Day: May 13, 2024

The EThekwini Municipality has appointed a contractor to commence with the upgrade of the Ogunjini Water Treatment Works, which will help to improve water supply in areas in the north of Durban.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, together with eThekwini Municipality, introduced the contractor, who will commence with the R56 million upgrade, to the community during an event held at Osindisweni Sports Ground on Sunday.

Speaking at the event, Mchunu said the completion of the upgrades will improve water supply to Osindisweni, which is currently experiencing water supply shortages.

The water supply shortages affecting the area are due the water treatment work’s inability to sufficiently manage the growing demand from the community in the area.

Ogunjini Water Works was built to primarily supply water to Osindisweni Hospital. However, over time, there has been a significant number of homes reliant on the pump station.

‘Once this project is complete, the treatment works will have a design capacity of t
hree megalitres (ML) per day. Currently, it has a design capacity of 0.9 ML per day,’ Mchunu said.

Mchunu said the project is part of the city’s efforts to ensure reliable water supply, particularly in rural areas.

‘We are pleased that the municipality continues to invest in water infrastructure and a number of projects are currently underway including the upgrade of the Southern Aqueduct which will improve water supply in the southern areas.

‘We have also increased the capacity of Hazelmere Dam, which will alleviate water challenges in areas such as Verulam and oThongathi up to Stanger,’ Mchunu said.

eThekwini Infrastructure and Human Settlements Committee Deputy Chairperson, Bheki Mngwengwe, assured the community that the contractor, who will be on site from today, will be closely monitored to ensure that work is of quality and completed within 10 months.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane and Rural Development and Agrarian (DRDAR) Reform MEC Nonkqubela Pieters will on Tuesday kick start the use of the Livestock Identification and Traceability System (LITS) as part of efforts to fight stock theft.

LITS is a technology-based ear-tag gadget that government is delivering to 120 cattle farming enterprises across the province. The technology is also part of efforts to strengthen biosecurity measures to improve the international trade of cattle.

As part of this rollout, 30 000 cattle will be ear-tagged for identification and traceability purposes in Tsolo.

The rollout of LITS is a commitment made by Premier Mabuyane during the 2024 State of the Province Address, and as part of implementing an agreement between government and the red meat industry.

LITS will ensure individual animal identification so that livestock owners comply with the Animal Identification Act.

This will improve the prosecution rate of people charged for livestock theft and strength
en biosecurity measures in farms to improve international trade of cattle opportunities.

All ear-tagged animals and identities of their owners are registered onto a central database, where animal movement is recorded to make it easy to trace the animal back to the owner.

Once the system is fully implemented, each animal slaughtered in any abattoir can be traced to where it was farmed, the farming conditions where the animal was farmed, and all animal health practices the animal was exposed to.

This will also make it possible to identify owners of registered animals, thus improving the recovery of stolen animals.

DRDAR is implementing this national policy through collaboration with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

Currently, the department has trained and registered more than 250 veterinarians, scientists, animal health technicians and extension advisors to lead the implementation of the system.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) Minister Ebrahim Patel is today presiding over the launch of the Medical Technology (MEDTECH) Master Plan by industry stakeholders at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in Sandton.

The MEDTECH Master Plan aims to provide guidance for the public and private sectors to dedicate resources and time in strengthening the sector in order to place it on a growth trajectory.

This process will involve developing agreements on areas for intervention, collaboration, and commitments for ongoing development and investment.

One of the objectives of the plan is to grow a competitive medical technology industry over the next three years, with special focus on the development of small to medium enterprises that will eventually supply domestic and international markets.

The MEDTECH industry in South Africa has been identified as a potentially important contributor to economic growth and employment, whilst simultaneously enabling an improvement in health provision and quality
of life for the South African population.

The industry is diverse, using various materials to produce a variety of products such as metals (titanium-based implants), chemicals (disinfectants), textiles (bandages and dressings), plastics (catheters, IV administration sets), wood (tongue depressors) and chemicals/minerals/plants that go into the manufacture of wound products.

The industry gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as South African manufacturers tooled up to meet the growing need for medical devices.

South Africa is one of the largest MEDTECH markets across Africa and the Middle East, estimated at R21 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to R29.6 billion by 2025.

Source: South African Government News Agency

On Monday, 13 May, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala will lead a delegation comprising of built environment professionals and experts to the George building disaster.

Also on Monday, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, will lead the International Nurses Day commemorative event in Cape Town.

On Tuesday, 14 May, to Thursday, 16 May, the Department of Tourism will be hosting Africa’s Travel Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.

On Tuesday, 14 May, the Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga will deliver the main address at the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s passing out parade, where 410 newly trained traffic officers will become ready to save lives on the country’s roads.

On Wednesday, 15 May, President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the memorial lecture on the life of Elijah Barayi.

Also on Wednesday, the Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Je
an Todt, will undertake various road safety activations during a three-day visit.

On Thursday, 16 May, and Friday, 17 May, the Department of Employment and Labour will host a joint inter-departmental Jobs Fair in KwaZulu-Natal.

Source: South African Government News Agency

In preparation for the 2024 National Elections, the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) has collaborated with the Electoral Commission (IEC) for the past year to implement a training programme for the community media sector to improve their coverage of the elections.

Through this partnership, the sector has been taken through the legislative amendments (Electoral Act), the Electoral Code of Conduct, prohibited conduct and applicable penalties, and free and fair elections.

‘For the first time since the first democratic elections in 1994, voters will have a wider range of options in terms of the individuals or political parties they want to elect for the National and Provincial Elections.

‘As a result of amendments to legislation governing elections, voters will only be able to vote anywhere after notifying the IEC of the intent to such. Failing such notification, voters will only vote where they are registered,’ the MDDA said on Monday.

Furthermore, voters will be faced with three ballots instead
of the two as was done in previous elections. Independents may now contest National and Provincial Elections.

‘Elections are a critical part of democracy. They give power to voters to choose their leaders and hold them answerable for their performance and level of service in office. Further, elections enable people through voting the opportunity to express their views on current issues as well as their frustrations towards leaders who may be failing them.

‘However, to vote efficiently and choose a party or leadership that will enable the fulfilment of an equitable society, voters need to know where candidates and parties stand on public policy issues,’ MDDA Chief Executive Officer Shoeshoe Qhu said.

With only three weeks left until Elections Day, the Agency is hosting its final leg of the elections capacity-building programme.

They will be conducting elections readiness sessions starting on 17th of May with an online session focusing on IEC legislative amendments and announcements, followed by a roundtabl
e discussion on the 20th May 2024 unpacking the importance of safety on election day, the role of the church in politics and the impact of political party messaging.

The series of events will end with a full day workshop on focusing on fact checking, verification and the impact of generative AI on journalistic content training session on 22 May 2024.

The elections will take place on Wednesday, 29 May 2024.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Dr John Nwafor, Managing-Director of Metro Digital Limited, operators of SLTV satellite television network, has offered subsidised packages to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Nwafor, in an interview with NAN on Monday, said the subsidy was the company’s way of ameliorating the economic challenges Nigerians face daily.

He also said that the cost for SLTV dish, decoder and subscription package would remain stable for a period, to encourage other local players in the satellite television industry.

According to him, in the next two weeks when stock will be available, the outfit will be offering a special package to NAN staff members.

‘We will work very hard and demonstrate to the country that we can do this business very well and that will encourage other Nigerians to come in for healthy competition.

‘Nigerians will benefit at the end as the subscription will come down. We are here to let our people know that we are for them; we are not going to start raising prices because of the economic situation.

‘We
are assuring Nigerians that our prices will be stable for a reasonable length of time and show example to other Nigerians to come into the industry to make it more vibrant.’

The managing director, while clarifying the claims of SLTV connection to MultiChoice’s DSTV, said that the paid television industry had always contributed to the economy of any nation.

He said that Nigerians had been prevented from being part of the industry by dominant players and there was the need for the government to put an end to that.

‘Paid TV industry is always a major part of the economy of any nation and if you look around in the Nigerian industry, there is almost no industry that is actually participating.

‘Recently, the government decided to work on that problem by making some changes to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Code to outlaw exclusivity.

‘Exclusivity to content is one of the things that have discouraged all the indigenous players that wanted to come on board in the industry,” he said.

He added that
the amendment of the NBC code was followed with a court injunction to further enforce sub-licensing and avail them of television channels exclusively held unto, in the past.

He explained that SLTV was formed in the wake of what the government did and the objective was to provide quality programming for Nigerians.

Nwafor revealed that available channels included contents on football, movies, news, children’s cartoons, all kinds of programmes at reasonable prices.

‘Right now, we have a package that starts from N2,500, while the full package is only N5000; we believe that is actually affordable for our people.

‘We have created five local channels and three are in the major Nigerian languages, while two are in English, based on our local content.

‘We are going to be creating more eventually in the next one or two years and we are looking at establishing a studio where we can engage creative people for interesting contents.

‘People are looking for things that they can relate to; they want familiar content. W
e are passionate about producing that for our people,” he said.

He added that investing in indigenous satellite television would reduce capital flight and ensure that resources were deployed into developing infrastructure within the country.

He also said that the company was considering floating other initiatives like the Pay-As-You-View, which he said would end exploitation of Nigerians.

He called for the support of Nigerians in ensuring that indigenous satellite television networks thrived in the country, as it had the capacity to create massive employment.

‘The industry needs liberalisation and it is our people that will make it work,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria