Did you know?

  • Government is set introduce an integrated National Anti-Gangsterism Strategy to deal with gangsterism.
     
  • Cabinet has declared an amnesty in terms of the Firearms Control Act to allow gun owners to hand in illegal and unwanted weapons. The amnesty period will last for a period of six months from 1 April 2017 and end on 30 September 2017.
     
  • South Africa will commemorate Human Rights Day on 21 March 2017, in Ginsberg, King William’s Town, in the Eastern Cape.
     
  • During this month, South Africa commemorates National Water Month under the theme “Human Rights for Water and Sanitation”.
     
  • World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
     
  • Cabinet approved that the Department of Basic Education retains the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme. The programme was established in 2007 to increase the supply of competent teachers specialising in priority areas. Since 2013, more than 15 000 teachers who have graduated from this programme have been deployed into schools.
     
  • The National School Nutrition Programme feeds more than nine million learners at 21 000 schools daily, ensuring that learners have a healthy and nutritious meal each day. The provision of meals contributes to improved learner attendance and performance.
     
  • Tuberculosis remains the leading underlying natural cause of death in 2015, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The highest number of deaths that occurred in 2015 were among those aged 60–64, while the lowest number was observed among those aged 5–9 and 10–14 years. Communicable diseases accounted for 33.4% of deaths, while injuries were responsible for 11.1% of deaths.
     
  • The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has allowed Eskom to raise tariffs by 2.2% in the 2017/18 financial year.
     
  • The Minister of Home Affairs said that a total of 33 339 people were deported during the 2015/16 financial year.
     
  • Housebreaking and home robbery are the most feared types of crime in South Africa, according to the 2015/16 Victims of Crime Survey. This is despite households experiencing a decline in housebreaking and home robberies from 931  000 incidents in 2010 to 807  000 in 2015/16.
     
  • With regards to the levels of satisfaction with the police and courts in 2011, an estimated 64.2% of households were satisfied with the police in their area, while about 58.8% were satisfied with the police in 2105/16. The decline in satisfaction with the police was most severe in the Western Cape, from 71.3% in 2011 to 57.1% in 2015/16.