The long-term success of financial service providers lies in consumers understanding of the financial products they offer, says Finance Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele.

“Their long-term success lies in the clarity of the clients they are serving. There are always costs in dealing with a client who lacks clarity,” said the Deputy Minister.

Gungubele was addressing the launch of the Money Smart Week initiative at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) premises in Pretoria on Friday.

Championed by National Treasury, with the Minister of Finance (Nhlanhla Nene) as its patron, the Money Smart Week South Africa (MSWSA) initiative is a public awareness campaign aimed at bringing financial education and literacy to people at grass roots level. This will be done through bringing informed financial advice from qualified professionals to the people.

The objective of the MSWSA, which will run from 8 -12 October, is to enable South Africans to take control of their finances and safe guard their future.

Gungubele said it is important to promote clarity between clients and service providers so that consumers do not end up taking decisions in the dark.

“This is a major contribution,” he said of the initiative, adding that it is vital to also train service providers to know that “their long term successes lies in the service of an educated client”.

Planned activities

Planned activities for the MSWSA include free educational workshops, talks at community centres, exhibitions, as well as information hubs being set up at petrol stations and malls, among others.

The initiative has chosen Gauteng as its pilot province, with the focus on four main areas namely Mamelodi, Alexandra, Tembisa and Soweto. The province has been chosen as the pilot, given the fact that it’s the most densely populated province and is home to South Africa’s financial hub.

Boosting the economy

Gungubele said South Africans need clarity on the financial sector because bigger numbers of people are going to participate in the economy through entrepreneurship.

He said understanding the financial sector will help business thrive and boost the economy.

“It will boost our economy and increase participation in our economy, and businesses will thrive… Once our people are clear about [finances and the relationships that protect it], they [have the] boldness and confidence to invest because they believe the possibility of returns. That can only come from clarity,” said the Deputy Minister.

The initiative follows the February 2018 Budget Review that placed emphasis on building a financial services sector that serves all South Africans. At the time, the document stated that the MSWSA initiative will be piloted to help South Africans to make sound financial decisions.

Also speaking at the launch, the FSCA’s consumer education head of department, Lyndwill Clarke, said the idea for starting the initiative began over a year ago, as statistics had shown that consumers are battling to save.

“The ability to save has taken a dip,” he said.

It is envisaged that the initiative will become a national event taking place on an annual basis.

Launched in April by Minister Nene, the FSCA replaced the Financial Services Board and will supervise how financial institutions conduct their business and treat customers.

The launch of the supervisory body follows South Africa’s new Twin Peaks system of financial regulation, bringing to fruition a regulatory reform announced in 2011. – SAnews.gov.za

https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/06/20/ict/south-africa-government-considers-implementing-coding-in-schools/

A high-level police task team looking into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal has been hailed by Police Minister Bheki Cele following the arrest of six suspects two weeks ago.

Addressing the media in Durban on Friday, the Minister said two firearms were recovered during the arrests and they have already been linked to eight cases.

Cele made the announcement while presenting a progress report of an inter-ministerial team on investigations into the political killings in the province.

“As a way of progress, we have taken a decision to change the members of the task team that was responsible for the investigations into the political killings. The new project team has 118 new members, plus eight members from the previous task team who have been retained,” he said.

The team has adopted a project-driven approach that will have dedicated human and physical resources, comprising seasoned detectives from five provinces. The 126-member team will be led by the Acting Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and two brigadiers.

“The National Prosecuting Authority has also dedicated 16 experienced and seasoned prosecutors, led by Advocate Selepe, to support the investigating team to ensure effective case management and successful prosecutions,” Cele said.

KwaZulu-Natal, like the other eight provinces, is under stabilisation, meaning this province has also adopted a dedicated, integrated multi-disciplinary approach on all areas of criminality. This team will be expected to function independently moving forward.

In June, Cele and National Police Commissioner General John Sitole announced the implementation of stabilisation interventions throughout the country to deal with serious crimes.

“Our mandate as the South African Police Service, derived from Section 205 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, is to prevent, combat and investigate crime,” Cele said.

Since then, KwaZulu-Natal had made significant progress.

Police in the province have arrested 512 people for the illegal possession of arms and/or ammunition.

“During these continuing stabilisation interventions, they have also seized 706 illegal guns, including semi-automatic rifles, high calibre rifles (hunting rifles), shotguns, revolvers, pistols and homemade guns. A total of 6 045 rounds of ammunition were also taken away from our streets,” Cele said. – SAnews.gov.za

https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/06/13/news/police-in-south-africa-record-breakthrough-in-cash-in-transit-heists/