Andrew Stegmann

South African Grade 12 NSC Pass Rate for 2019 Is 81.3%, However Drop Out Rates Remain High

South Africa’s grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate has increased from 78.2% in 2018 to 81.3% for the class of 2019, which is the highest it’s been in 25 years. The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric class of 2019 achieved a pass rate of 98.82% – slightly down from the 98.92% registered in 2018.

Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2019 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam outcome on Tuesday evening in Midrand.

Motshekga said the top performing province was the Free State at 88.4%, followed by Gauteng with 87.2%, North West (86.8%), Western Cape (82.3%). KwaZulu-Natal (81.3%), Mpumalanga (80.3%), Eastern Cape and Northern Cape (both 76.5%) and Limpopo (73.2%).

A total of 790,405 candidates wrote the 2019 examinations at 7,416 examination centers during October and November last year. The department also conducted examinations for 212 pupils at correctional facilities. “It is really a very large system, we had 147 question papers. There were 7.6-million scripts that were distributed to the examination centers,” said Motshekga.

The number of candidates achieving admission to Bachelor’s Degree programs increased from 172,043 in 2018 to 186,058.

However, Nomsa Marches, DA’s Shadow Minister of Basic Education, said that a total of 1 052 080 learners were enrolled in grade 10, yet only 409 906 learners eventually passed matric last year. Therefore, the pass rate does not reflect the quality of the education system in South Africa, as more than half of learners are dropping out before getting to grade 12.

The Western Cape is the province with the lowest drop-out rate (33.4%) and therefore the highest real pass rate, standing at 54.8%. The Free State’s real pass rate only stands at 38.4%.

“Every child has the right to quality basic education”, Marches said.

You can view the results on the DBE’s website here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

SA Home Affairs Has Extended Business Hours for Part of January

The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced that it will be extending its operating hours from 2 – 11 January 2019 to keep up with demand over the busy holiday period. In a statement released recently, the DHA said that several of its offices across the country will operate from 07h00 to 19h00.

The department said the decision to extend operating hours came after long queues were experienced in some centers at the same time last year.

“Extending office hours at large offices and selected medium offices will help ensure citizens and clients are not turned away before receiving the services they require,” said department spokesperson Siya Qoza. “This will assist also in managing queues so that people do not spend a long time waiting to be served.”

Qoza further urged citizens to use this opportunity to collect their Smart ID cards if they have received a notification.

“Those who have not applied for their smart ID cards are encouraged to capitalize on the extended hours and accordingly apply with speed, ahead of the general elections,” he said. “All other services will be offered, including applications for and collection of passports and registration of births, marriages and deaths”.

You can find a full list of offices which will offer extended business hours here.

a

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Report: The Cape Town International Convention Centre is Bolstering the Western Cape Economy

The Cape Town International Convention Centre generated more than 130 465 jobs since its inception in 2003, according to its economic impact report.

At its recent annual general meeting, shareholders heard that the CTICC created or sustained 14 620 jobs in the past financial year alone. It is estimated that the CTICC contributed R1.2bn to indirect household income in South Africa during the 2018/19 financial year.

Despite the tough economic trading environment, revenues for the last financial year came to R277m, compared to R172m reported in 2013/14. The centre achieved an operating profit (EBITDA) of R57.5m in the year under review, which was R49.57m above the target of R8m. Compared to the 2013/14 figure of R35.4m, this is a 62% increase.

The convention centre was able to increase its revenue through hosting 417 070 delegates over its 560 events. Furthermore, estimates show delegates attending events at the CTICC likely made a significant contribution to the tourism industry in Cape Town and even the rest of the country.

It is estimated that the CTICC’s events in 2018/19 generated an additional 566 057 room nights in the Western Cape and 575 898 in South Africa. While total foreign exchange spend as a result of the tourism generated by these events is estimated at R677m.

It is estimated that the CTICC effectively contributed a total of R4.5bn to the Western Cape’s gross geographical product (GGP) also known as the value of goods and services produced in the region – and R6.5bn to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). To date, the centre has made a cumulative contribution to the Western Cape’s GGP of R39.6bn and R47.3bn to South Africa’s GDP.

In addition, the centre procured R331m worth of goods and services from local Western Cape suppliers. This equates to 87% of its overall net spend. In respect to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment suppliers, R328m was spent – which was 86% of the centre’s net spend. Almost 40% of the total procurement spend was on women-owned enterprises.

This year, the CTICC invested R1.6m in corporate social responsibility initiatives, including venue sponsorships. As for the environment, shareholders were told at the AGM that globally, consumers and event organisers are demanding that companies follow sustainable business practices and processes. Due to the centre’s focus on waste management, energy consumption, local sourcing and water conservation, it therefore regards itself as well-placed to respond to such demands.

The CTICC was awarded the 2019 Delegate Choice Award for Innovation at the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) Annual Congress in Antwerp, Belgium. The accolade recognised the CTICC’s efforts in reducing its water usage. Over 100 international conferences are expected to bring over 127 000 delegates to the CTICC up until 2026.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: Dewet [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

First Nations Groups Attempting to Save Cape Town’s Two Rivers Urban Park

A gathering of First Nations groups and more than 30 civic organisations and environmental groups announced the intention to collectively apply for provincial heritage status for Cape Town’s Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) at the confluence of the Black and Liesbeek rivers.

The area is a place of deep history, they say, and potentially a place of healing important to all South Africans. The heritage move aims to galvanize Heritage Western Cape (HWC) to carry out its own assessment of the broader precinct in the hope of protecting it.

There is a provisional protection order on the River Club property alone, which ends early in 2020. However, it has been mired in appeals from the developer, the City of Cape Town and two provincial departments.

Melvin Christian Arendse of the Qoranha Transfrontier, said yesterday that the First Nations had asked the civics to support an immediate application for provisional protection for the broader area — and they also intend to apply for national heritage status. The other First Nations represented were the Goringhaicona XhoiXhoi Traditional Council, the !Aman Traditional Authority, the !Xarra Restorative Justice Forum and the Cochoqua Royal Council.

“The purpose of this is to mobilize public support from a range of different stakeholders for the idea that this area is really important,” said Observatory Civic Association (OCA) chairman Leslie London. “It’s sacred, it’s important for our heritage. It’s important for the Xhoi and the First Nations, but also for all of us in South Africa and also everyone on the planet because of the deep, deep history.”

The joint press conference was held at the South African Astronomical Observatory’s (SAAO) auditorium, which will be in the teeth of the development proposed by Liesbeek Leisure Property Trust (LLPT) should it go ahead. The SAAO is a national monument in line for World Heritage Status and has itself independently objected to the development; it is not part of the collective application.

Wednesday 18 December 2019 was also the deadline set by the City for comment on its Local Spatial Development Framework for the area. LLPT has proposed an extensive R4-billion development for residential and commercial use. The objecting collective said yesterday the proposed development has been written into the framework, paving the way for it to go ahead.

On Wednesday, they presented an impassioned picture of the area not only as a place where South Africa’s beginnings and soul are rooted, full of memory for nations who had been erased systematically from the country’s history by colonial forces, but also potentially as a place of healing for the nation.

It was here in 1510 that the first battles against the Portuguese oppressors were fought and won, said Tauriq Jenkins, Supreme High Commissioner of the Goringhaicona Khoema Council and member of the OCA.

“So this is a place of the first encounter of ground zero, but also a place where we can hold a reconciliation of an entire nation, a reconciliation of healing that has not taken place since… that moment when that ancient pole was placed on this ancient terrain and the iron fence put up by Jan van Riebeek that divided us.”

Arendse said Observatory, along with Kalk Bay and Muizenberg, was one of the last bits of romance in Cape Town’s infrastructure and society, and it was lunacy to bring the huge development along with its huge waste pollution problems to the rivers.

Also present were Paramount chief Aran of the Garinghaicona XhoiXhoi Traditional Council, Paramount Chief Fredericks of the !Aman and Nama, as well as Chief Noel, political adviser to the Paramountcy Johannes of Cochoqua.

Members of the supporting civics also spoke, including William Leith of the Princess Vlei Forum, who said the process for its heritage application was already quite advanced and it believed the process could be replicated in Observatory and around the country.

Numerous environmental organisations were also present. The proposed development, set at the confluence of the Black and Liesbeek rivers, has implications for the wetland, water retention and the wildlife and ecosystems there.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].