The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has invited design students to enter the National Furniture Design Competition.

Minister Rob Davies said the competition aims to encourage participation in the furniture industry. It also seeks to promote the design of modern furniture for small living spaces, and the use of local inputs such as wood and textiles.

Minister Davies said that the competition is also a way of encouraging participation in the furniture industry and to complement the proposed design course for design skills development.

The entrants to the competition will have to submit technical drawings of the product, including the final product dimensions and 3D drawings, a description of materials and inputs to be used in production, the description of the design, and the concept behind the design. The winners will be announced at the annual Design Indaba in Cape Town in March 2015.

Minister Davies, who described the furniture industry as an important sector in the South African economy, sees the sector as one which has a potential to contribute to the reduction of unemployment, increase exports and develop the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME).

“Design can also play a significant role in the industry’s development and beneficiation of raw materials and it is thus far possible to position the local industry as the producer of high value niche furniture products that are globally competitive,” said Minister Davies.

He said the industry only contributed 1% to domestic manufacturing sales and only 1.6% to local employment in 2012, compared to other manufacturing industries.

Further information on the competition can be obtained from the dti website through this link: thedti.gov.za/invitations/Furniture_Competition.pdf or by calling 012 394 1260.

The competition is presented by the dti, in partnership with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Design Institute, Industrial Development Co-operation (IDC) and Furntech. – SAnews.gov.za

The Department of Higher Education and Training has urged potential students to verify the accreditation of any private college or university before enrolling for studies. The department says citizens must ensure that institutions of higher learning are registered with government to avoid victimisation. “The department intensifies its fight against bogus institutions of higher learning. Many [...]Students warned of bogus colleges is a post from: Teach-the-Brain


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President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to unite and work together in addressing the issues that are facing the country.

“We still have to work together to make South Africa move forward. We still have a lot more work to do because the legacy of apartheid left millions of our people living in abject poverty and deprivation,” President Zuma said.

He encouraged artists, who had gathered at the arts and culture veterans’ gala dinner in Sandton on Tuesday, to be part of the journey of building a new South Africa, one that is united, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous.

“We still need songs, poems and books to encourage us, to tell us that it is not yet over. In other words, to participate as you did before in the struggle to liberate ourselves, particularly economically,” President Zuma said.

He said the arts, culture and heritage sector was pivotal for nation building and social cohesion.

“This is the role and responsibility that we have placed on you as the sector, to redefine the soul of this new nation and use your talent and skills for radical consciousness towards economic transformation,” President Zuma said.

He honoured artist such as Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Letta Mbulu, Caiphus Semenya, Julian Bahula and members of the Amandla Cultural Ensemble for contributing to the struggle for liberation and also the period of reconstruction and development of the country.

“We remember and salute our international icon, Mme Miriam Makeba, who, in the United Nations’ General Assembly in 1963, was the voice of the voiceless. With passion and conviction, she told the story of the plight of her people under apartheid,” President Zuma said.

He said many artists mobilised and galvanised the local population and international community to support the struggle and the aspirations to build a world with a human face.

“In the process, many artists were subjected to the brutal violence of an inhumane apartheid regime,” President Zuma said.

Other artists including poets, radio presenters, music presenters, writers and musicians were also honoured by President Zuma.

Making the arts prosper

He said recent research indicated that the contribution of music, craft, visual arts, books and film was estimated to be in excess of R15 billion, making the sector an important contributor to the economy and the country’s GDP.

“It is for this reason that the new vision of government, through the Department of Arts and Culture, is to refocus the role of the arts, culture and heritage sector to actively promote entrepreneurship across the value chain of the arts and culture industry,” President Zuma said.

In 2009, government formed the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa, which was aimed at assisting the arts, culture and heritage sector to be organised so that it can effectively deal with the challenges it faces.

These include funding, piracy, exploitation, lack of social security and lack of recognition as workers.

He said government was determined to assist as much as possible to fight piracy by including the police, SA Revenue Service and the criminal justice system in its fight.

“Our people need to know that piracy kills music and destroys the livelihoods of their favourite artists. We need to work together to get that message across,” President Zuma said.

He said artists were still grappling with issues such as social security, the distribution of royalties and tax matters.

“That is all work in progress to be discussed at other forums that have been created for collaboration with government,” President Zuma said. – SAnews.gov.za

Although the power system is expected to be tight over the next few days, the risk of load shedding is low due to increased plant availability, says Eskom.

“The system is expected to be tight for the next few days. However, the risk of load shedding is low. This is due to the increase in plant availability as a number of units that were on maintenance have been returned to service since Monday,” said Eskom in its system status bulletin on Thursday.

The power utility called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly.

“Consumers can help alleviate pressure from the system by reducing their electricity usage as much as they can,” said the utility.

At the last post Cabinet briefing of the year on Thursday, Minister in Presidency for Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, said Cabinet was concerned over the disruptive effect the recent power outages were having on the daily lives of South Africans and its impact on households and businesses across the country.

Minister Radebe said a war room has been set up with immediate effect to oversee the implementation of a five-point plan to address the electricity challenges facing the country.

This comes as South Africans had experienced weeks of load shedding incidents.

Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said the war room would be made up of the Departments of Energy, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Public Enterprises, National Treasury, Economic Development, Water and Sanitation and Eskom, as well as technical officials.

She said the war room would be housed at Eskom to ensure the optimal coordination of all parties.

Five-point plan

Minister Radebe said the five-point plan would address the strain the electricity system faces.

The plan covers:

- the interventions that Eskom will undertake in the next 30 days;

- harnessing cogeneration opportunities through the extension of existing contracts with the private sector;

- accelerating the programme for substitution of diesel with gas to fire up the diesel power plants;

- launching a coal independent power producer programme; and

- managing demand through specific interventions within residential dwellings, public and commercial buildings and municipalities through retrofitting energy efficient technologies. – SAnews.gov.za

Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane will visit Zimbabwe on Friday to try to secure more water for the country.

“Minister Mokonyane will meet her Zimbabwean counterpart, the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Saviour Kasukuwere, to move towards the feasibility studies leading to the pumping of water to South Africa,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said.

She will attend the signing ceremony of the Certified Agreement on the Cooperation on Water Resources Management and the establishment and functioning of the Joint Water Commission between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The signing ceremony between these two countries comes after a joint agreement by the governments of South Africa and Zimbabwe to undertake a technical study to evaluate the possible water resource developments and transfer options of water from Zimbabwe to South Africa.

The two countries signed an agreement last month after deliberating and agreeing on constructing a pipeline that would draw water from Zambezi River to Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, then right through to South Africa.

“The agreement will adopt a three-phased approach. The first is to determine the viability of water resource development options at reconnaissance level taking into account the latest information on hydrology and environmental needs including identifying options for such water supplies,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said.

Phase 2 is the pre-feasibility study of the preferred options identified in Phase 1, while Phase 3 will be centred on the feasibility study of the preferred options from Phase 2.

The two countries recently entered into an agreement of Co-operation on Water Resources Management and established the Joint Water Commission (JWC), which is referred to as the Zimbabwe – South Africa JWC (ZRSA JWC).

The function of the established Joint Study Management Committee (JSMC) is to coordinate the implementation of the project.

“The objective of the JSMC is to act on behalf of the parties in all matters relating to the oversight and management of the study, submit a report with recommendations to the parties upon finalisation of each phase of the study, and develop the Terms of Reference for each phase of the study.

“The countries have also agreed that the decisions of the JSMC will be taken by consensus,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za

The body of South African teacher, Pierre Korkie, is expected to arrive in South Africa today.

Korkie was murdered by terrorists along with United States citizen Luke Somers during a rescue operation by US and Yemeni security forces on Friday.

Korkie and his wife Yolande were kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen in May last year.

Yolande was freed in January this year after an intervention by the South African government and the NGO, Gift of the Givers, together with the Yemeni government and other role players, while they kept Pierre for ransom.

The South African government, which had undertaken numerous initiatives to help secure Korkie's release, has also expressed its sadness on the killing. It has sent condolences to both families of the deceased.

“Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane would like to express the South African government's firm and unconditional condemnation of all forms of terrorism that invariably result in the senseless suffering and loss of innocent lives,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said.

Minister Nkoana-Mashabane had a telephonic discussion with her Yemeni counterpart about the death of Korkie, where the Yemeni Minister expressed his government’s condolences following the tragedy.

Gift of the Givers founder, Imtiaz Sooliman, says last week they were informed that Pierre will be home for Christmas.

US officials say they had no choice but to launch the special forces operation in Yemen. US Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard said they were not aware that Korkie and Somers were being kept together by al-Qaeda.

“Just as we are joined in the common struggle against violent extremists, the US and South Africa share the pain of losing citizens to the threat posed by them,” Gaspard said on Monday.

“The United States remains determined to do its utmost to hold those who have done our citizens harm accountable. This heart breaking incident ‎is a reminder of the need for all governments to unite against the common threat posed to all of our citizens.”

Last night, Yolande issued an emotional statement where she thanked South Africans for their support during her family's ordeal.

“My heart is breaking not only for my children, family and myself but for all of you that travelled this road with us … The furnace of 19 months has been relentless and red hot. Thus I had to really think very hard and long for an appropriate approach in the face of this pain.”

In the statement, Yolande also said she has chosen to forgive.

“Today we choose to forgive. We choose to love. We choose to rejoice in the memories of Pierre and keep him alive in our hearts. We honour Pierre’s legacy and give glory to God for his life and death. We resolve to live in the embrace of God… until our time comes to be reunited. Even though this pain is overwhelming us right now, we choose to believe that this too will pass.” – SAnews.gov.za

It was revealed this week that Johannesburg’s Witwatersrand University (Wits), in partnership with MOOC provider Edx, has announced plans to introduce free web courses in South Africa. The courses, which are planned to cover a range of topics from economics to world history, will be available to the 200,000-plus learners who use Edx in Africa. [...]Leading South African University Announces Edx Partnership is a post from: Teach-the-Brain


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A total of 5.32 million income tax returns were submitted in the 2014 tax season, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Thursday.

“The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has again recorded consistent growth in the levels of tax compliance in the country with 5.32 million income tax returns submitted during the 2014 tax season,” said the revenue service.

This means that 4.05 million taxpayers (94.49%) who were required to submit a tax return this year did so on time. This is 10.14% higher than the 3.69 million figure of 2013.

“Although the total number of returns submitted for 2014 (5.32 million, including outstanding returns from previous years) is marginally lower than the total for 2013 (6.09 million) the decrease is due to the introduction of higher submission threshold since the 2013 tax year,” said SARS.

The new threshold means that taxpayers earning one source of income below 250 000 for the year from one employer with no refund claims on their tax returns, did not have to submit a tax return.

The new submission threshold removes the administrative burden on such taxpayers to have to submit a return to SARS, although they still contribute to the Personal Income Tax (PIT) system through, for example, their monthly PAYE (Pay-As-You-Earn) deductions by their employers.

According to SARS, 207 525 individuals submitted tax returns but were not required to do so, compared to 792 928 in 2013 because of the new submission threshold.

Of the total number of 5.32 million returns submitted by the 21 November 2014 deadline:

- 4.26 million returns from individuals were for the 2014 tax year;

- 1.02 million returns from individuals were outstanding from previous tax years;

- 48 586 returns were submitted by trusts;

- The SARS Call Centre assisted more than 3.3 million taxpayers on the phone and

- More than 4.5 million taxpayers visited a SARS branch office for assistance.

Administrative penalties

As part of the total submissions, SARS received 1.02 million outstanding returns from previous years, which is 34% (535 580) lower than the 1.55 million outstanding returns from previous years that were submitted by the 2013 deadline.

“This is a very encouraging indicator that the administrative penalties SARS imposes for outstanding returns are having the desired effect of improving compliance levels.”

Of the 1.02 million outstanding returns received from previous years, defaulting taxpayers paid a SARS total of R436 million in outstanding penalties. SARS will continue to impose penalties against defaulting taxpayers.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene welcomed the response to the 2014 tax season.

He thanked the public for paying its taxes and submitting their tax returns on time.

“Their continued commitment to the building of a more prosperous South Africa has been one of the cornerstones of our democracy over the past 20 years. The tax system is a key part of the foundation of a country’s public finances. So, the continued tax compliance by fellow South Africans can only bode well for our democracy and fiscal sovereignty,” Minister Nene said.

Tax refunds

When coming to refunds R15.2 billion were paid to 2.1 million taxpayers with SARS paying 98 % of all refunds within 72 hours.

Tax refunds are a direct contribution to the domestic economy and household incomes.

“Payments from taxpayers with assessed tax payments this year amounted to R4.4 billion which is R0.3 billion (5%) lower than the R4.7 billion paid in 2013,” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za