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Our congratulations go to Dr Nzimande, who has been awarded an Honorary Professorship with the Beijing Jiaotong University, in China - our Minister heading the Higher Education & Training Department (DHET) is now Professor Nzimande. 

We have received a media announcement that Minister Nzimande has seconded Mr Yershen Pillay to the Manufacturing Engineering & Related Services Sector Education & Training Authority (merSETA). We understand that although the announcement does not state the role he will play - it is as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO). 

Sassa Status Check Tops The Charts

It's an ill wind that blows no good, is the old expression that comes to mind when I think of the Sassa R350 SRD grant. The term Sassa Status Check has become a very popular search term on Google - the MOST popular of last year. The expression means that even bad things have some good consequences. 

Eye Witness News (EWN) reports that the Pretoria High Court today (Wednesday 1 November 2023) ordered Minister Nzimande to retract his decision to place the University of South Africa (UNISA) under administration.

The timeline of events is as follows: 

A report commissioned by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) into the management of UNISA identified instances of financial mismanagement and maladministration. 

Our sister site – https://www.careersportal.co.za is reporting that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andile Nongogo has been dismissed. 

The National School of Government (NSG) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the secondment of academic personnel of the UJ to the NSG during their sabbatical leave.

The MoU enables UJ scholars to pursue education and research in line with the education, training and development (ETD) initiatives at the NSG for the duration of their sabbaticals.

The MOU will promote knowledge exchange and resource support, and will greatly enhance the NSG’s interventions in improving State capacity.

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has confirmed that the Employment Equity Act Amendments (Act 4 of 2022) are not yet implemented. 

Consequently, the small employers who are currently designated employers in terms of the existing Employment Equity Act (1-49 employees and included by turnover under Schedule 4) are still required to submit their annual reports. That is: they are required to complete and submit the EEA2 and EA4 forms.

The following submission dates will apply: (Click title for full report)

Government and its agencies, the Postbank and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), have assured beneficiaries that they will get their social grant payments for the month of September 2023. 

Although Employment Equity (EE) and Broad-based Black Empowerment (B-BBEE) are covered by separate laws and have different objectives, there are similarities. 

Both strategies have transformation, economic inclusion, and advancement of those people previously disadvantaged as their overall goal. 

Both implementation strategies require reporting and scoring mechanisms related to people at work, in employment, and both focus on the positions of people who were excluded from full economic activity, and previously therefore - disadvantaged by apartheid laws.

This FAQ was inspired by media reports that confuse EE and BBBEE.

Employment Equity (EE) and Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) are two entirely different concepts, based on two different statutes, and with different intentions. 

The Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998) has the overall objective of removing discrimination in the workplace. In addition, the act promotes the development to senior and executive positions of people who were previously excluded under the apartheid legislation.