Day: April 20, 2022

The South African Post Office (Sapo) has appealed to members of the public to extend a helping hand to the victims of the floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

This as all Post Office branches in Gauteng have been designated as drop-off points for donations to flood victims in KwaZulu-Natal.

“There are 199 Post Office branches in Gauteng, and each one is a drop-off point for donations. The infrastructure of the Post Office makes us perfectly suitable as collection points,” Sapo Group CEO, Nomkhita Mona, said in a statement on Wednesday.

KwaMashu Business Chamber chair, Sthe Mabanga, said the biggest need is tinned food, clothes, shoes, sanitary towels and blankets.

Donation boxes have been placed at all post offices in Gauteng and members of the public are requested to put any item they would like to donate into the boxes.

The boxes will be sealed when they are full and then dispatched to the distribution points in KwaZulu-Natal.

In 2018, the Post office collaborated with Gift of the Givers in Beaufort-West and other towns in the Karoo to provide drop-off points for bottled water.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The City’s Water and Sanitation Department will be conducting a dummy shutdown on the 500mm diameter main water supply to the Delft area. This work will result in the temporary disruption of water supply, such as lower water pressure in this area on Thursday, 21 April 2022, from 10:00 until 11:00. This one-hour dummy shut down will assist in planning for the replacement of the 500mm diameter water meter in Delft South.

This work also forms part of the City’s pro-active maintenance programme for its bulk water infrastructure, which will ensure continued water supply to the residents through the reduction of unaccounted water.

The objective is to ascertain if the size of the area impacted by the water supply disruption can be reduced. The actual meter replacement will then be conducted from 10:00 until 15:00 on Thursday, 28 April 2022.

Residents are kindly advised to store water upfront in clean, sealed containers for use during this period and to ensure that their taps are closed to avoid water loss and/or damage when the supply is restored.

The City regrets any inconvenience caused, but it is imperative that it maintains and upgrades its water supply infrastructure to benefit its consumers.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The South African Reserve Bank on Tuesday celebrated 100 years since issuing its first banknotes.

The banknotes were issued 10 months after the SARB was established on 30 June 1921, the Bank said in a statement.

“Prior to that, South Africa had no monetary authority. However, the commercial banks were responsible for issuing banknotes into circulation.

“From 19 April 1922, the SARB was granted the sole authority to produce, issue and destroy South African currency, and is entrusted with ensuring the availability and integrity of the South African currency,” the SARB said.

It said it has invested significantly in the currency’s design and security features to protect the public from counterfeiting, noting that its banknotes are highly regarded globally.

The security features embedded in South Africa’s currency represent the most innovative advancements in global design and technology.

“For South Africa, its currency is a symbol of national pride and reflects the country’s cultural heritage, economic industries and the big five animals,” said the bank.

In 1961, the rand replaced the South African pound.

“The rand takes its name from the Witwatersrand (white waters’ ridge), the ridge where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found in Johannesburg,” said the bank.

From time to time, the SARB issues banknotes and coins to commemorate key events or milestones in the country. In 2018, the SARB was the first central bank to issue commemorative banknotes in all five denominations. These commemorative banknotes and coins are placed into circulation for everyday use and maintain their face value.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Changes surrounding the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) mean that more residents will be eligible for housing assistance. Residents are encouraged to apply for this assistance.

It was previously required that the Western Cape Government administered FLISP applications be linked to a mortgage. Now other sources of finance, like an employer assisted housing scheme and an unsecured loan, among others, may be used to acquire a property. Applicants with a household income of between R3 501 and R22 000 can access this assistance. In the past, many people could not qualify for FLISP due to them not qualifying for a home loan or mortgage. Applicants applying for FLISP do not need to be on the City’s Housing Needs Register.

‘It is important that residents begin to look at alternatives to the State-subsidised Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing option. This is especially important if we are to find ways to tackle the housing challenges, amid national budget cuts and greater demand for affordable accommodation due to the bad state of the national economy. The City cannot solve the housing challenge on its own. Sometimes residents are not eligible for BNG housing due to a number of reasons, such as having owned property before or having a household income that exceeds the threshold of R3 500 per month.

‘The change to the FLISP subsidy is a step toward increasing the affordable accommodation offering in Cape Town and making housing more inclusive to people who earn up to R22 000 per month. This is in line with our Human Settlements Strategy that advocates for a more diverse, innovative and partnership-driven approach to the delivery of more affordable housing options for residents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.

Before you can apply for a FLISP housing subsidy through the Western Cape Government, you have to meet the standard, national criteria:

• You earn between R3 501and R22 000

• You are a South African citizen or have permanent residency in South Africa

• You haven’t received a government housing subsidy before

• You’re married or cohabiting

• You’re single with financial dependants

• You’re over 18-years-old

• You haven’t owned fixed residential property before

The City of Cape Town offers five main housing opportunities. Each opportunity has specific qualifying criteria:

• BNG, formerly known as RDP houses

• GAP

• Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP)

• Community Residential Units (CRU)

• Social Housing

You can register:

• on the Housing Needs Register online;

• at your nearest City housing office;

• at Parow Walk-in Centre or Cape Town Civic Centre.

Before you can apply for a housing subsidy through the City of Cape Town, you have to meet the standard, national criteria as well as the selection criteria:

• You have to be over the age of 18.

• You cannot own any other property or previously owned property.

• You must be married or living with a partner, or single with financial dependants (who are able to prove their dependency).

• If you are 60 years of age or older or if you are disabled you may apply as a single person.

• You have to be a South African citizen, or must have a permanent residence permit.

• You must be legally competent to sign a contract.

• You cannot apply if you receive a national government housing subsidy already or if you are married to someone who does.

Beneficiaries of City housing projects will be selected in accordance with the City’s Housing Allocation Policy and Housing Needs Register to ensure housing opportunities are made available in a fair and transparent manner that prevents queue jumping and to those who qualify for housing as per the South African legislation.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has constituted a Health Team of National and Provincial Department officials to conduct an impact assessment of the floods on health service delivery in KwaZulu-Natal.

The task team will also conduct an assessment of the costs to repair the damages, to submit to the National Treasury for funding consideration.

According to the department of Health, the task team will be led by Director-General Dr Sandile Buthelezi, supported by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Head of Department for Health, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, with the help of technical infrastructure experts.

This follows a site-visit by Minister Phaahla accompanied by the Deputy Minister, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo and KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health, Nomagugu Simelane, to various flood-damaged health facilities around eThekwini District on Tuesday.

“According to the preliminary costs of the damages, it is estimated at over R187 000 000.00 to repair the health infrastructure, which include 23 hospitals, 34 clinics, three community health centres and five office buildings,” the department of Health said in a statement.

The department said that there has been huge damage to infrastructure which negatively impacts general health service delivery in six affected districts of eThekwini, Ugu, Ilembe, uMgungudlovu, King Cetshwayo and uMkhanyakude.

“Departmental experts who include the engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and construction managers have classified the damage to health infrastructure as moderate compared to the damages experienced in October 2017 in eThekwini.

“Most damages manifest in the form of weakened roof coverings, failed waterproofing membranes causing water ingress, embankments and retaining wall failures.”

The department said that damages that would require capital expenditure to replace the entire roof coverings and embankment re-stabilisation are at Newtown Community Health Centre, Wentworth Regional Hospital, GJ Crookes Hospital and Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital.

In addition, the Pathology Forensic Team has completed 377 post-mortems of the 455 bodies recovered and is left with close to 50 bodies which would be finalised today (Wednesday).

The department has called on families and communities to collect the remains for burial, and in case of indigent families, they may contact the provincial government for assistance.

Addressing water challenges

Minister Phaahla also visited the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi to inspect the challenge of water supply as a result of the floods.

Work is proceeding to fill the reservoir through water tankering as they have run out of stored water and are not being supplied through the ordinary water pipe supply.

“This is done with the support of ABSA Bank which has donated 20 water tanks to assist communities. This has an effect on the proper functioning of the hospital with effect on many surgical processes to be performed in the hospital,” the department said.

It is estimated that water supply will be normalised by midday on Wednesday.

The delegation also visited the Newtown Health Centre where the provision of services has come to a halt.

“The delegation committed to restore services through deployment of mobile facilities to ensure community access whilst feasibility on the integrity of the structure is been conducted by structural engineers.”

The Minister also visited the Amaoti Community Hall where displaced people have settled to inspect work to supply people with necessary chronic medicine.

The provincial department has further made commitment to dispatch staff into communities to ensure people have access to medicine at closer proximity.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Rapid Advice

Cryptococcal disease is one of the most important opportunistic infections among people living with advanced HIV disease and is a major contributor to illness, disability and mortality, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

New guidelines developed by WHO strongly recommend a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B as part of the preferred induction regimen for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in people living with HIV.

This new recommendation was made following the results of a multicentre randomized controlled trial conducted in Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe showing that a simplified regimen with a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B paired with other standard medicines (flucytosine and fluconazole) is as effective as the previous WHO standard of care, with the benefits of lower toxicity and fewer monitoring demands (1). The single high dose containing regimen was also preferred by health care providers because it took less time to prepare, required less monitoring, and may shorten a patient’s length of hospital stay.

These new guidelines will only translate into lives saved if a proactive approach is taken to improving access to liposomal amphotericin B. At this moment, only a few suppliers have received regulatory approval, and although a preferential pricing agreement has been negotiated with the manufacturer of the originator product, uptake has been low across low- and middle-income countries.

“To see the maximum benefits of this optimized regimen, an international effort involving multiple stakeholders is urgently needed to ensure a reliable and sustainable access to liposomal amphotericin B and other antifungal agents,” said Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STIs Programmes. “WHO is committed to helping all countries adopt and implement this new recommendation – so that people living with HIV no longer need to die from a treatable infection.”

The 2022 Guidelines for Diagnosing, Preventing and Managing Cryptococcal Disease will be available online in the coming weeks.

Source: World Health Organization

Responding to the opening of the first trial before the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic (CAR), Abdoulaye Diarra, Amnesty International’s Central Africa researcher, said:

“The opening of the first trial before the SCC is a long-awaited day and a moment of truth for many people in CAR. For too long, victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been made to wait for justice and reparations. The court must now ensure that Issa Sallet Adoum, Yaouba Ousman and Mahamat Tahir are tried according to fair trial standards.

“We also call on the CAR authorities and MINUSCA to step up their efforts to arrest other individuals wanted for crimes under international law by the SCC. Today’s hearing must be the first in a series of trials by the court. Alleged war criminals in positions of greater authority must also face justice for the atrocities committed in CAR.”

Source: Amnesty International