Publisher

Melissa van Wyk* is a 35-year-old high school teacher from Port Elizabeth who relied on daily walks and a good diet to keep healthy.

School infrastructure

The Japie Greyling Primary School in Vereeniging has been refurbished as part of the '94+ Projects for Madiba' initiative which was launched in April last year.

The school, unveiled by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last year has been equipped with ramps and toilet facilities for children in wheelchairs.

Applications    :    The Director General, Department of Social Development, Private Bag X901, Pretoria, 0001, Physical Address: HSRC Building, 134 Pretorius Street

For Attention    :    Ms E de Waal

Closing Date    :    18 December 2015

As the country grapples with the drought challenge, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government has put plans in place to minimise the impact of the drought on its citizens, especially the farmers.

Local government

From early next year, commuters in Ekurhuleni will move around in new state-of-the-art buses.

The new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) known as Harambee is expected to carry more than three million citizens from across nine towns of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan and to change the face of public transport and infrastructure in the region.

Harambee is a Swahili word meaning “pulling or working together in unity”.

South Africa has for many years managed to keep a firm grip on fighting malaria infections in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and Limpopo where the disease is most prevalent.

The Department of Health has made a lot of progress in promoting healthy lifestyles for South African citizens over the past year, says Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.

The Minister’s statement is contained in the department’s annual report for the 2014/15 financial year, which was recently tabled in Parliament.

“In the year under review, it is evident that major strides were made towards a healthy and long life for all South Africans.

The Department of Environmental Affairs’ Working on Fire (WoF) programme has plans in place to support farmers who are affected by climate change.

“During El Nino farmers continuously experience veld fires on an ongoing basis. Just this year for instance, we anticipate that we will have to fight fires that are close to 3 000,” said Environmental Affairs Minister Ednah Molewa.

Minister Molewa indicated that there is a budget allocated to support small and commercial farmers.

As the country prepares to enjoy the festive season, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has called on motorists and pedestrians to be more careful and change their behaviour on the country’s roads during this time.

The festive period is a time when the country loses thousands of lives due to road accidents.