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From The Union Buildings

A few weeks ago the families of a township in Scenery Park outside East London, received news that every parent prays they never get to hear.  

They were told that 21 of their children had been found dead, in a tavern. The youngest child was only 13 years old.

Rampant rail and other infrastructure crimes, which cost billions of rands in losses, could be a thing of the past in KwaZulu-Natal following the launch of the Specialised Multi-Disciplinary Economic Infrastructure Task Teams (EITTs).

It is hoped that this South African Police Service initiative will help stop gangs from causing delays and destruction on construction sites and also prevent infrastructure theft, such as cable theft – all of which negatively affect the economy of the country.

A FORMAL recycling buy-back centre in Soweto is uplifting the community in the spirit of Nelson Mandela Month.

Smanga Mthembu, a Soweto entrepreneur who is making a difference in his community through his recycling business, is living up to the Nelson Mandela Day theme to ‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are’.

By transforming an illegal dumping site into a reliable, award-winning recycling business called Umphakathi Recyclers, the 30-year-old is empowering his community and helping to provide dignified funerals, while looking after the environment.

If you are a patient who receives chronic medication from a government clinic, you can now choose to receive your chronic medication at a nearby post office, instead of collecting it from your clinic.

This is according to the South African Post Office Communications Manager Johan Kruger, who says this collection service is available in eight provinces, at 342 post offices. The service is not offered in the Western Cape.

Drug addiction is crippling South Africa’s youth and resulting in broken homes but too often, the link between drug addiction and mental health is not discussed.

People who struggle with mental health issues often use substances to deal with their reality – or vice versa. This is what happened to Thabang Moye (37) from Johannesburg.

MORE ELECTRICITY is being generated in South Africa, thanks to three units adding extra power to the national grid. However, Eskom says South Africans must continue to do what they can to reduce their electricity usage.

Eskom’s efforts to ensure there is enough electricity for everyone in South Africa received a boost after Unit 4 of the Kusile Power Station was officially connected to the power system.

At a glittering ceremony held in Sandton near Johannesburg on 15 June 2022, the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) awarded the Multilingualism Award in the Government/Public Sector category to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

The National Empowerment Fund (NEF), in partnership with the Solidarity Fund, has thrown a young entrepreneur a lifeline.

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which created over one million work opportunities in the past financial year alone, continues to uplift the youth, the poor and the unemployed.

Managed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the EPWP created 1 016 646 work opportunities in the 2021/22 financial year, of which 415 897 (40.91%) were for the youth.