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New vaping rules and taxes planned for South Africa
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lif...ing-rules-and-taxes-planned-for-south-africa/
New vaping rules and taxes planned for South Africa
Staff Writer3 January 2022
The National Treasury has published a discussion paper outlining a proposal on the taxation of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
This follows signals from the government in its previous two budget speeches that it plans to start taxing these two products.
“ENDS are part of new generation products that have been introduced in the market either as harm reduction or reduced-risk products compared to traditional tobacco products,” the National Treasury said.
“These products are battery-powered devices that vaporise liquid solutions that may contain nicotine, as well as varying compositions of flavourings, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and other ingredients, to create an aerosol which the user inhales.”
Treasury said that while the market for ENDS is still at its infancy in many developing countries like South Africa, it is expected to grow. In other markets, the growth in the consumption of these products has been observed among the youth and has raised concerns on its impact on youth initiation of smoking and tobacco use, it said.
It added that there are concerns regarding their potential to undermine global tobacco control efforts, and public health in general.
“Unlike conventional tobacco products, these products are mostly unregulated in South Africa, hence the Department of Health has also started a process of amending the current tobacco control legislation to include these products in the regulatory framework.
“Similarly, other governments around the world have started a process of regulating the consumption and use of ENDS through tax and non-tax measures.”
While the proposal document is open for comment until 25 January 2022, Treasury has indicated that a tax could be introduced on both the device and the oil used within it. This would allow for products with a higher nicotine concentration to carry a higher tax – in line with other high nicotine products such as cigarettes.
A study commissioned by the Vapour Products Association of SA (VPASA) in 2021 looked into the economic impact the industry has locally, including its contribution to GDP and employment.
NKC African Economics’ Cobus de Hart who led the study, said his team used data on procurement, tax, human resources and finances from a survey of vapour industry participants in South Africa.
“The vapour products industry supports GDP and jobs throughout its supply chain. Its total gross value-added contribution to GDP is R2.49 billion, with R710 million in tax payments made in 2019.”
Key findings of the Economic Impact of the Vaping Industry in South Africa report include:
Direct economic impact:
The bill was introduced for public comment in 2018, but is currently still in a draft form. It stills need to undergo a full parliamentary process before being introduced.
The bill is expected to further regulate the use, marketing and sales of e-cigarettes or vapes in South Africa, with these products currently operating in a legislative vacuum.
Plans are also in place to introduce further restrictions on the smoking of cigarettes in public places.
------------------------------------------------
There is a PDF document that downloads when you open the link, but if it doesn't, then I'll add it here.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lif...ing-rules-and-taxes-planned-for-south-africa/
New vaping rules and taxes planned for South Africa
Staff Writer3 January 2022
The National Treasury has published a discussion paper outlining a proposal on the taxation of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
This follows signals from the government in its previous two budget speeches that it plans to start taxing these two products.
“ENDS are part of new generation products that have been introduced in the market either as harm reduction or reduced-risk products compared to traditional tobacco products,” the National Treasury said.
“These products are battery-powered devices that vaporise liquid solutions that may contain nicotine, as well as varying compositions of flavourings, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and other ingredients, to create an aerosol which the user inhales.”
Treasury said that while the market for ENDS is still at its infancy in many developing countries like South Africa, it is expected to grow. In other markets, the growth in the consumption of these products has been observed among the youth and has raised concerns on its impact on youth initiation of smoking and tobacco use, it said.
It added that there are concerns regarding their potential to undermine global tobacco control efforts, and public health in general.
“Unlike conventional tobacco products, these products are mostly unregulated in South Africa, hence the Department of Health has also started a process of amending the current tobacco control legislation to include these products in the regulatory framework.
“Similarly, other governments around the world have started a process of regulating the consumption and use of ENDS through tax and non-tax measures.”
While the proposal document is open for comment until 25 January 2022, Treasury has indicated that a tax could be introduced on both the device and the oil used within it. This would allow for products with a higher nicotine concentration to carry a higher tax – in line with other high nicotine products such as cigarettes.
A study commissioned by the Vapour Products Association of SA (VPASA) in 2021 looked into the economic impact the industry has locally, including its contribution to GDP and employment.
NKC African Economics’ Cobus de Hart who led the study, said his team used data on procurement, tax, human resources and finances from a survey of vapour industry participants in South Africa.
“The vapour products industry supports GDP and jobs throughout its supply chain. Its total gross value-added contribution to GDP is R2.49 billion, with R710 million in tax payments made in 2019.”
Key findings of the Economic Impact of the Vaping Industry in South Africa report include:
Direct economic impact:
- More than 350,000 South Africans use vapour products;
- Vapour product sales in 2019 amounted to R1.25 billion;
- The industry generated 3,800 jobs;
- R280 million was paid in taxes;
- Gross value-added contribution from the vapour industry amounted to R930 million.
- R290 million in local procurement;
- 40% and 31% spent with financial and business services and manufacturing, respectively;
- Supported 4,200 jobs;
- Indirectly contributed R1.09 billion to SA’s GDP.
The bill was introduced for public comment in 2018, but is currently still in a draft form. It stills need to undergo a full parliamentary process before being introduced.
The bill is expected to further regulate the use, marketing and sales of e-cigarettes or vapes in South Africa, with these products currently operating in a legislative vacuum.
Plans are also in place to introduce further restrictions on the smoking of cigarettes in public places.
------------------------------------------------
There is a PDF document that downloads when you open the link, but if it doesn't, then I'll add it here.
Last edited:
More South Africans are quitting their jobs – and experts warn its a ticking time bomb
New research suggests evidence of the global ‘great resignation’ trend is emerging in South Africa as overworked employees are quitting their jobs. Reasons include longer working hours, fewer opportunities to take leave and toxic workplace culture.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/bus...obs-and-experts-warn-its-a-ticking-time-bomb/
New research suggests evidence of the global ‘great resignation’ trend is emerging in South Africa as overworked employees are quitting their jobs. Reasons include longer working hours, fewer opportunities to take leave and toxic workplace culture.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/bus...obs-and-experts-warn-its-a-ticking-time-bomb/
Zondo: ANC was either incompetent or asleep on capture
The Zondo commission, in the first instalment of its three-part report, finds that the ANC not only folded its arms and allowed state capture to flourish, but in some instances proceeds of this form of corruption flowed to its party coffers.
Reflecting on the rot at state-owned enterprises, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo reflected on the testimony of former South African Revenue Service (Sars) official Vlok Symington on how the entity was regarded as an international benchmark before its capture.
The same once applied to other parastatals, he said, but the common denominator in the decline of each is how the government and the ruling party failed to call a halt to corruption.
“What Mr Symington said about how highly regarded SARS was internationally before it was subjected to capture by Bain under Mr [Tom] Moyane’s leadership is no different from what I was told about SAA at some stage, Eskom at some stage and Denel at some stage, each of which were subsequently run down considerably with rampant corruption and state capture,” Zondo said.
“All of which happened, happened under the watch of the government of the ruling party, the African National Congress. Most, if not all, of these entities were led by the chief executive officers and boards of directors who would have been approved by the ruling party through its national deployment committee.”
The decline was not swift, he said, implying that there was time to intervene but either the government and the party did not know what to do or could not be bothered to act.
“These entities did not drop overnight from the internationally highly regarded entities that they once were to what they subsequently became. The decline happened over a number of years but both the government and the ruling party failed dismally to make any effective interventions to halt the decline. Either they did not care or they slept on the job or they had no clue what to do.”
In the last chapter of the 874-page first part of the report, Zondo looks at some of the most egregious instances of capture at parastatals, before detailing how weaknesses in the procurement system were so systematically abused that, in the words of witness [Transnet governance executive manager] Peter Volmink, the legal framework became a “parallel universe” to what happened in practice.
SARS was, Zondo said, one of the clearest examples of how capture functioned, noting that every loophole was used to give Bain & Co a needless restructuring brief, although, as conceded by managing partner for South African Vittorio Massone, it lacked the relevant experience.
Massone also owned up that, should a tender have gone out to the market, Bain would not have been selected. It not only secured the job, but extensions of the dodgy deal, on the spurious grounds that if it were not given a third contract, the work done under its first two would be rendered obsolete.
“Once again, in June 2016, the issue of how to extend the contract arose. Mr Massone wrote an internal email that said Bain cannot go to the market because ‘if we do go to the market, we know we will lose’,” Zondo quoted from the record.
Moreover, Bain was consulted before the request for proposals was issued, meaning it could, in the words of whistleblower Atholl Williams, “draft the rules of the game”.
Speaking of the abuses as they happened across the board, Zondo said Volmink’s description “whilst vivid, is unfortunately not an exaggeration. … It speaks accurately to a fundamental systemic failure.”
He continued that state capture was not a transitory phenomenon, but something that endured for almost a decade because it insulated itself against exposure and accountability.
With the exception of the office of the then public protector, oversight bodies took no action.
Zondo offers remedies for that problem in a section with recommendations. But first he asks how all governance safety mechanisms could be neutralised.
The answer goes straight to the top.
“There is a pattern of executive interference and political overreach at the SOEs [state-owned entities]. Evidence shows that ministers, and even the former president, Mr [Jacob] Zuma, were regularly involved with operational matters.
“Boards of the SOEs have shirked their responsibilities, or worse, used their powers to corrupt the SOEs which they have been appointed to protect. This collective misconduct was often evidenced by the abuse of centralised procurement processes so that the approval authority for high value tenders became concentrated in the hands of a small group of top executives and board members.”
Among those who enabled this, he lists former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane and former ANC secretary general and Free State premier Ace Magashule.
Zwane embroiled himself in the department’s engagements over the Optimum Coal Mine — one of the most flagrant examples of where the Guptas were enabled to secure government business — to the point where the director general was “no longer kept informed about what was happening with regards to the mine”.
Zondo said the commission heard how Magashule — now facing a raft of corruption charges over the Free State asbestos scandal — from 2009 immediately moved to centralise government functions under his office and secure control, particularly, of procurement.
Perhaps the most troubling finding, although he stresses that this was not a specific part of his mandate, is that the ANC’s tolerance of tampering with procurement rules reaped, in at least three instances, a direct benefit to the party’s finances.
“It is a matter of extreme concern that the evidence given at the commission establishes a link between the corrupt grant of tenders and political party financing. Such a link can represent an existential threat to our democracy,” he said.
“It is inconceivable that political parties should finance themselves from the proceeds of crime, and yet there is alarming evidence to that effect.”
The first example he cited was evidence to the commission that former Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo had solicited a donation to the ANC from technology services company EOH and had repeated that request a week after a contract had been awarded to EOH.
Some R50-million was donated to the ANC by EOH for the 2016 local government elections.
The second example goes to the heart of the asbestos case, with Zondo stating that over five years Blackhead Consulting, the joint venture that won a R255-million tender to audit asbestos in structures in the Free State “made payments amounting to millions of rands to the ANC”.
The deputy chief justice, who has for four years chaired the inquiry into state capture, said it did not seek to establish the full extent of corruption associated with political party financing or the extent to which other political parties may also have been implicated.
“However, the two examples mentioned are more than enough to sound the alarm.”
The report, written in accessible, almost conversational style, then adds: “ In fact, there is another example. That is Bosasa.”
In his section with proposed remedies, Zondo says that although the recent promulgation of the Political Party Funding Act was a first step, it did not go as far as it should. “Provision must be made to prohibit donations linked to the grant of tenders,” he suggested.
“The making of any such donations by a prospective tenderer or by a successful tenderer within an extended period of time must be made to constitute a criminal offence as must the receipt of any such payment whether such payment is made directly into the coffers of the political party or by some indirect means.”
The Zondo commission, in the first instalment of its three-part report, finds that the ANC not only folded its arms and allowed state capture to flourish, but in some instances proceeds of this form of corruption flowed to its party coffers.
Reflecting on the rot at state-owned enterprises, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo reflected on the testimony of former South African Revenue Service (Sars) official Vlok Symington on how the entity was regarded as an international benchmark before its capture.
The same once applied to other parastatals, he said, but the common denominator in the decline of each is how the government and the ruling party failed to call a halt to corruption.
“What Mr Symington said about how highly regarded SARS was internationally before it was subjected to capture by Bain under Mr [Tom] Moyane’s leadership is no different from what I was told about SAA at some stage, Eskom at some stage and Denel at some stage, each of which were subsequently run down considerably with rampant corruption and state capture,” Zondo said.
“All of which happened, happened under the watch of the government of the ruling party, the African National Congress. Most, if not all, of these entities were led by the chief executive officers and boards of directors who would have been approved by the ruling party through its national deployment committee.”
The decline was not swift, he said, implying that there was time to intervene but either the government and the party did not know what to do or could not be bothered to act.
“These entities did not drop overnight from the internationally highly regarded entities that they once were to what they subsequently became. The decline happened over a number of years but both the government and the ruling party failed dismally to make any effective interventions to halt the decline. Either they did not care or they slept on the job or they had no clue what to do.”
In the last chapter of the 874-page first part of the report, Zondo looks at some of the most egregious instances of capture at parastatals, before detailing how weaknesses in the procurement system were so systematically abused that, in the words of witness [Transnet governance executive manager] Peter Volmink, the legal framework became a “parallel universe” to what happened in practice.
SARS was, Zondo said, one of the clearest examples of how capture functioned, noting that every loophole was used to give Bain & Co a needless restructuring brief, although, as conceded by managing partner for South African Vittorio Massone, it lacked the relevant experience.
Massone also owned up that, should a tender have gone out to the market, Bain would not have been selected. It not only secured the job, but extensions of the dodgy deal, on the spurious grounds that if it were not given a third contract, the work done under its first two would be rendered obsolete.
“Once again, in June 2016, the issue of how to extend the contract arose. Mr Massone wrote an internal email that said Bain cannot go to the market because ‘if we do go to the market, we know we will lose’,” Zondo quoted from the record.
Moreover, Bain was consulted before the request for proposals was issued, meaning it could, in the words of whistleblower Atholl Williams, “draft the rules of the game”.
Speaking of the abuses as they happened across the board, Zondo said Volmink’s description “whilst vivid, is unfortunately not an exaggeration. … It speaks accurately to a fundamental systemic failure.”
He continued that state capture was not a transitory phenomenon, but something that endured for almost a decade because it insulated itself against exposure and accountability.
With the exception of the office of the then public protector, oversight bodies took no action.
Zondo offers remedies for that problem in a section with recommendations. But first he asks how all governance safety mechanisms could be neutralised.
The answer goes straight to the top.
“There is a pattern of executive interference and political overreach at the SOEs [state-owned entities]. Evidence shows that ministers, and even the former president, Mr [Jacob] Zuma, were regularly involved with operational matters.
“Boards of the SOEs have shirked their responsibilities, or worse, used their powers to corrupt the SOEs which they have been appointed to protect. This collective misconduct was often evidenced by the abuse of centralised procurement processes so that the approval authority for high value tenders became concentrated in the hands of a small group of top executives and board members.”
Among those who enabled this, he lists former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane and former ANC secretary general and Free State premier Ace Magashule.
Zwane embroiled himself in the department’s engagements over the Optimum Coal Mine — one of the most flagrant examples of where the Guptas were enabled to secure government business — to the point where the director general was “no longer kept informed about what was happening with regards to the mine”.
Zondo said the commission heard how Magashule — now facing a raft of corruption charges over the Free State asbestos scandal — from 2009 immediately moved to centralise government functions under his office and secure control, particularly, of procurement.
Perhaps the most troubling finding, although he stresses that this was not a specific part of his mandate, is that the ANC’s tolerance of tampering with procurement rules reaped, in at least three instances, a direct benefit to the party’s finances.
“It is a matter of extreme concern that the evidence given at the commission establishes a link between the corrupt grant of tenders and political party financing. Such a link can represent an existential threat to our democracy,” he said.
“It is inconceivable that political parties should finance themselves from the proceeds of crime, and yet there is alarming evidence to that effect.”
The first example he cited was evidence to the commission that former Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo had solicited a donation to the ANC from technology services company EOH and had repeated that request a week after a contract had been awarded to EOH.
Some R50-million was donated to the ANC by EOH for the 2016 local government elections.
The second example goes to the heart of the asbestos case, with Zondo stating that over five years Blackhead Consulting, the joint venture that won a R255-million tender to audit asbestos in structures in the Free State “made payments amounting to millions of rands to the ANC”.
The deputy chief justice, who has for four years chaired the inquiry into state capture, said it did not seek to establish the full extent of corruption associated with political party financing or the extent to which other political parties may also have been implicated.
“However, the two examples mentioned are more than enough to sound the alarm.”
The report, written in accessible, almost conversational style, then adds: “ In fact, there is another example. That is Bosasa.”
In his section with proposed remedies, Zondo says that although the recent promulgation of the Political Party Funding Act was a first step, it did not go as far as it should. “Provision must be made to prohibit donations linked to the grant of tenders,” he suggested.
“The making of any such donations by a prospective tenderer or by a successful tenderer within an extended period of time must be made to constitute a criminal offence as must the receipt of any such payment whether such payment is made directly into the coffers of the political party or by some indirect means.”
South Africa has changed its strategy on Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions – here’s why it makes sense
https://businesstech.co.za/news/tre...ckdown-restrictions-heres-why-it-makes-sense/
In the final days of 2021 the South African government eased its Covid regulations. On December 30th the government scrapped a curfew that had been in place since March 2020.
It also initially announced an easing around quarantines and contact tracing but subsequently reversed these plans.
Nevertheless, its approach sets a new trend in how countries are choosing to manage the pandemic. Shabir Madhi and colleagues reflects on the boldness – and the risks.
What are the main elements of its new approach?
The South African government has decided to take a more pragmatic approach while keeping an eye on severe Covid and whether or not health systems are imminently under threat.
This reflects an acceptance that governments will increasingly be looking for ways to live with the virus cognisant of the detrimental indirect effects that restrictions have been having on the economy, livelihoods and other aspects of society. This is particularly pertinent in resource constrained countries such as South Africa.
The latest announcements mark a significant departure in the way forward. They mark a pragmatic approach that balances the potential direct and indirect detrimental effects of Covid.
Our hope is that the government continues to pursue this approach and doesn’t blindly follow policies that are not feasible in the local context, and ultimately yield nominal benefit.
The new, more nuanced approach is in stark contrast to reflexively imposing higher levels of restrictions as case rates increased.
This suggests that the government has taken note of commentary that has provided suggestions to focus on whether the health facilities are imminently under threat, rather than simply going to higher levels of lockdowns.
The main element of the new approach arises from a high level of population immunity.
A sero-survey done in South Africa’s economic hub, Gauteng, just prior to the onset of the Omicron wave indicated that 72% of people had been infected over the course of the first three waves. Sero-positivity was 79% and 93% in Covid-19 unvaccinated and vaccinated people older than 50 years a group that had previously made up a high percentage of hospitalisations and deaths.
The sero-survey data show that immunity against severe Covid in the country has largely evolved through natural infection over the course of the first three waves and prior to the advent of vaccination. This has, however, come at the massive cost of 268, 813 deaths based on excess mortality attributable to Covid-19.
The presence of antibody is a proxy for underlying T-cell immunity which appears to play an important role in reducing the risk of infection progressing to severe Covid.
Current evidence indicates that such T cell immunity, which has multiple targets and even more so when induced by natural infection, is relatively unaffected even by the multiple mutations in Omicron and is likely to persist beyond a year.
This sort of underpinning T-cell immunity that reduces the risk of severe disease should provide breathing space for at least the next 6-12 months, and possibly beyond that.
Even though Omicron is showing heightened anti-spike protein antibody evasiveness relative to even the Beta variant, vaccine and natural infection induced T-cell immunity has been relatively preserved.
This could explain the uncoupling of the case rate compared with the hospitalisation rate, and even more pronouncedly, with the death rate. In addition, other changing characteristics of the Omicron variant caused by the mutations appear to make it more efficient in infecting and replicating in the upper rather than the lower airway.
This could also be contributing to lower likelihood of progressing from infection to severe diseases.
In the meantime it’s crucial that a number of steps are taken.
The drive to ensure higher uptake of vaccines, including booster doses for high risk groups, needs to continue.
Also, considering that only 10% of infections are actually documented in South Africa because so few people are being tested, a more pragmatic approach to isolation is warranted, mainly if people are symptomatic. This also means that quarantining won’t bring about any major reduction in transmission.
There also needs to be recognition that contact tracing in the South African and other similar settings is unlikely to be of any value.
This is because the average person in South Africa will possibly have 20 close contacts per day. And even symptomatic infected individuals are most infectious in the pre-symptomatic and early symptomatic phase.
The ineffectiveness of contact tracing and quarantine in limiting the spread of the virus in South Africa is corroborated by three quarters of the population having been infected over the course of the first three waves.
In our view there is also room for the gradual relaxing of non-pharmacological interventions.
In particular, token gesture “hand hygiene” and superficial thermal screening should be scrapped. And there is little reason not to be allowing events such as attendance to outdoor sports events.
Instead, at least for the immediate future, the government should continue focusing on interventions like masking in poorly ventilated indoor spaces and ensuring adequate ventilation.
The issue of mandatory vaccinations is still on the radar, as it extends beyond the added risk that unvaccinated pose to others. And the greater pressure they place on the health systems when they are hospitalised for Covid.
Attention also needs to be given to how incidental Covid infections – people diagnosed with Covid when they’re admitted for a non-related medical issue – are managed in hospitals.
The Department of Health guidance needs to be adapted to manage these patients with the appropriate level of skill and resources for the primary reason they were admitted. And patients with severe Covid-19 disease require additional care and expertise to improve their outcomes.
Finally, an evaluation of both vaccination status and underlying immune deficiency needs to become a key element of the workup of hospitalised patients with severe Covid.
Is it clear what the goals are?
The goal has to be minimising hospitalisation and death. It is unnecessary to be stressing out the economy, other health services and livelihoods in South Africa.
The death rate with Omicron wave in South Africa is on track to be approximately one-tenth compared to the Delta wave. This means it possibly on a par with deaths caused by seasonal influenza pre-Covid – 10,000 to 11,000 per annum.
This death rate also needs to be considered relative to other preventable deaths. TB is an example, which is estimated to have caused 58,000 deaths in South Africa in 2019.
It’s impossible to say what the characteristics of future variants would be over time. But the experience with the Omicron wave in South Africa provides some comfort that immunity against severe disease and death will continue tracking downward, particularity if vaccine coverage can be increased to 90%, particularly in the >50 year age group.
The high force of infection that has likely transpired with Omicron will also further contribute to enhancing protection against severe Covid-19 in the immediate future.
What are the risks?
The major risk is the unpredictability of new variants that evade all aspects of past infection and vaccine induced immunity. But this is likely to be the result of the evolution of the virus rather than any changes in policy.
Another risk is failure to change the pandemic mindset and failure to appreciate that with Omicron the epidemic phase of Covid-19 is coming to an end. The country and all its institutions and people need to prepare to get back to a previous life – most notably the health services.
The South African government appears to have come to appreciate that the past practices have had limited success in preventing infections, and fully appreciates the detrimental effects that restrictions have had on the economy and society. In addition, it has run out of road to continue with what has unfortunately not yielded much benefit.
Despite all the severe lockdowns South Africa still ranks high with a Covid death rate of 481 per 100,000.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/tre...ckdown-restrictions-heres-why-it-makes-sense/
In the final days of 2021 the South African government eased its Covid regulations. On December 30th the government scrapped a curfew that had been in place since March 2020.
It also initially announced an easing around quarantines and contact tracing but subsequently reversed these plans.
Nevertheless, its approach sets a new trend in how countries are choosing to manage the pandemic. Shabir Madhi and colleagues reflects on the boldness – and the risks.
What are the main elements of its new approach?
The South African government has decided to take a more pragmatic approach while keeping an eye on severe Covid and whether or not health systems are imminently under threat.
This reflects an acceptance that governments will increasingly be looking for ways to live with the virus cognisant of the detrimental indirect effects that restrictions have been having on the economy, livelihoods and other aspects of society. This is particularly pertinent in resource constrained countries such as South Africa.
The latest announcements mark a significant departure in the way forward. They mark a pragmatic approach that balances the potential direct and indirect detrimental effects of Covid.
Our hope is that the government continues to pursue this approach and doesn’t blindly follow policies that are not feasible in the local context, and ultimately yield nominal benefit.
The new, more nuanced approach is in stark contrast to reflexively imposing higher levels of restrictions as case rates increased.
This suggests that the government has taken note of commentary that has provided suggestions to focus on whether the health facilities are imminently under threat, rather than simply going to higher levels of lockdowns.
The main element of the new approach arises from a high level of population immunity.
A sero-survey done in South Africa’s economic hub, Gauteng, just prior to the onset of the Omicron wave indicated that 72% of people had been infected over the course of the first three waves. Sero-positivity was 79% and 93% in Covid-19 unvaccinated and vaccinated people older than 50 years a group that had previously made up a high percentage of hospitalisations and deaths.
The sero-survey data show that immunity against severe Covid in the country has largely evolved through natural infection over the course of the first three waves and prior to the advent of vaccination. This has, however, come at the massive cost of 268, 813 deaths based on excess mortality attributable to Covid-19.
The presence of antibody is a proxy for underlying T-cell immunity which appears to play an important role in reducing the risk of infection progressing to severe Covid.
Current evidence indicates that such T cell immunity, which has multiple targets and even more so when induced by natural infection, is relatively unaffected even by the multiple mutations in Omicron and is likely to persist beyond a year.
This sort of underpinning T-cell immunity that reduces the risk of severe disease should provide breathing space for at least the next 6-12 months, and possibly beyond that.
Even though Omicron is showing heightened anti-spike protein antibody evasiveness relative to even the Beta variant, vaccine and natural infection induced T-cell immunity has been relatively preserved.
This could explain the uncoupling of the case rate compared with the hospitalisation rate, and even more pronouncedly, with the death rate. In addition, other changing characteristics of the Omicron variant caused by the mutations appear to make it more efficient in infecting and replicating in the upper rather than the lower airway.
This could also be contributing to lower likelihood of progressing from infection to severe diseases.
In the meantime it’s crucial that a number of steps are taken.
The drive to ensure higher uptake of vaccines, including booster doses for high risk groups, needs to continue.
Also, considering that only 10% of infections are actually documented in South Africa because so few people are being tested, a more pragmatic approach to isolation is warranted, mainly if people are symptomatic. This also means that quarantining won’t bring about any major reduction in transmission.
There also needs to be recognition that contact tracing in the South African and other similar settings is unlikely to be of any value.
This is because the average person in South Africa will possibly have 20 close contacts per day. And even symptomatic infected individuals are most infectious in the pre-symptomatic and early symptomatic phase.
The ineffectiveness of contact tracing and quarantine in limiting the spread of the virus in South Africa is corroborated by three quarters of the population having been infected over the course of the first three waves.
In our view there is also room for the gradual relaxing of non-pharmacological interventions.
In particular, token gesture “hand hygiene” and superficial thermal screening should be scrapped. And there is little reason not to be allowing events such as attendance to outdoor sports events.
Instead, at least for the immediate future, the government should continue focusing on interventions like masking in poorly ventilated indoor spaces and ensuring adequate ventilation.
The issue of mandatory vaccinations is still on the radar, as it extends beyond the added risk that unvaccinated pose to others. And the greater pressure they place on the health systems when they are hospitalised for Covid.
Attention also needs to be given to how incidental Covid infections – people diagnosed with Covid when they’re admitted for a non-related medical issue – are managed in hospitals.
The Department of Health guidance needs to be adapted to manage these patients with the appropriate level of skill and resources for the primary reason they were admitted. And patients with severe Covid-19 disease require additional care and expertise to improve their outcomes.
Finally, an evaluation of both vaccination status and underlying immune deficiency needs to become a key element of the workup of hospitalised patients with severe Covid.
Is it clear what the goals are?
The goal has to be minimising hospitalisation and death. It is unnecessary to be stressing out the economy, other health services and livelihoods in South Africa.
The death rate with Omicron wave in South Africa is on track to be approximately one-tenth compared to the Delta wave. This means it possibly on a par with deaths caused by seasonal influenza pre-Covid – 10,000 to 11,000 per annum.
This death rate also needs to be considered relative to other preventable deaths. TB is an example, which is estimated to have caused 58,000 deaths in South Africa in 2019.
It’s impossible to say what the characteristics of future variants would be over time. But the experience with the Omicron wave in South Africa provides some comfort that immunity against severe disease and death will continue tracking downward, particularity if vaccine coverage can be increased to 90%, particularly in the >50 year age group.
The high force of infection that has likely transpired with Omicron will also further contribute to enhancing protection against severe Covid-19 in the immediate future.
What are the risks?
The major risk is the unpredictability of new variants that evade all aspects of past infection and vaccine induced immunity. But this is likely to be the result of the evolution of the virus rather than any changes in policy.
Another risk is failure to change the pandemic mindset and failure to appreciate that with Omicron the epidemic phase of Covid-19 is coming to an end. The country and all its institutions and people need to prepare to get back to a previous life – most notably the health services.
The South African government appears to have come to appreciate that the past practices have had limited success in preventing infections, and fully appreciates the detrimental effects that restrictions have had on the economy and society. In addition, it has run out of road to continue with what has unfortunately not yielded much benefit.
Despite all the severe lockdowns South Africa still ranks high with a Covid death rate of 481 per 100,000.
So that Angie Motshekga can hoodwink the results again after her last method of "selective inclusion of repeats", and lowering the pass mark even further than the required 30% for previously disadvantages was uncovered
https://bandwidthblog.co.za/2022/01/07/bmw-theatre-screen-31-inch-display/
BMW THEATRE SCREEN IS A 31-INCH DISPLAY THAT ENTERTAINS REAR PASSENGERS
At CES 2022, BMW has revealed the Theatre Screen, its new in-car technology for luxury cars which descends a 31-inch display from the roof to transform the back seats into a “private cinema lounge.”
It is a big touchscreen, but can also be controlled via small touchpad controls built into the rears doors. The BMW Theatre Screen is paired with Theatre Mode, which is a massive sound system of more than 30 speakers from Bowers & Wilkins.
According to BMW, when the screen is lowered from the ceiling “the roller sunblinds for the side windows and the rear window are closed and the ambient lighting in the rear of the vehicle is dimmed.” This will only further enhance the cinema feel they company is intending to replicate.
BMW THEATRE SCREEN IS A 31-INCH DISPLAY THAT ENTERTAINS REAR PASSENGERS
At CES 2022, BMW has revealed the Theatre Screen, its new in-car technology for luxury cars which descends a 31-inch display from the roof to transform the back seats into a “private cinema lounge.”
It is a big touchscreen, but can also be controlled via small touchpad controls built into the rears doors. The BMW Theatre Screen is paired with Theatre Mode, which is a massive sound system of more than 30 speakers from Bowers & Wilkins.
According to BMW, when the screen is lowered from the ceiling “the roller sunblinds for the side windows and the rear window are closed and the ambient lighting in the rear of the vehicle is dimmed.” This will only further enhance the cinema feel they company is intending to replicate.
I can see a lot of babies conceived from this feature... a lot....lol
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/429594-big-news-for-amazon-in-south-africa.html
Big news about Amazon in South Africa
Big news about Amazon in South Africa
https://businesstech.co.za/news/tre...cted-to-hit-south-africa-and-other-countries/
Massive emigration wave expected to hit South Africa and other countries
Massive emigration wave expected to hit South Africa and other countries
Court rules that South Africa’s controversial new driving laws are unconstitutional
https://businesstech.co.za/news/gov...ersial-new-driving-laws-are-unconstitutional/
https://businesstech.co.za/news/gov...ersial-new-driving-laws-are-unconstitutional/
Redro and Pecks Anchovette are no longer – here’s where to get your final fish paste fix
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/p...-stop-where-to-get-your-fish-paste-fix-2022-1
17 Jan. 2021
"Products will therefore remain available for purchase by consumers as long as the retailers have stock on hand. We are in the process of finalising the sale of the related assets/brands to a 3rd party," the spokesperson confirmed.
Woolworths and Pick n Pay already appear to have no online stock left, but it seems that Shoprite and Checkers have some jars lingering around in obscure stores. The retailer’s websites say stores in the Western Cape are already dry but suggest trying De Aar, Upington and Colesberg as the nearest alternatives.
Durban's situation is equally dire, with suggestions pointing shoppers from KZN to take a not insignificant trip to Bethlehem, Ermelo, or Secunda.
Johannesburg is faring better, for now - there's a sporadic supply of both Redro and Pecks at stores throughout the city. Your best bet for picking up one of these jars is to browse the Shoprite and Checkers websites and adjusting your local store in the settings."
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/p...-stop-where-to-get-your-fish-paste-fix-2022-1
17 Jan. 2021
- Pioneer is ending production of Pecks Anchovette and Redro fish pastes.
- The company says people no longer have an appetitive for minced fish preserved in a jar.
- Pecks may still find a way back into the country given its international footprint - but it's likely the end of the line for Redro.
- That 90-year-old local equivalent brand was made famous by its tear-jerking "everybody loves Redro" TV commercial.
- There are still a few jars of each floating around South Africa, but you'll need to be in the right place and act fast.
"Products will therefore remain available for purchase by consumers as long as the retailers have stock on hand. We are in the process of finalising the sale of the related assets/brands to a 3rd party," the spokesperson confirmed.
Woolworths and Pick n Pay already appear to have no online stock left, but it seems that Shoprite and Checkers have some jars lingering around in obscure stores. The retailer’s websites say stores in the Western Cape are already dry but suggest trying De Aar, Upington and Colesberg as the nearest alternatives.
Durban's situation is equally dire, with suggestions pointing shoppers from KZN to take a not insignificant trip to Bethlehem, Ermelo, or Secunda.
Johannesburg is faring better, for now - there's a sporadic supply of both Redro and Pecks at stores throughout the city. Your best bet for picking up one of these jars is to browse the Shoprite and Checkers websites and adjusting your local store in the settings."
WATCH: Couple watches in horror as elephant topples family car in KZN game reserve
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-af...-reserve-4a35f722-f21f-464f-8cff-544ce2f54cbe
[Follow above link for video]
"Bystanders were left reeling as a bull elephant charged and overturned a vehicle in Cape Vidal, Simangaliso Wetland Park, in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday....
In a video, which has gone viral on social media, visitors to the park film an elephant as it pounces on a white Ford SUV off the side of a road.
The driver of the vehicle sounds his hooter continuously to get the elephant’s attention. A woman can be heard asking him to put the vehicle into reverse and get ready to move...
Gasps of horror can be heard as the elephant pushes the vehicle on its side and then pushes it even harder until it lands on its roof...
The family were not seriously hurt but have been left traumatised, the publication reported..."
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-af...-reserve-4a35f722-f21f-464f-8cff-544ce2f54cbe
[Follow above link for video]
"Bystanders were left reeling as a bull elephant charged and overturned a vehicle in Cape Vidal, Simangaliso Wetland Park, in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday....
In a video, which has gone viral on social media, visitors to the park film an elephant as it pounces on a white Ford SUV off the side of a road.
The driver of the vehicle sounds his hooter continuously to get the elephant’s attention. A woman can be heard asking him to put the vehicle into reverse and get ready to move...
Gasps of horror can be heard as the elephant pushes the vehicle on its side and then pushes it even harder until it lands on its roof...
The family were not seriously hurt but have been left traumatised, the publication reported..."
Pick n Pay introduces a vehicle licence disc renewal system
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/pick-n-pay-introduces-a-vehicle-licence-disc-renewal-system
17 Jan. 2022
"... According to the retail giant, the initiative allows motorists to renew their vehicle licence without visiting a traffic department or post offices. Pick n Pay indicated that in order for motorists to make use of this fast efficient system, they need to register their cellphone number at the till in-store or on the Pick n Pay Vehicle Licence Disc Online Renewal portal.
How do I renew my licence disc with Pick n Pay?
Capture your Vehicle and Renewal details (no need to upload the required documents at this stage);
Pick n Pay sends you a reminder before your existing disc expires;
Log into the Pick n Pay Vehicle Licence Disc renewal portal to view the details including the renewal cost and fines that might be blocking the renewal (viewable under ‘FINE MANAGEMENT‘);
Upload the required documents under ‘My Renewals’;
Capture the address you would like the disc delivered to;
Set up a payment for your disc renewal (the payment is linked to the mobile number on your portal profile);
Pay for your renewal at a Pick n Pay store using your mobile number as the reference."
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/pick-n-pay-introduces-a-vehicle-licence-disc-renewal-system
17 Jan. 2022
"... According to the retail giant, the initiative allows motorists to renew their vehicle licence without visiting a traffic department or post offices. Pick n Pay indicated that in order for motorists to make use of this fast efficient system, they need to register their cellphone number at the till in-store or on the Pick n Pay Vehicle Licence Disc Online Renewal portal.
How do I renew my licence disc with Pick n Pay?
Capture your Vehicle and Renewal details (no need to upload the required documents at this stage);
Pick n Pay sends you a reminder before your existing disc expires;
Log into the Pick n Pay Vehicle Licence Disc renewal portal to view the details including the renewal cost and fines that might be blocking the renewal (viewable under ‘FINE MANAGEMENT‘);
Upload the required documents under ‘My Renewals’;
Capture the address you would like the disc delivered to;
Set up a payment for your disc renewal (the payment is linked to the mobile number on your portal profile);
Pay for your renewal at a Pick n Pay store using your mobile number as the reference."
Here's an interesting opportunity for someone...
Airbnb is looking for someone to live rent-free in a ‘€1’ house in Sambuca for a year
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/a...ian-renovation-to-live-in-and-rent-out-2022-1
18 Jan. 2022
The catch is that you have to rent out at least one room in the house via Airbnb, but you get to keep the money you make for doing so.
South Africans are among those eligible to apply.
The free accommodation on offer is one of Sambuca's "€1" homes, sold for a nominal sum on condition that it is renovated, as part of a scheme to lure residents to places denuded by urbanisation.
Airbnb says the renovation of this particular townhouse has been very successful, making for a "unique Sicilian home" that "offers a stylish yet sustainable setting for remote working".
Now it is looking for an "adventurer with a passion for hospitality" to stay in it.
You have to be 18 and speak decent English, though you don't have to speak Italian; learning the language will be part of your stay. Your passport has to be valid until at least the end of the year.
You'll have to move to Sambuca by no later than 30 June, and stay there at least three months in one solid block. After that, you can get someone else to run the house for you, as long as you rent out at least one room for at least nine months via Airbnb.
The successful applicant can bring another adult, and a maximum of two children, though there are only two bedrooms (one of which must be rented out), and a third-floor living space with a queen-sized sofa bed.
Airbnb will pay for flights and airport transfers, and four cooking lessons with a local, but no other expenses, but those can be recovered if you make enough money renting out part of the house.
You can apply for the initiative here."
Airbnb is looking for someone to live rent-free in a ‘€1’ house in Sambuca for a year
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/a...ian-renovation-to-live-in-and-rent-out-2022-1
18 Jan. 2022
- Airbnb is seeking applicants for a gig to stay rent-free in a renovated "€1" house in Sambuca, Italy, for a year.
- You have to rent out at least one room on Airbnb – but you get to keep the cash.
- Partners and kids are welcome, and South Africans are eligible.
The catch is that you have to rent out at least one room in the house via Airbnb, but you get to keep the money you make for doing so.
South Africans are among those eligible to apply.
The free accommodation on offer is one of Sambuca's "€1" homes, sold for a nominal sum on condition that it is renovated, as part of a scheme to lure residents to places denuded by urbanisation.
Airbnb says the renovation of this particular townhouse has been very successful, making for a "unique Sicilian home" that "offers a stylish yet sustainable setting for remote working".
Now it is looking for an "adventurer with a passion for hospitality" to stay in it.
You have to be 18 and speak decent English, though you don't have to speak Italian; learning the language will be part of your stay. Your passport has to be valid until at least the end of the year.
You'll have to move to Sambuca by no later than 30 June, and stay there at least three months in one solid block. After that, you can get someone else to run the house for you, as long as you rent out at least one room for at least nine months via Airbnb.
The successful applicant can bring another adult, and a maximum of two children, though there are only two bedrooms (one of which must be rented out), and a third-floor living space with a queen-sized sofa bed.
Airbnb will pay for flights and airport transfers, and four cooking lessons with a local, but no other expenses, but those can be recovered if you make enough money renting out part of the house.
You can apply for the initiative here."
https://ewn.co.za/2022/01/20/weathe...hreatening-heatwave-predicted-for-the-weekend
[WEATHER WARNING] POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING HEATWAVE COMING THIS WEEKEND
Spare a thought for Wellington, where temperatures will soar to 46 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
[WEATHER WARNING] POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING HEATWAVE COMING THIS WEEKEND
Spare a thought for Wellington, where temperatures will soar to 46 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/fin...ke-to-hit-south-africa-in-february-economist/
Big petrol price hike to hit South Africa in February: economist
Big petrol price hike to hit South Africa in February: economist
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/motoring/430498-cheapest-ways-to-renew-your-car-licence-disc.html
Cheapest ways to renew your car licence disc
Cheapest ways to renew your car licence disc
I'm so fortunate to live in Yzerfontein. I just go to the Municipality office in Darling, another small town a mere 20mins. away, where the queue is never more than about 5 people!!
I also use my post office with seldom any queues. I actually never knew there were other intermediate means of payment
Sending parcels and mail through the SA Post Office is about to get more expensive
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-much-does-it-cost-to-use-the-south-african-post-office-2022-1
21 Jan. 2022
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-much-does-it-cost-to-use-the-south-african-post-office-2022-1
21 Jan. 2022
- The South African Post Office will charge more for sending mail and parcels from 1 April.
- Stamp booklets will also cost more.
- The price increases come amid a tussle for control over the delivery of packages weighing under 1kg.
***k**g idiots. I'll just order something extra to make it over a kg. I don't mind paying a little more to NOT having it (never)delivered by PO.
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