Cape Town —
Road, School Closures As Rain Pummels KwaZulu Natal
KwaZulu Natal disaster management teams are being assisted by the South African National Defence Force, to help residents affected by torrential rains. People have been evacuated from areas that have experienced mudslides, flooding and structural collapses of buildings and roads. Flooding began in earnest on Monday and is expected to continue today. Heavy rains have affected power lines in many municipalities and technical teams are working to restore supplies. Residents in areas on higher ground have been urged to open their homes to neighbours who are stranded. So far, at least 20 people have lost their lives and scores are missing. According to IOL, the following emergency channels are available: Electricity WhatsApp line 076 791 2449 or email electricity.faults@durban.gov.za, as well as Disaster help desk: (from 10pm to 8am) call 031 367 00 00. From 8am to 10pm contact 031 367 0039. This help desk has been set up to field current emergencies.
President Ramaphosa May Lose Out on ANC Presidency
The re-election of eThekweni mayor Zandile Gumede as regional ANC chairperson over the weekend, dealt another blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid for a second term as ANC president at the national conference in December 2022. This follows a poor showing in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. So far, only the Northern Cape, the smallest ANC province, is “solidly” behind him. The rest are either divided or are firmly opposed to his second term ambitions.
Rolling Blackouts As Eskom’s Medupi Plant Trips Again
The tripping of another unit at the Medupi power station led to rolling blackouts on Monday night. Eskom said it took the measure to protect the national grid, while it says it is working on bringing the unit and others, back online. In the meantime South Africans can expect a constrained supply of electricity for the rest of the week.
South Africa Not the Most Obese African Country but ‘Only Just’
South Africans are the third most obese nation in Africa, after Libya at number one and Egypt at number two. Africa Check, undertook its own investigation following a March 5, 2022 interview on talk radio station 702, where obesity was discussed with Dr Fundile Nyati, chief executive of health advisory service Proactive Health Solutions. Nyati said that South Africa is the most obese nation on the continent. Expert opinion is that It is difficult to compare obesity in different countries because some have more complete data than others. This is not helped by the fact that body mass index is a limited measure of obesity. Africa Check has found that South Africans are in fact third, not first!