Midrand - Global events have led to the substantial 71 cents a litre increase in the price of petrol, the Energy Department said on Friday.
This comes as the department announced that a litre of 95 ULP will rise by 71 cents in Gauteng and 66 cents at the coast, while that of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will rise by 47.6 cents at the coast and 51.9 cents in Gauteng.
In Gauteng, a litre of petrol will now cost R11.94.
The price of illuminating paraffin (wholesale) is set to increase by 20.6 cents at the coast, while it will rise by 26.6 cents in Gauteng.
"This is a tough period for motorists. We recognise the challenges that motorists are going through," the department's Deputy Director General for Hydro-carbons and Energy Planning, Tseliso Maqube, told media.
He said the department acknowledged the trend of increasing petrol prices and this month's "sizeable" hike.
The department advised motorists to be economic in terms of their fuel use, given the increasing prices.
Maqubela said South Africa was a price taker in terms of fuel supplies, adding that global prices have been on the increase (including Brent crude) since December last year.
Maqubela noted that the global economy in the main has been on the mend and as a result, there will be an increase in demand that will have an impact on the price.
Geopolitical issues in countries producing oil also have had an impact on pricing. In the US, the closing down of refineries in the East Coast -- leading to the US obtaining its supplies from the Mediterranean -- has meant that there was an increase in demand. Fifty percent of South Africa's fuel price is based on prices it gets from the Mediterranean.
"If the demand there increases, the prices increase as well, hence we have seen gradually a [systematic] increase in the petrol price. In the main, that global set of events has led to the situation we are in today," explained the Maqubela.
The fuel tax levy announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as well as the RAF levy and pipeline tariffs announced by NERSA factor into the price of petrol.
Maqubela said there was consensus that there was a premium on crude oil prices due to developments in the Middle East.
"I must indicate that in the structure of prices in South Africa, no direct impact has been factored in as a result of sanctions. What you see is the impact of crude oil imports," he added.
Following recent shutdowns of refineries in South Africa, there was now stable supply available for motorists.
The department has issued several tips, including the checking of tyre pressure, not speeding as well as car-pooling as methods of saving fuel. - BuaNews
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Fwd: Stigtingsdag 6 April 1652
Insake: Stigtingsdag 6 April 2012
Geagte Volksgenoot
Toe Jan van Riebeeck en sy geselskap op 6 April 1652 hul aan die Kaap kom vestig het, was hul primêre doel om 'n halfwegstasie op die been te bring wat as ondersteuningspunt moes dien vir die skeepvaartroete om die Kaap na die Ooste, waarmee baie winsgewende handel gedryf is. Dit was ook hul doel om 'n kolonie te stig waardeur hul infrastruktuur uitgebrei kon word.
Hul seevaart, asook hul eerste twee jaar het egter so voorspoedig verloop dat hul daarin die Hand van ons hemelse Vader gesien het en 'n belofte aan Hom gemaak het wat as volg lui:
"Waar dit vandag die tweede verjaarsdag is van die dag waarop ons deur die HERE gelei, met die skepe Drommedaris, Reyger en De Goede Hoop hier ter plaatse behoue aangeland het om hierdie vesting en kolonie na die bevel van ons here en meesters [Here XVII - die Direkteure van die VOC] te bou en te bestendig, en opgelet dat God die HERE alle sake tot vandag toe met vele seëninge voorspoedig en na wense laat verloop en laat slaag het, daarom het ons besluit, en ook vir die eerste keer begin om hierdie dag, die 6de April, tot eer van God met danksegging te vier en vir altyd tot 'n vasblywende dank- en biddag in te stel, sodat daarby die weldade van die HERE wat aan ons bewys is, deur ons nakomelinge nooit vergeet mag word nie, maar altyd tot eer van God in gedagtenis en herinnering gehou sal word."
Hiermee het hulle erkenning aan die Almagtige God van hemel en aarde gegee dat dit Hy is wat hulle reis op see voorspoedig laat verloop het, sodat hulle behoue hul bestemming bereik het, en dat hul eerste twee jaar gekenmerk was met vele seëninge sodat dit voorspoedig en na wense verloop het. Dit het so 'n groot indruk op hul gemaak dat hul besluit het om dié dag in die vervolg as 'n vasblywende dank- en biddag in te stel sodat die weldade van die HERE wat aan hulle bewys is, nooit deur die nageslag vergeet sou word nie. Die doel van die instelling was dat hierdie weldade aan die nakomelinge vertel sou word en dat God daardeur vir altyd vereer moet word.
....lees verder in die aangehegte dokument asseblief.
Vrede
Flip Swanepoel [nms. Geloftevolk Koördineringskomitee.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Gauteng health dept calls for board member nominations
Pretoria - In an effort to strengthen management in Gauteng hospitals, Health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe has called for nominations of members who wish to serve on the public hospitals' management boards.
In order to be considered for an appointment onto a board, which will serve a three-year term starting in April 2012, nominees must be experienced professionals with legal, finance, strategic management, information management, human resources, governance, medical and/or have a medical background.
Mekgwe said community members with a proven record of community development and involvement were also invited to apply.
The role of the hospital boards will be to serve as a resource to the management of the hospital on a range of organisational matters, including but not limited to, the professional expertise listed above.
They will also be expected to respond to the needs of the community in which the hospital is located.
The nominations are for the following hospitals: Carletonville, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic, Cullinan Care Centre, Dr George Mukhari, Dr Yusuf Dadoo; Edenvale, Far East Rand, Bertha Gxowa, Helen Joseph, Heidelberg, Jubilee, Kalafong, Kopanong, Leratong, Mamelodi, Natalspruit, Odi, Pholosong, Pretoria West, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child, Sebokeng, Sizwe Tropical, South Rand, Steve Biko Academic, Sterkfontein, Tambo Memorial, Tara, Tembisa, Tshwane District, Tshwane Rehabilitation Centre and Weskoppies.
All nominations should be delivered to Martha Khaphiwa, Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development, Bank of Lisbon building, 15th floor (37 Sauer street, Johannesburg).
For further details, interested parties can call Thokozani Langa on 011 355 3249. - BuaNews
Review of Mine Health and Safety Act needed
Pretoria - Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu says there is a need to review the current Mine Health and Safety Act to address poor health and safety issues in the mining industry.
"This review will strengthen enforcement provisions, reinforce penalties and provide clarity in certain definitions and expressions," said Shabangu, addressing the media in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Shabangu said despite latest figures for the period 1 January to 12 March 2012 showing that fatalities have improved by 19%, the health and safety of workers in the mining industry remained an issue of grave importance to her department.
The minister said that the amendments were expected to be tabled in Cabinet soon.
She also warned that her department will continue to shut down unsafe mines in terms of Section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act. This would ensure that employers take appropriate measures to prevent harm to mine employees.
"As government we have to use the Mine Health and Safety Act and related legislation to take appropriate action to ensure that workers have a safe and dignified work environment, that their right to sanctity of life is protected," she said.
Shabangu said there was a lack of significant improvement regarding health issues - mainly noise-induced hearing loss and silicosis diseases. The total number of noise-induced hearing loss and silicosis diseases incidents reported by the mines during 2010 and 2011 is about 1 200 and 1 700 respectively.
"The mining sector is encouraged to significantly focus on health matters as there has not been a notable improvement and more employees lose their lives as a result of exposure to health hazards than mine accidents," she said.
The department will continue to encourage and support effective measures introduced by the mining industry for enhancing health and safety including the mining industry occupational safety and health.
With regard to women miners, Shabangu said all employers have a duty to ensure that women are protected at their work places.
She said her department hoped to achieve zero harm in the mining industry. Having said that, Shabangu expressed concern at company bosses who put profits first and did not care about the safety of mineworkers.
"They are only concern about the profit they are making, the safety of workers must come first then they will be able to make more money," she said. - BuaNews
Presidency studying court judgement
Pretoria - The Presidency says its legal team is still studying the ruling delivered by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Monday in a matter involving President Jacob Zuma and the Democratic Alliance.
Five judges of the SCA earlier in the day upheld an attempt by the DA to access the records that led to the suspension of criminal charges against Zuma in 2009.
The DA wants a review of the decision, by then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mokotedi Mpshe, to drop charges against Zuma before he was elected President.
The Presidency said in a statement that it had noted the judgement of the court emphasising that the decision taken by the NDPP on 6 April 2009, not to prosecute President Jacob Zuma, stands.
The court stated in opening remarks on the judgement, "This appeal does not concern the merits of a decision taken on 6 April 2009 by the Acting NDPP to discontinue a prosecution ... against Mr Jacob Zuma''.
"The appeal related to three narrow technical legal issues," the Presidency said. - BuaNews
Five judges of the SCA earlier in the day upheld an attempt by the DA to access the records that led to the suspension of criminal charges against Zuma in 2009.
The DA wants a review of the decision, by then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mokotedi Mpshe, to drop charges against Zuma before he was elected President.
The Presidency said in a statement that it had noted the judgement of the court emphasising that the decision taken by the NDPP on 6 April 2009, not to prosecute President Jacob Zuma, stands.
The court stated in opening remarks on the judgement, "This appeal does not concern the merits of a decision taken on 6 April 2009 by the Acting NDPP to discontinue a prosecution ... against Mr Jacob Zuma''.
"The appeal related to three narrow technical legal issues," the Presidency said. - BuaNews
Sunday, March 18, 2012
SANAC tightens its operations
Pretoria - The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) is in the process of bolstering its provincial and local structures so as to boost its efficiency.
"That process in underway with the view of a more accountable, transparent, efficient and above all, more effective SANAC," SANAC Deputy Chair Mark Heywood said on Friday.
The move, Heywood said, was aimed at changing perceptions that the HIV advisory body was out of touch and unaccountable.
Speaking to the media after the council's first meeting of the year, which was chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Heywood touched on the progress they have made since they adopted the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV, AIDS, STIs and TB (2012-2016).
He said there have been a lot of activities at the provincial councils and government to make the plan operational.
"The meeting has adopted a roadmap towards achieving the desired outcomes at the end of year one (of the plan). Year one will focus on the areas of programme implementation, resource mobilisation and ensuring that there is sufficient capacity to manage plan."
The objective of the NSP development process is to ensure that all people in South African have the opportunity to participate in the development of the plan that will guide South Africa's response to HIV, TB and STIs over the next five years.
The plan focuses on the four key areas of addressing the structural and social barriers to the epidemic; prevention of new infections, treatment for all those in need and addressing the human rights barriers that drive the epidemic.
As it is, Heywood said the council was concerned about what it could do to better mobilise the country to prevent new HIV infections. To this end, the meeting looked at how to further strengthen the already existing programmes to reach young women and men, and how SANAC could work with the schools health programmes to include issues around HIV and HIV testing, he said.
The meeting also looked at the legal framework that protects human rights in support of the NSP and how they, together with the Justice and Constitutional Development cluster, can reduce the stigma and discrimination related to HIV and TB.
Also speaking at the briefing was Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who announced that as part of commemorating World TB day on 24 March, they will launch a campaign to test and treat hundreds of miners for TB.
The campaign, which will be at Goldfields' KDC West Mines in Carletonville, will be launched by Motlanthe and Motsoaledi and other industry expects. It is part of the wider NSP response to addressing the impact of TB and HIV.
Asked why they chose a mine for the launch, Motsoaledi said TB infection was aggravated amongst miners by the migratory nature of their employment. This, he said, contributed to the spread of the disease among miners, their families and communities.
The commemoration of the World TB day will start on 23 March with a walk by the minister and TV personality and ambassador for the TB campaign, Gerry Elsdon, in Auckland Park. - BuaNews
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Press release : FNB drives down card fraud
FNB drives down card fraud
Spokesperson: Henk Vermeulen, FNB Credit Card Fraud Specialist
Johannesburg, 13 March 2012 – Bank cards are a convenient and safe way to make daily payments and are accepted by millions of merchants around the world.
Today, FNB launched its 7th annual Card Security Week in partnership with VISA to improve consumer education and to prevent fraud.
FNB Card fraud has slightly increased over the last 12 months which is in line with the current industry trend. This increase is directly attributed to "Card Not Present fraud", while the reports of lost and stolen card fraud have substantially decreased.
In response to the increase of "card not present fraud" FNB and Visa encourage customers to be vigilant and to make use of the various security measures made available to them by their bank.
Card not present fraud, such as unauthorised purchases on the internet or via a telesales company currently make up the largest part of card losses. This form of fraud also includes phishing, through which fraudsters obtain your card information, and then process fraudulent transactions.
Henk Vermeulen, Fraud Specialist at FNB Credit Card says; "In the last few months card not present fraud has decreased as a result of the implementation of additional security measures, which often take place completely behind-the-scenes. However, the most important safeguard against fraud remains an alert and vigilant cardholder."
The increase in card not present fraud can be seen as a criminal reaction to the roll-out of Chip and PIN. This increase has been an international trend and was then followed by a decline in card fraud, directly attributed to the implementation of Chip and PIN supported by Verified by Visa. We expect South Africa to follow this same trend, as Chip and PIN cards supported by Verified by Visa make other forms of card fraud more difficult.
"In an effort to combat this migration of fraud, FNB launched FNB Online Secure (a customised version of Verified by Visa, a unique service offered by Visa) towards the end of 2011. We have already seen card not present fraud dropping and have over 100 000 FNB customers actively using this new service," added Vermeulen.
Once activated, a Cheque or Credit Card is protected and cannot be used for online purchases without the customer's One Time PIN or Password.
In an effort to make FNB Online Secure as user friendly as possible FNB has incorporated this functionality into their Online Banking platform, which means that FNB will remain the constant interface between the customer and the merchant.
Registration for FNB Online Secure is exceptionally easy as it is already loaded onto your banking profile and you simply need to follow 4 easy steps to ensure that it is activated.
FNB Credit Card further reports that their fraud losses have been reduced to less than 0.075% of their total Credit Card turnover. However Vermeulen comments that, "every rand lost is viewed as a rand too much and we will continue to enlist the use of new technology to help in the fight against card fraud."
While Visa's Bryce Thorrold, Head of Risk for Visa Africa, says that Visa is seeing the same trend, "Fraud rates within the Visa system are at the lowest they have ever been, at just over three cents for every $100 transacted in our Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa region."
FNB and other Card issuers have aggressively rolled out Chip and PIN cards and have increased their levels of analytical, technical and investigative abilities to prevent fraud. FNB Credit Card has to date distributed some 650 000 Chip and PIN cards.
Ironically, as card issuers claim victories against card fraud through the use of high technology, the bank warns that they are seeing criminals reverting to the lowest-tech version of card fraud, where fraudsters simply observe customers entering their PIN and then steal the card by mugging the victim.
"Often the simplest security precautions are the best. Protect your PIN when making a payment and treat your card with the same level of security you would give to a large number of high-value bank notes," notes Vermeulen.
"We keep our fraud numbers as low as possible, but the real issue is that any fraud is highly traumatic to a customer, not to mention the inconvenience factor. For this reason we are making every effort to prevent fraud by utilising technologies such as FNB Online Secure - Verified by Visa and Chip cards.
FNB is constantly working behind the scenes to protect our customers, we utilise software to highlight unusual and potentially fraudulent transactions, and often identify these transactions before the customers are even aware of them. At the same time, the card is cancelled and re-issued at no cost to the customer to stop any future fraudulent activities.
FNB refunds customers who genuinely fall victim to card fraud, however the crime is not victimless. Anyone who has found unauthorised transactions on their account will agree that the experience is highly stressful.
In a further effort to help protect customers, FNB is actively promoting its Cashback service which gives customers added convenience and security when using their Debit and Cheque card. Cashback at a supermarket till gives an extra level of security.
With Card fraud, there are predominantly three methods of card skimming, copping and cloning. Fraudsters use a handheld skimming device when the card is taken out of the customer's sight at a Point of Sale to process a transaction. Another method, also with a handheld skimming device, occurs when fraudsters distract customers at ATMs to obtain their card details and then shoulder-surf the PIN. The fraudster then fabricates another card and draws money from the cardholder's account. The third method of skimming involves fraudsters placing a device, disguised as part of the ATM, over the card slot.
Lastly another prevalent form of Card Not Present Fraud which cannot be ignored is Phishing, where fraudsters obtain customers personal card information via fake websites and emails. This is where we believe FNB Online Secure will prove to be invaluable.
So while FNB makes every effort to protect their customers, we advise them to apply the following tips to further protect themselves against card fraud:
· To prevent 'shoulder surfing' (where a fraudster tries to look at you entering your PIN), always cover your hand when entering your PIN number at the ATM or at a Point of Sale. Stand close to the ATM and use your body as a shield to make sure nobody sees you keying in your PIN.
· Do not let anyone distract you while using the ATM machine as criminals can use this tactic to 'swap' cards and to 'shoulder surf' your PIN, thereby obtaining access to your PIN.
· Never give your PIN number to anyone and don't write it down – memorise your PIN.
· Register for FNB's free inContact service or your bank's transaction notification service. This will empower you to always be aware of the activity on your account.
· Always make sure that you receive the correct card back from the merchant or ATM.
· Never force your card into the ATM card slot.
· If the ATM retains your card, cancel the transaction and your card immediately.
· Be on the lookout for evidence of tampering on the ATM – such as a thin plastic sleeve attached to the card slot.
· Always keep record of your card and account number, ID number and the toll-free number to call should your card be lost or stolen.
· Never allow a bystander to dial the toll-free number on your behalf – they could be tricking you into thinking your card has been stopped.
· Try to avoid using an ATM late at night and preferably use ATMs located inside supermarkets or forecourts when possible.
· Do not use your birth year as a PIN number, as criminals may have access to this information after stealing your bag or wallet.
If you suspect fraud on your account cancel your card immediately and report it to the Card Cancellations Department on FNB's toll free number 0800 110 132 or call the number on the back of your card.
ENDS
First National Bank is a division of FirstRand Bank Limited.
An authorised financial services provider.
For more information please contact:
Steve Higgins, FNB Corporate Communications
Tel. 0873112854, Email shiggins@fnb.co.za
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