S.Africa: Blacks always looking for an excuse to do nothing – 2 New Holidays!
(005320.38-:E-003569.93:N-HO:R-SU:C-30:V)
3 South African cities now rank among the 20 most violent in the world
This is an international report that was published recently. At this source link you‘ll see some interesting charts and statistics. South Africa was never like this under Apartheid.
[I think South Africa already has among the most public holidays of any country in the world. But that doesn't stop the Blacks! We're getting another 2! In South Africa, people try to do as little as possible! Jan]
South Africa will have 14 public holidays in 2023, including an additional two days off to celebrate public holidays which fall over a weekend.
The first of these extra days off is happening next week, on 2 January 2023, to observe New Year’s day, which falls on a Sunday.
The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it shall be a public holiday.
This means that 2 January 2023 and 25 September 2023 are additional public holidays in terms of the Act.
Here are all the public holidays in 2023, in terms of the Act:
Sunday, 1 January: New Year’s Day
Monday, 2 January: Public holiday New Year’s Day observed
Tuesday, 21 March: Human Rights Day
Friday, 7 April: Good Friday
Monday, 10 April: Family Day
Thursday, 27 April: Freedom Day
Monday, 1 May: Workers’ Day
Friday, 16 June: Youth Day
Wednesday, 9 August: National Women’s Day
Sunday, 24 September: Heritage Day
Monday, 25 September: Public holiday Heritage Day observed
Saturday, 16 December: Day of Reconciliation
Monday, 25 December: Christmas Day
Tuesday, 26 December: Day of Goodwill
The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon. That varies each year, but they fall at some point between late March and late April.
On rare occasions, consecutive public holidays fall on a Sunday and a Monday, as was the case with Christmas Day and Family Day in 2022. In these cases, it is up to the president to determine whether or not to declare another public holiday to make up for the day ‘lost’ – as was the case with today, 27 December 2022.
In other years, such as an election year, the president may also declare the voting day as a public holiday to give citizens enough time and opportunity to vote. Neither of these scenarios is taking place in 2023, with the next election taking place in 2024.
While most working South Africans take public holidays in their stride, the number of days off has a significant impact on employers and productivity.
Not only do wage earners get paid double on public holidays if it falls on a day they would typically work, salaried employees also plan their leave and take extra days off between holidays and weekends if the public holidays fall in the middle of the week.
Businesses in the tourism industry this year put forward a proposal to mitigate this by suggesting that all public holidays be made into long weekends.
The proposal suggests that public holidays that fall in the middle of the week be moved to either a Friday or Monday. A day of observance would then serve to recognise the historical significance of these days should they fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
Similar efforts of moving midweek public holidays to either Friday or Monday have already taken place in the USA, UK, Argentina and Japan.
In a typical year, South Africa has 12 public holidays, which is about average when compared to other countries. The global average for public holidays is 11 days off.
South Africa, Kenya, Finland, and Russia are among those that have 12 public holidays, while the countries that enjoy the average number of 11 holidays include Canada, Italy, and Singapore.
Workers in most European countries enjoy 10-14 public holidays a year. The UK, however, is not so holiday-minded, with only eight. Surprisingly, while there are 11 federal holidays in the USA, zero are compulsory and the number of paid holidays workers get is at the employer’s discretion.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Myanmar holds the top spot with 30 public holidays, while Sri Lanka, Iran, India, and China have 29, 27, 21, and 17, respectively.
Video: When young Julius Caesar was kidnapped by Pirates
This is the incredible story of the bravery and boldness and determination of the bad-assed man we know as the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. This is what happened to him when he was a young man.
