rural areas. The national transport survey found that a higher percentage of the population cannot afford the high cost of transport. This limits their access to transport and therefore social and economic opportunities. This perpetuates underdevelopment and isolation from mainstream public transport system.

The National Land Transport Act of 2009 provides for different levels of government to be responsible for planning.

The Rural Transport Strategy is expected to contribute to the formulation of the National Planning Guidelines for rural district municipalities’ public transport network plans.

Aviation

Civil aviation serves as a major catalyst for global economic activities and is vital to trade and tourism. South Africa’s airport network consists of 135 licensed airports, 19 military airports and up to 1 300 unlicensed aerodromes.

South Africa’s nine major airports are:

•    OR Tambo International in Gauteng

•    Cape Town International in the Western Cape

•    King Shaka International in KwaZulu-Natal

•    Bloemfontein International in the Free State

•    Port Elizabeth International in the Eastern Cape

•    Upington International in the Northern Cape

•    East London Airport in the Eastern Cape

•    George Airport in the Western Cape

•    Kimberley Airport in the Northern Cape.

Air Traffic and Navigation Services

The ATNS provides air traffic, navigation, training and associated services within South Africa and a large part of the Southern Indian and Atlantic Ocean, comprising approximately 10% of the world’s airspace. South Africa is committed to regional aviation safety, security and environmental issues.

South African Civil Aviation Authority

The SACAA promotes, regulates and enforces civil aviation safety and security standards across the aviation industry.

South African Airways

SAA is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 26 destinations across the continent, as well as major destinations within South Africa and internationally from its Johannesburg hub at OR Tambo International Airport and is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance.

SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its four wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango, its low-cost carrier; Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA; and South African Travel Centre.

South African Express Airways

SAX is a regional carrier with a mandate to provide transportation services for passengers, cargo and mail, air charters, and other related aviation services on low-density domestic routes and African regional routes.

It operates from OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg), King Shaka International Airport (Durban) and Cape Town International Airport, serving secondary routes in South Africa and regional routes to Botswana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

It also provides feeder air services that connect with the South African Airways network.

Public transport

Scholar Transport

The National Scholar Transport Policy provides a framework for safe and secure transport for learners through the cooperation of stakeholders and law-enforcement authorities.

The DoT developed the national operational guidelines to remedy operational challenges that provinces have in implementing the Scholar Transport Programme.

Taxi and bus industries

The taxi industry remains the most important part of South Africa’s public transport system. Taxis, which move 68% of the 5,4 million daily, are the preferred type of road transport.

With more than 200 000 taxis on the road, the taxi industry generates about R40 billion per year and has created approximately 300 000 direct and indirect job opportunities, including drivers, taxi marshals and administrative support.

Integrated public transport networks
Bus Rapid Transport (BRT)

South Africa has introduced rapid public transport networks which contribute to economic development, job creation and tourism.

•    In Cape Town, MyCiTi is moving an average of 42 522 people against a target of 50 000 per weekday.

•    Rea Vaya in Johannesburg is moving an average of 33 670 people against a target of 40 000 per weekday.

•    In Pretoria, A Re Yeng is moving an average of 3 000 people against a target of 10 000 per weekday.

•    Go George is moving an average of 7 630 people against a target of 10 000 per weekday in George, Cape Town.

•    The City of Ekurhuleni was expected to launch Harambe (pulling or working together in Kiswahili), in 2016.

•    The Rustenburg Rapid Transport system in North West was expected to serve an 18 km trunk line network of dedicated bus lanes and station terminals.

•    GO!Durban is the term and brand used to refer to Durban’s Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network.

Maritime

The South African Maritime Training Academy at Simon’s Town in the Western Cape provides advanced training to the broader maritime sector, including the merchant navy, harbour-craft operations, the fishing industry and the South African Navy. The South African Merchant Navy Academy at Granger Bay, is integrated with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, with a similar training facility at the Durban Institute of Technology.

As part of an initiative to reduce the vacancy rate of at least The MRCC enables South Africa to exercise its responsibilities to the international community by employing state-of-the-art search-and-rescue infrastructure and services.

South Africa has a well-established pollution prevention strategy, and is ready to respond in case of threats to the environment or to provide assistance to vessels at risk.

Arrive Alive campaign

The objectives of the Arrive Alive Road-Safety Campaign, especially during the Easter and December holidays, are to reduce the number of road-traffic accidents in general and fatalities in particular, and improve road-user compliance with traffic laws.

The goals of the campaign are to:

•    reduce the number of road-traffic accidents in general, and fatalities in particular, by 5% compared with the same period the previous year.

•    improve road-user compliance with traffic laws.

•    forge improved working relationships between traffic authorities in the various spheres of government.

Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020

South Africa is a signatory to the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020.

A key aspect of the Integrated Road Safety Management Programme is increasing pedestrian safety. In South Africa, there are close to 14 000 fatal road accidents a year, which cost the country over R300 billion.

About 88% of the crashes are caused by human factors, with an average of 40 people dying and 20 left permanently disabled every day.

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