PHOLA Radio Station

18/09/2022

horrible accident claimed 21 lives in uPhongolo N2

30/08/2022

alert🚨🕠🕔⏳

24/08/2022

Audition time

as promised....you know what's to do..

18/08/2022

"STEVE TSHWETE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY" react to the shooting incident which took place at the Municipal head quarter in "MIDDELBURG"

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Two Steve Tshwete employees have reportedly dead after they were allegedly shot with live ammunition by heavily armed private security guards hired by the municipality.

The incident took place at municipal headquarters on Thursday on 18 August 2022

One of the employees reportedly died on the scene and the second employee later died at the hospital while others are fighting for their lives.

The reason for the shooting is not known.
It's nearly 4 weeks since employees have since embarked on a strike demanding level 5 salaries.

Part of their demands is the removal of the private security company acting municipal manager Thokozile Zulu procured to protect municipal premises, assests and staff from a strike

The incident led to the fatal shooting of some of these group of men who were violently attacking the security personnel, the incident led to a loss of life, and out of our own internal investigation the municipality learnt that some of the people who were involved are municipal employees.

The municipality wishes to apologize to members of the community for the disruption of services, as a result of the continuing unprotected strike and we want to reaffirm our commitment of providing quality services to the residents, we further commit to put in place corrective measures to restore services to the residents.

It is in this context, that the municipality has taken a decision to convene a press briefing on Friday, 19 August 2022 to give a detailed on the sequence of events which led to the unprotected strike and later the unfortunate fatal shooting which led to the loss of life.

17/08/2022

Three foreign nationals nabbed by EMPD

Putfontein _ On Wednesday 10 August 2022 in the Putfontein area, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department Specialised Task Team Unit in conjunction with the EMPD Anti-Truck Hijacking Unit apprehended three Zimbabwean suspects who were in possession of blasting cartridges and capped fuse explosives.

The members of the EMPD Specialised Task Team Unit during crime prevention patrols on Kingsway Road noticed a grey Nissan Micra driving recklessly heading towards Brazil Street and attempted to stop the vehicle.

The vehicle ignored the attempt and a chase ensued. The driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a steal barricade at the corner of Brazil and Mathewson Street. The driver, a 30-year-old male, and his passenger, a 22-year-old female, both jumped out of the crash and ran into a neighbouring field but were swiftly apprehended by the officers.

The officers then searched the vehicle and found eleven (11) white 28mm blasting cartridges and twenty-five (25) green capped fuses concealed by a black jacket. The two suspects were interrogated and stated they had more explosives at their residence in Mayfield Extension 6. The law enforcers proceeded to the address where they discovered an additional three-hundred-and-forty-one (341) white 28mm blasting cartridges in a black plastic bag wrapped in tape.

Through further interrogation, the suspects informed the officers of another residence in Cloverdene where more explosives would be located. The EMPD Anti-Truck Hijacking Unit was called in for backup and proceeded to the second location.

24/06/2022

Thousands of young people have benefitted from the government's youth employment initiative since its introduction. However, this might no longer be the case for other young people who have been hopeful to be appointed in the next phases of the teaching assistant initiative.

In Phase I of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) more than 280 000 young people were successfully recruited and placed in schools across the country.

With more and more young people receiving employment in all three phases of the initiative, the Education Department has shared that it has received good feedback from the youth, teachers, and principals about the impact that this initiative continues to make in schools.The Education Department has taken a decision to close new appointments of assistants or replacements should a vacancy arise after 15 June 2022.

With Phase III fast approaching its end date of 31 August 2022, Mhlanga explained that this decision has been made to ensure stability in schools. It also takes the winter holidays scheduled from 24 June 2022 to 16 July 2022 into consideration, as there will be less than 7 weeks of Phase III remaining when schools re-open for the third quarter.

While preparations for the 2022 preliminary matric examinations will be underway during this time, there won’t be enough time to provide new appointees with the necessary orientation and training to gain meaningful work experience.This initiative has not only helped drop the youth unemployment rate but also has helped in providing skills for its participants. According to Mhlanga, one of the objectives of the youth initiative is to provide beneficiaries with skills and competencies that will enhance their prospects for future employmentHence, the department has training offerings with its partners (Digify Africa, NEMISA, 2Enable, Pinnock Consulting, and eCubed). It is for this reason that the Education Department has urged schools to make full use of the wide range of skills

22/06/2022

Eskom warns of higher stages of blackouts

Eskom was giving an update on the current system challenges earlier on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately we are at a point where we have to conserve both the pump storage dam levels and low diesel levels and utilise generation resources to contain load-shedding to a Stage 2 over the evening peak periods," Oberholzer said.

"However, should we continue to experience breakdowns in the fleet of the coal fire power stations, this may, unfortunately, escalate to a Stage 3 or even higher. This is what we are trying to avoid that’s why we needed to implement Stage 2 this morning.”

22/06/2022

Apply for a job @ shoprite u save

21/06/2022

Do local governments regulate sewage treatment?

Drop us a comment and join our on going conversation

21/06/2022

Why is it important for mines to monitor environmental changes?

Real-time monitoring and data analysis can also help to ensure a mine site avoids any potential environmental incidents. By stopping production or shifting it to a different part of the site, harmful outflows of waste water or plumes of dust escaping the site can be avoided.

What is corporate social responsibility in mining?

CSR refers to “voluntary actions” undertaken by mining companies to either improve the living conditions (economic, social, environmental) of local communities or to reduce the negative impacts of mining projects.

Corporate social responsibility is traditionally broken into four categories: environmental, philanthropic, ethical, and economic responsibility.

What is the importance of responsible mining?

Responsible mining can ensure the economic and sustainable future of local communities. Big companies sourcing near small communities can, in fact, benefit them by producing jobs and bringing business to the area. This relies on the fact that workers are engaged in safe, ethical, paid labour

21/06/2022

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21/06/2022

What is meant by community development?

Community development is a process where community members are supported by agencies to identify and take collective action on issues which are important to them. Community development empowers community members and creates stronger and more connected communities.

What are the 3 types of community development?

The three types of communities are rural, urban, and suburban.

What is the main purpose of community development?

Community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people with the skills they need to effect change within their communities. The main purpose of the community development is to aware the people and build their capacities for the enhancement and improvement their communities.

What are the 5 principles of community development?

While there are many ways to approach community development, simplified we can think of community driven development (CDD) as being based on concepts of participation, transparency, barrier removal, accountability, local power, and enhanced capacity.

21/06/2022

Do sports bring communities together?

With sports, people can talk to one another or compete with one another and this leads them to making friends and several other connections. Sports were created in order to bring people together and create societies together to have fun and to compete. Sports are a great way to meet friends and make enemies.

Most sports, whether you're playing or spectating, can be fun for the whole family. People of all ages come together to cheer on their favorite team or players. Watching sports together allows families to bond over mutual interests.

Sport creates conversations by providing a common ground, and a unified sense of purpose. A love of the game and the passion brought to the field forges bonds between players. Heroes are created in sport and can become positive role models for the team and wider community.

Sport has a unique power to relay important messages, foster cultural inclusion and tolerance and bridge a divided society. We expect that sport will continue to advance social reform and increase cultural acceptance by providing a common platform to bring us together in the year ahead.

18/06/2022

How to invest in your 20s and 30s in South Africa

The recent downturn in global investment markets has understandably made many aspiring investors a little nervous about putting their money into the share market.

However, despite the regular ups and downs that all markets go through, the consistency of investing is still one of the most effective ways of building up your personal wealth. The younger you are when you start investing, the longer you have to invest and ride out the volatility in the market – which means you have an opportunity to significantly grow your money and beat inflation.

That’s according to Sebastian Pillay, head of share investing at FNB Wealth and Investments, who said that time in the market and a well-diversified portfolio is still the most valuable component of any investment plan.

“If you were to ask successful investors what the secret is to their success, chances are good that the majority will say it’s a long-term approach with quantifiable goals, which is why starting your investment journey early in life can be one of the wisest moves you can make,” he said.

Nicole Smit, product manager at FNB Money Management, said: “As part of diversifying the extra money left in your monthly budget, your short or long-term investments need to be part of your overall money management. This means that you shouldn’t just dive into the share market until you have put all the other pieces of your personal money management puzzle in place.”

“Before you start your share investment journey, you first need to ensure that your finances are in a good position to support your financial goals and that means getting your debts under control or paid off, having a healthy savings balance in place to cover any unforeseen emergencies, and generally being in a position where you are spending less than you earn on a consistent monthly basis and your investment contribution forms part of your budget.”

18/06/2022

Big language change coming for schools in South Africa

Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga says her department is developing a new plan to promote the nine previously marginalised languages at schools in South Africa – other than English and Afrikaans.

Responding in a recent written parliamentary Q&A, Motshekga said the plan will see these languages used as ‘languages of learning and teaching’ from Grade 3 and beyond. Languages which will be featured in the programme include:

IsiZulu;

IsiXhosa;

IsiNdebele;

Siswati;

Sesotho;

Setswana;

Sepedi;

Tshivenda;

Xitsonga.

Research worldwide shows that learners learn best through their home languages, Motshekga said.

“The Department of Basic Education, through the Eastern Cape Education’s own initiative, piloted the Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education wherein IsiXhosa and Sesotho were utilised as languages of learning and teaching for mathematics and science and technology beyond Grade 3,” she said.

17/06/2022

The strike went to far

10/06/2022

https://youtu.be/sooAv0S5hPs

Purpose of child protection plan Promote the child's welfare, health and development; Provided it is in the best interests of the child, to support the famil...

10/06/2022

Isibonelo nursery school was together with other local pre schools on the Child protection event

Purpose of child protection plan Promote the child's welfare, health and development; Provided it is in the best interests of the child, to support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the welfare of their child

06/06/2022

Reserve Bank on R500 note and R10 coin for South Africa

As South Africans grapple with the rising cost of inflation and increased cost of living, there has been a growing debate on whether the country should consider higher denominations of coins and notes.

The South African Reserve Bank told BusinessTech that it is constantly doing research to determine whether to transition into the higher denomination coin. This includes a R10 and introducing higher denomination banknotes such as R500, it said.

“The results of the (latest) study revealed that South Africa is not ready for a R500 banknote and some of the reasons stipulated were that the introduction is only valid when the highest denomination, R200 in our case, is the most circulated banknote.

“This is however not the case in South Africa as the R100 denomination is the most circulating banknote. The other reason is whether the R200 is still used as a store of value – which it is – and therefore does not warrant a change,” the bank said.

06/06/2022

Big shift to hit salaries in South Africa in the next 12 months

There’s no easy answer to the million-dollar question they face, and employers will have to dig deep to develop effective reward strategies,” she said.

The Great Resignation continues

Pressure is also mounting on companies to think creatively about remuneration, increases and rewards, given the wider trend of high levels of worker turnover, colloquially dubbed ‘the great resignation’.

This trend refers to workers quitting amid the Covid-19 pandemic, opting instead for stimulus packages, or for job opportunities that provide a better work-life balance and work-from-home opportunities. This trend is being seen worldwide, including in South Africa, as workers seek better opportunities and flexibility.

According to the Old Mutual survey, 36.4% of the labour turnover resulted from resignations over the past 12 months.

“Resignations continue to be at the highest levels of all the termination categories that we have seen over the past 10 years, despite the pandemic and the economic uncertainty,” said Richter.

“The total sample of employees covered just over 618,000 people. This means at an average turnover rate of 17.7%, just under 40,000 employees resigned from 82 companies.”

Richter said this untenable situation would force employers to reconsider their employee value proposition and retention policies if they are to retain their brightest staff.

Reasons for resignation include the following breakdown:

19 % indicated that they left for better pay

53% indicated that they’re leaving for a better working environment, improve career opportunities, or avoiding a toxic environment citing bullying or harassment

20% said they were leaving for greater work-life balance or to avoid burnout and/or stress

8% indicated that they are emigrating

Richter noted that while more than half of participant companies didn’t measure the replacement cost of labour staff turnover, the figure was staggering.

02/06/2022

SAPS spends R1.5bn on overtime for officers, unions warn current allocation not enough

The SAPS spent R1.5 billion on overtime pay in the 2021-'22 financial year.

The July unrest and 2021 local government elections were some of the major events on which large amounts of money were spent on overtime.

On Wednesday, SAPS management briefed the Portfolio Committee on Police on the findings of the SAPS organisational climate survey.

The July unrest and policing the 2021 municipal elections were some of the major events that sucked into the South African Police Service's (SAPS) R1.5 billion budget for overtime.

On Wednesday, SAPS management briefed the Portfolio Committee on Police on the findings of the SAPS organisational climate survey.

Officers previously raised promotions, physic support, and morale issues in the survey.

Overtime pay was another matter of concern raised by officers.

Divisional commissioner for human resource management Lieutenant General Lineo Ntshiea briefed the committee on the funding allocated for overtime pay.

READ | Top cop disappears with state car after failing to produce proof of qualifications following promotion

"Overtime allocation in the previous financial year 2021-'22 was R1.513 billion, and R1.549 billion was spent. This allocation was inclusive of the allocation for the local government elections and policing of the July unrest. The baseline allocation for the 2022-'23 financial year is R704 million, and there will be 100% spending. In the case of any unpaid overtime claims, the affected members must immediately submit the overtime claims in question for processing and payment of the benefits," she said.

According to Ntshiea, the processing of overtime claims has been decentralised to provinces and divisions since 1996.

The SAPS financial management services only capture claims exceeding 30% of the basic salary.

She said:

Currently, there is no knowledge of any backlog on overtime claim payments at provinces or division

02/06/2022

South Africa one step closer to adopting new DNA laws

The National Assembly has approved the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, with the draft law now being sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.

The bill is expected to make it easier to track and trace violent offenders in the country. Colloquially known as the ‘DNA law’ the bill will allow the government to gather the DNA of serious offenders arrested in South Africa.

Specifically, the bill will make it a requirement to take DNA samples from offenders convicted of schedule 8 criminal offences, including:

Murder;

R**e;

Sexual offences;

Robbery;

Human trafficking;

Culpable homicide.

The collected DNA sample is expected to help facilitate future prosecutions for re-offenders. The bill will also enable the establishment of a comprehensive DNA database to strengthen the fight against crime by capacitating the police with evidence to investigate and solve serious crimes.

The bill has largely been welcomed by opposition parties and is expected to help address South Africa crime rates – which are some of the highest in the world.

The latest crime statistics published by the South African Police Services shows South Africa recorded 6,859 murders in the three-month period between October to December 2021. This is up from 6,279 the year before (+9.2%). Attempted murders were up 3.5%, with the SAPS tracking 5,645 cases.

Contact-related crimes and other serious crimes were both up in the quarter, with a notable increase in carjackings (+13.8%) and commercial crimes (+15.9%).

The latest Cities@Risk Security Index from risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroftshows that South African cities rank among the most dangerous and insecure in the world. Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Pretoria in received the worst possible score and ranking joint first in the index.

02/06/2022

Why your chicken, milk and sandwiches now look different when buying from Checkers

Retail group Checkers says it is making steady progress in phasing out harmful plastics in favour of recyclable materials and has made several changes to its product line-up in recent weeks.

This forms part of a commitment to ensuring that 100% of its own-brand packaging is reusable, recyclable and compostable and that it contains on average 30% recycled material content by 2025, the group said.

Checkers said the most notable changes that customers will notice include:

Checkers will be the first South African retailer to replace its rotisserie chicken packaging with fully recyclable, responsibly sourced cardboard boxes. This will prevent 68 tons of non-recycled multi-layer laminated material from being landfilled every year.

All paper and carton board packaging used at in-store delis, bakeries and fresh fish sections are now 100% responsibly sourced.

Private label Crystal Valley Fresh Milk’s bottle cap colour has been changed from blue and red to white, which enables recyclers to eliminate downcycling into darker cap colours like black.

In the next two months, plastic sandwich punnets will be replaced with a Kraft carton sandwich wedge which has a small window, for easy removal before recycling.

02/06/2022

Challenges for South Africa’s rand

South Africa’s rand and bonds gained in May – but there are signs that the picture is about to darken.

Large bond outflows and waning demand for the debt from domestic investors are putting pressure on the local market, with record fuel prices adding to inflation that’s already close to the central bank’s target range. Aggressive monetary tightening by developed-nation central banks could add to pressure on the rand.
The charts below show some of the challenges for South African bonds and the rand.

Government rand bonds were the best-performing local debt in Africa in May, with a 2.5% return in dollar terms compared with the 0.6% drop of peers. But appetite for the debt is ebbing amid inflation pressures and rate-hike bets. Foreigners sold about R18 billion ($1.2 billion) of government debt on a net basis last month, and are now net sellers of the debt this year, based on data from exchange operator the JSE Ltd.

Demand from local investors underpinned bond gains in May, but that’s not a given, with this week’s Treasury auction raising a red flag. Primary dealers placed orders for just R7.4 billion ($468 million) of debt, or 1.9 times the R3.9 billion on sale. That was the weakest demand since October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Investors are also worried about fiscal pressures. Africa’s most industrialized economy extended a fuel subsidy by two months to help cushion consumers and businesses against the impact of rising crude prices stemming from Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The additional relief will cost the state R4.5 billion in foregone revenue. While the initial concession was funded by selling part of South Africa’s strategic fuel stocks, the extension will have an impact on the national budget.

A deterioration in fiscal metrics may be reflected in the premium investors require to hold South African debt, as well as the performance of the currency

01/06/2022

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Petrol pain: Global fuel prices are breaking record heights as the EU boycotts Russian oil, and the end of lockdowns in China has seen demand in the Northern hemisphere increase while supply remains scarce. Saad Rahim, a chief economist at Trafigura, says that he expects prices to continue to rise as they show no sign of slowing. On Tuesday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy extended a reduction in the general fuel levy; however, the department noted that it would only smoothen the impact of persistently higher fuel prices

Public servant wages: Trade unions and the government have progressed in ongoing wage negotiations as the government tables a 4.5% wage hike offer for public servants. This follows the government previously tabling a 0% offer in response to a 10% demand by unions. In conversation with Eyewitness News, trade unionists said that they are willing to revise their demands in light of the recent move by the government.

Unemployment reversal: Economist Raymond Parsons from the North-West University of Business School says that the positive development in the unemployment rate may reverse due to a weaker global environment directly weighing on export potential and the tightening of domestic monetary policy. This follows a slight fall in the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2022. Parsons expects that pressures will push unemployment above 35%.

Cybercrime on the rise: According to the CEO of the information and communications technology company BCX, South African companies are increasingly falling victim to security breaches. He added that there is a ‘concerted effort’ to target critical infrastructure in the country. Cybercriminals are now targeting essential infrastructure, as seen with the recent cyberattack on Transnet.

Markets: Global equity markets dipped while US Treasury yields rose sharply as investors weighed the prospects of higher inflation following a phased ban

01/06/2022

Unit 4 at Kusile is now officially contributing 800MW of power to the grid full-time

A generating unit at Eskom's troubled Kusile power station in Mpumalanga is now officially contributing power to the grid full-time.

The utility said in a statement on Wednesday that unit 4 at the station was handed over to the Generation division to formally be part of its commercial fleet after five months of testing.

"This handover marks another milestone in Eskom’s efforts to stabilise the power system in that it has formally added a much-needed 800MW to the country’s power system," Eskom said.

The unit was first connected to the grid in December 2021.

Kusile is South Africa’s largest construction project, and the fourth largest coal plant in the world. It has been mired in controversy, including delays, massive cost overruns, design defects and allegations of corruption.

Unit trips at the station have previously contributed to bouts of load shedding.

Former Eskom manager France Hlakudi, former Eskom group executive for the group capital division Abram Masango and three others face charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering relating to a contract of R745 million at Kusile between 2014 and 2017.

READ | R745m Kusile fraud case against former Eskom managers postponed again

Construction of Kusile started in 2008, and was originally intended to be completed around 2014 with an initial budget of R81 billion. The cost is now around R160 billion.

When it is done it will consist of six units, and will produce a maximum of 4 800MW of power.

Eskom said the "construction and commissioning activities" on the remaining units 5 and 6 "continue to progress according to plan".

Deputy President David Mabuza said last month that while Eskom has made progress in identifying design defects in its Medupi and Kusile stations, the delicate process of rectifying these defects will only be concluded by the end of 2027.

01/06/2022

New driving rules planned for South Africa – including traffic fine changes

The Department of Transport is considering a complete overhaul of its traffic fine system – including how fines are collected and the severity of certain offences.

The planned changes are included in a revised white paper published by the department at the end of May.

The department noted that while the issuing of fines is a key part of the traffic system, problems in recent years have contributed to ‘a lack of respect for the law’ prevailing among a large percentage of South African drivers.

To address these and other issues, the department is now considering:

ecriminalisation: The decriminalisation of certain traffic offences to ensure that the process of adjudicating traffic offences will be brief, strict and decisive. The feasibility of decriminalising all traffic offences except reckless, negligent and inconsiderate driving will be investigated.

Standardisation and dedicated traffic courts: The department plans to move towards the further standardisation of fines and other arrangements made by the judiciary, including the possible introduction of dedicated special traffic courts.

Schools: The department is considering the introduction of compulsory attendance at traffic schools as a form of sanction.

Change in how fines are collected: Fine-collection procedures relating to traffic offences, penalties for non-payment, confiscation of movable property and demerit systems will be improved and fully implemented, the department said. It also plans to explore the ‘desirability’ of separate national and provincial road-traffic management funds will be considered instead of fines accruing to individual authorities and general state or provincial revenue funds.

Ramp up in enforcement: Fine-collection procedures relating to traffic offences, penalties for non-payment, confiscation of movable property and demerit systems will be improved and fully implemented, the department said.