International Press Release Submissions

Wearing Masks To Become Permanent SA Law

The Department of Health will be passing new regulations that will force everyone to continue to wear masks, and receive mandatory vaccinations even though we are no longer in a National State of Disaster. These regulations will not only apply to COVID-19 and may be enforced through a court order. The public has been given until Saturday, 16 April 2022 to comment on these proposed regulations. Sign this petition and fill out this form to oppose the regulations! Stop New Proposed Amendments to the South African Health Regulations! 1,617 have signed Jill B’s petition. Let’s get to 2,500! Did you know that the Minister of Health is about to pass amendments to existing health regulations that will allow the government to FORCE us: to undergo medical examinations, get vaccinations, take medication, follow the advice of a doctor, and be quarantined in state facilities for having contracted: COVID-19, measles, malaria, smallpox, lead and mercury poisoning, tuberculosis (TB), or for having died a maternal death (death during pregnancy up to 42 days after giving birth)? If you test positive for anyone of these diseases, you will only be allowed to self-isolate at home if you have: a separate bedroom and bathroom to the rest of the people in your home who not isolating, disposable eating utensils, a thermometer, internet, a phone, family and friends that are able to drop off food outside your house. If you don’t have all of the above, the government can force you to isolate in a STATE QUARANTINING FACILITY. Meaning that the majority of South Africans could be forced into state facilities because of the very privileged position you must be in to self-isolate. These new proposed regulations will now also PERMANENTLY force us to: wear face masks in all indoor public spaces, keep a social distance of 1 metre in all indoor public spaces, appoint a compliance officer to monitor and …


Source: MyPR International

Department Of Health Deleting Public Participation Emails

DearSA is aware that the Department of Health is allegedly deleting public participation inputs they received via email without reading them. A government department deleting public inputs without considering their contents is a grievous abuse of the public participation process. Fortunately, the DearSA platform exists to mitigate against this. Once DearSA delivers comments to the relevant government department, we count and record all public participation through our platform. Therefore, no comments or inputs can go missing. This allows DearSA to bring a legal challenge against the government if they abuse the public participation process. “The deleted submissions pertain to the proposed regulatory amendments to the National Health Act. These regulations will perpetually and indefinitely extend the State of Disaster. DearSA's mission is to enhance the transparency and efficiency of our democratic processes. Every submission sent via the DearSA platform is counted, tracked and delivered to the relevant government department. We also provide a complete summary once the campaign concludes. Because we retain a record of all public input, any government department that tries to obfuscate submissions or claims they never received them will fail in that regard. We will ensure no submission will be left behind, and that all voices will be heard on this issue. “Said Gideon Joubert, DearSA CEO, on Tuesday. As the Department has called for public comment, we encourage all active citizens to have their say via the link below. Public pressure creates a demonstrable impact. The voice of South African citizens is a powerful influence on the direction of our democracy. Thus far we have delivered more than 220,400 comments to the Minister of Health. The period for comment on the proposed amendments to the National Health Act regulations closes on 16 April 2022. The link to the NHA Regulations public participation campaign: …


Source: MyPR International

Absa launches new campaign ahead of Absa RUN YOUR CITY series

Johannesburg, South Africa, 12 April 2022. Together we can be more, Siyabangena is a new campaign by proudly Pan-African bank, Absa that aims to get colleagues, customers and community members of all fitness levels to work collectively and be an active force for good in their communities while working towards achieving their fitness goals. In 2021, Absa, announced its four-year partnership with the RUN YOUR CITY Series running events in South Africa with a bold goal to get the country moving in the right direction. Through this partnership, Absa will continue its journey of step-changing their contribution to society by adopting an integrated and inclusive approach to achieving impact, this time, through promoting a walking and running culture amongst South Africans. Siyabangena is a strategic campaign that challenges Absa colleagues, customers and communities to join Team Absa on Strava and participate in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series. By signing up on Strava, which is a free site, Absa will give the first 1 000 members who join, Team Absa branded race kit. Furthermore, Absa will donate R1 for every km run by Team Absa towards buying running shoes in communities in and around our Absa RUN YOUR CITY events. Colleagues who are part of Team Absa will receive special hospitality at Absa RUN YOUR CITY events in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg, including extra goodies in the race packs. Absa Executive, Geoff Lee, explains the inspiration behind Together we can be more, Siyabangena, “At Absa, we believe in the power of the collective. Through Team Absa every step you take will make a difference. Siyabangena is not only about getting active, but it will enable colleagues, customers and community members to act collectively towards being an active force for good in their respective communities ensuring that they are part of bringing Africa’s possibility to life and fostering a culture of action.” For those new to running and walking, or those simply wanting to grow …


Source: MyPR International

A TOTAL NAAKOUT, Tropika Island of Treasure Host Wins Big at Celeb City

A string of good luck? or just pure old brilliance? That is the question on all our minds when it comes to Anga Makubalo and his recent streak of good fortune. The newly crowned Tropika Island of Treasure host, Anga “NaakMusiQ” Makubalo took home another crown on Saturday, 9th of April at the much- anticipated #CelebCity boxing match after beating rapper Cassper Nyovest in five-round teeth gnashing exhibit of man brawl held at Sun City on Saturday night an hour before midnight. Cassper was the clear favourite going into the match with high profile celebs like Black Coffee and Big Zulu speaking out publicly in support of Nyovest. After five exhausting rounds, NaakMusiQ was able to win over the judge’s favour and was crowned the winner by unanimous decision. Both fighters took the decision with dignity, with Cassper hinting at a rematch during post fight interviews. “there’s very little to remember from being in the ring, I was tired and Cassper was punching. All I knew was don’t fall”, Anga told reporters after the fight. This isn’t the first crown Anga took from a celeb this week though... Twitter and the media were quick to prematurely congratulate Katlego Maboe for finding his way back to our screens as Host of Tropika Island of Treasure: All Stars, because of a social media guessing-game, challenging viewers to quess who the host would be based off a cryptic riddle. It was, however, Anga Makubalo who was crowned as the upcoming 10th season’s true host. The Tropika Island of treasure started off in 2008 with its first selection of celebs being Kelly Khumalo and Roxy Louw with a mix of players competing on an exotic island to stand a chance to win a cash prize of R1Million in cash. The first few seasons initially had a generic host; however, the show was reformatted for season 6,7,8 and 9 to include a celebrity host. Locations included the white sanded Seychelles, Maldives and Curacao embellished with a start studded line up of celebrities like …


Source: MyPR International

Interest rates are rising – should you fix your bond?

With the interest rate rising for the third – and likely not final – time in a row last month in March, it’s no surprise that many South African homeowners are looking for creative ways to minimise the impact on their bond repayments. The option to negotiate a fixed (rather than prime-linked) interest rate can be tempting in times like these. However, Roger Lotz, franchisee for Rawson Properties Helderberg, cautions homeowners to think carefully before taking this potentially costly route. “It’s true that costs are going to be climbing for homeowners over the next while,” he says. “Rising oil, fuel and electricity prices are putting serious pressure on inflation, and costs of living are going to hit harder than usual.” When it comes to the interest rate, however, Lotz says panic is unnecessary, as future increases are unlikely to be as high or as fast as many fear. “Increasing interest rates is the SARB’s primary method for containing rising inflation, but inflation isn’t the only economic ball they’re juggling right now,” says Lotz. “The pandemic left our economy in crisis, and reigniting growth is of the utmost importance. Increasing interest rates too high, too fast, would be detrimental to that goal. A slow and steady rise to moderate – not extreme – levels is far more likely.” With this in mind, Lotz says fixing interest rates now is unlikely to have the cost-saving effect homeowners are hoping for. “Fixed interest rates are always higher than prime-linked,” he explains. “That difference isn’t negligible, either – it’s often around 2%. Given that the prime lending rate is highly unlikely to escalate more than 2% over the next two years, all you’d achieve by fixing your bond rate now is to bring those increased expenses forward and pay them for longer than necessary.” Fixed interest rates can be beneficial in certain circumstances where reliability and predictability are more valuable than overall cost. When affordability is your ultimate …


Source: MyPR International

The real cost of keeping your vehicle on the road

11 April 2022: The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt its own share of harm to the automotive industry, with the consequences still being felt today. Factory shutdowns, suspended manufacturing and semiconductor chip shortages have hampered regular production. If that wasn’t enough, the conflict in Ukraine has served up a host of unforeseen impacts, not only for the automotive sector but for world economies too. With the lifting of the national state of disaster after 750 days of various levels of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the country is slowly returning to some sort of normalcy. This includes many businesses and organisations encouraging their employees to return to the workplace. However, while fuel prices continue to hit record levels due to, among other things, the ongoing unrest in Ukraine, fluctuations in the currency and a recent interest rate hike – the first of at least three for this year, economists have predicted – it is the consumer who has to face the brunt of continued rising prices. The past two years have seen many of us work from home, thus saving on motor vehicle costs such as fuel and maintenance with reduced usage. However, getting back on the road and having to manage the actual costs of vehicle ownership now also need to be factored into what is for many an already constrained budget. “It is important to understand the total monthly costs of vehicle ownership, whether the car is being driven more frequently or not. Fuel consumption might vary accordingly, but fixed monthly payments, such as the vehicle finance repayment terms and insurance costs, remain a constant and need to be included in the monthly household budget,” says Lebogang Gaoaketse, WesBank Motor Head of Marketing and Communication. This has led to South African motorists seeking affordability as a key consideration in the vehicle purchase decision. “This has seen the emergence of new brands focused on more affordable models, together with the introduction of many new …


Source: MyPR International

1st Quarter FNB Broker Survey sees brokers as a group pointing towards declining vacancy rates in all 3 commercial property markets.

An interesting result from the most recent 1st quarter 2022 FNB Property Broker Survey was that the aggregated response pointed to declining vacancy rates in all 3 commercial property classes, i.e., Office, Industrial and Retail Property. While Industrial Property vacancy rates have been perceived as declining for some time already, these results point to a more recent turn around for Office and Retail Property vacancies, which were seen to be rising until recently. This turnaround appears to reflect the normalization in economic activity in recent times, as Covid-19 fades as a threat, and lockdown regulations have largely disappeared, resulting in greater rates of new business formation and perhaps expansion. We ask respondents the question as to whether they believe vacancy rates have increased, decreased or remained the same over 6 months prior? Out of the responses we create an index by allocating a +1 score to an “increased” response, a zero to an “unchanged” response and a negative -1 to a “declined” response. The scale of the “Index for direction of change in average vacancy rates over the past 6 months” is thus from +100 to -100. A score of +100 would imply that 100% of respondents perceived an increase in vacancy rates over the past 6 months and -100 would imply 100% of respondents perceiving a decline, while a zero level would mean that those providing an “increased” response equals those responding with a “declined” response. The relatively strong Industrial Property Market’s average vacancy rate is still perceived to be on a declining vacancy trend, and its survey response points to a broker group still showing strong conviction as to the strength of this trend. The Industrial Sector’s Index for Direction of Change In Vacancy Rate returned a negative value of -50, implying that 50 percentage points more respondents pointed to a declining vacancy rate compared with those pointing to an increase. This reading was stronger than the …


Source: MyPR International

Municipalities risk lives with sub-standard water

Poor water quality becomes the norm as 77% of South Africa’s 1 186 water supply systems fail to meet the legal standards The Blue Drop report is a red flag for the dire state of most of our water systems and the effect on human rights. The report is the official confirmation of the widespread problem that too many people face every day, often for years, and there is no longer any excuse for the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) failing to act against officials responsible for sub-standard water systems. “While we welcome the publication of the Blue Drop Progress Report, the state of our drinking water quality is shocking. Municipalities are playing with people’s lives. Civil society must get organised in a national network to keep monitoring and testing our drinking water,” says Dr Ferrial Adam, Water and Environment Manager for the Community Action Network (WaterCAN). “Not only is the quality a concern but also the serious lack of required technical skills needed to ensure effective operations and maintenance of water treatment plants and distribution networks.” The Blue Drop Progress Report was released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on 1 April 2022, the first report since 2014. It is an assessment of the cumulative risk status of treatment systems of drinking water within the municipal (or other) water services. The assessment was conducted on 144 water services authorities in South Africa comprising of 1186 water supply systems. The Blue Drop assessment shows that 52% of water supply systems range from medium to critical risk. In addition, 60% of supply systems do not comply with microbiological standards and 77% of supply systems do not comply with chemical standards, as outlined in SANS 241:2015. “The DWS’s remedial actions such as ‘Boil Water’ notices and issuing of ‘Water Quality’ Advisories must not normalise poor quality water. These should be the exception but are fast becoming the norm as the water quality …


Source: MyPR International

Set Aside Proposed Workplace Vaccine Regulations Or We’ll See You In Court

10 April 2022: New Covid regulations to replace the national State of Disaster can be used to compel employers to enforce vaccine mandates, and are unlawful and irrational. Public participation platform Dear SA has asked the minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, to set aside workplace regulations that could be used to force employers to impose mandatory vaccine policies at the risk of incurring criminal sanctions. In a letter addressed to the minister, Dear SA legal representative, Daniël Eloff, says unless the regulations are withdrawn and reconsidered in their entirety, Dear SA reserves the right to take the matter to court. Dear SA has also requested copies of all documentation used in support of the decision to introduce the Code of Practice: Managing Exposure to SARS-COV-2 in the workplace, 2022. The department issued a press release on 15 March 2022 stating that the minister will, in due course, “issue Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations to supplement the Code”. The government’s stated reason for introducing the proposed regulations is to “prevent and mitigate the risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the workplace” once the national state of disaster is lifted. The Code of Practice will effectively coerce employers into enforcing mandatory vaccination policies in the workplace and will employ OHS regulations – and the criminal sanctions that come with it – to do so. This not only defeats the government’s stated aim of increasing employment in SA but also runs counter to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise, given on 1 February 2021: “I want to be clear, nobody will be forced to take this vaccine, I want to repeat, nobody will be forced to take this vaccine. … Nobody will be given this vaccine against their will.” At a time when several countries are reversing or suspending their vaccine mandates, South Africa appears to be tilting in the opposite direction by attempting to mandate vaccines using other …


Source: MyPR International

Blitzboks and McDonald’s SA seal “golden” partnership

SA Rugby announced on Friday that McDonald’s South Africa has joined their family of partners as the newest associate sponsor of the Springbok Sevens team, with their famous golden arches appearing on the Blitzboks’ shorts when they take the field at the HSBC Singapore Sevens this weekend. Known for its speed of service, McDonald’s South Africa is a perfect partner for the fleet footed Blitzboks, who are currently at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings after winning all four tournaments of the 2022 season. “We are delighted to welcome such a well-loved global brand as McDonald’s to the Blitzboks family,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby. “It is very flattering that such an iconic company should see synergies with our Sevens team as a force to bring South Africans together in the way that McDonald’s restaurants do. “The Blitzboks have carved out a special place in our national landscape and this partnership underlines that relationship. We’re looking forward to seeing the team wear the Golden Arches for the first time in Singapore this weekend.” McDonald’s South Africa plays an active role in the communities in which it operates and has been involved with sport at grass roots level for many years, but this will be its first national sponsorship. “We believe in the power of sport to bring people together, and to create connections with our customers and our communities,” said Supply Chain, Marketing and Technology Executive, Daniel Padiachy. “To partner with a world class national sports team such as the Blitzboks is an honour. “It’s important for brands to show support for our nations teams, and in doing so creating opportunities for our countries talent to exceed and shine. Through this partnership we are hoping to inspire the youth to follow their dreams too.” ABOUT MCDONALD’S SOUTH AFRICA: McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in South Africa in November 1995. Today, they operate over 330 restaurants in all nine …


Source: MyPR International