WC Finance MEC says education and health are budget priorities over next 3 years
This includes R101 billion for education, R100 billion for health, and just over R6 billion for housing.
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The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
Cupcakes of Hope spread hope one cupcake at a time
SWEET treats with the power to help raise funds for children fighting cancer – this is how NPO Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer gives back to the community's most vulnerable. Also read: Cupcakes of Hope raises funds for childhood cancer The NPO is partnering with paediatrician, Dr Melissa Chettiar, on September 2, to sell delicious cupcakes at Kingsway Medical Centre, Suite 104 on the first floor. She explained that statistics from the SA Registry for Cancer record a rate of around 1000 new cases per year of childhood cancers in children under 16, pointing to a disturbing rise in cases. She said she has had cases where she diagnosed young children with cancer. 'These are heartbreaking cases. I just want to create awareness among the public, so I partnered with Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer last year, and again this year. It's an amazing initiative that raises funds for parents of children with cancer for transport and medical costs. This money is a tremendous help for parents, because chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other treatment is so expensive. Many parents cannot afford it,' said Melissa. She said that she supports such initiatives 100% and hopes the rest of the doctors at Kingsway Medical Centre can support it as well. Cupcakes are sold at R20 each, 4 for R60 or 6 for R100, and proceeds go towards funds for transport and medical costs for children with cancer. For more information, contact Shyanne Kanayee on 079 343 2791 or Adel Naidoo on 072 090 8877. What to look out for: It is important to pick up early warning signs, as the earlier the diagnosis, the better. Lumps or swellings on the body. Easy bruising and bleeding of the gums. Bleeding in or swelling of the joints. Headaches, loss of vision. A healthy child who starts having difficulty walking. Unexplained fever or weight loss over a period of time. It is important to visit a general practitioner or paediatrician for an early assessment if your child exhibits the above symptoms. For more South Coast Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox. Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
Mpumalanga MEC for health leads campaign to encourage healthy lifestyle choices
The MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, led healthcare professionals in a door-to-door initiative to implement the Cheka Impilo Campaign in Siyatsemba on Tuesday, August 5. According to Manzini, the campaign is part of the department's ongoing efforts to increase testing and screening for HIV/Aids, TB, STIs and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, to initiate more people on HIV treatment and to encourage healthy lifestyle choices. 'The campaign also aims to find and treat missing TB cases and reduce the burden of disease in the province,' said Manzini. Manzini emphasised that the Department of Health in Mpumalanga is committed to improving performance on primary healthcare indicators by ensuring communities use the campaign to detect diseases early and receive appropriate treatment to live healthier lives. ALSO READ: Mbombela beauty queen wish to inspire others through initiative 'The campaign is crucial in ensuring that diseases are detected and treated at an early stage to prevent illness and maintain a strong immune system. We therefore urge communities to prioritise their health and undergo regular check-ups at their nearest health facilities at least every three months,' said Manzini. ALSO READ: Mandela Day Boxing Championship brings thrilling action to KaNyamazane The campaign also visited a local day care centre to encourage women to make use of available healthcare services, such as cervical cancer screening and other primary healthcare offerings. It also ensured that all children at the centre received their immunisations.
!['Eskom in good space, the lights are on' Ramokgopa says [VIDEO]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.citizen.co.za%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2FKgosientsho-Ramokgopa.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
The Citizen
6 days ago
- The Citizen
'Eskom in good space, the lights are on' Ramokgopa says [VIDEO]
Ramokgopa said it's no secret that Eskom experienced 'significant challenges' earlier in the year Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom is in a good space and South Africans shouldn't worry about the utility burning through billions of rands in diesel to keep the lights on because it's all part of the plan. Ramokgopa was briefing the media on the state of the electricity grid on Wednesday. The minister cited improvements in performance and stability across the national grid, despite Eskom spending billions on diesel. Challenges Ramokgopa said it's no secret that Eskom experienced 'significant challenges'. 'At the beginning of the financial year, in April, we relied more and more on the diesel to be able to support us, and this diesel was able to support us because it's meant to support us during those periods of difficulty.' ALSO READ: Eskom burns nearly R6 billion on diesel to keep lights on during winter Ramokgopa said Eskom has a budget of R12 billion for diesel for the current financial year, and so far has spent just below half of that. 'We've spent about R5 billion. Then the next question you'll ask, but you said at the beginning of the financial year, we have spent close to over 40% of your annual allocation. It is because it is during winter when the intensity of the demand reaches the peak, and that's when we are likely going to experience challenges if some units fail, because we don't have the headroom for us to be able to absorb those failures of the units. 'What do we do? We then call on our ace card, which is the pickers come and help us. So they're designed to do that. I mean, just to give you a context for the period of 1 April to 31 August in 2023, just that period, we used about R14.8 billion,' Ramokgopa said. Load shedding Ramokgopa said there will be no load shedding for the rest of the winter period, going into the summer months. He highlighted an improvement in the Energy Availability Factor (EAF), the reduced use of diesel and lower outage slips. Ramokgopa said the return to service of Kusile Unit 6 and Medupi Unit 4 were among the reasons there has been no load shedding this winter. He also said improvements at other power stations have eased the burden on Eskom. 'One of those exceptional performers, from an improvement point of view, is Tutuka. So we've gotten back unit 1 2 3 4, and 5, that's exceptional. So now we take that station from an ICU. It's in a general ward, now it will work on its own, and then it starts running. When it starts running, the light will just be on and on and on.' ALSO READ: Eskom adds more power to electricity grid as G20 summit approaches Affordable electricity Ramokgopa said that as South Africa marks nearly 90 days without load shedding, they want to make electricity affordable. 'The point is that when they are on, the lights must be affordable. That's the next question that is confronting us, and you know that in the immediate future, extension of Koeberg unit number two, we really want nuclear to perform that function. 'The base load is clean, it's reliable, it's efficient. From an operational efficiency point of view, we know that it's one of the cheapest sources of electricity when it's operational.' 'Within touching distance' With the energy availability factor improving from 55% last year to 70% this year, Ramokgopa said the plants were maintaining a stable power supply. 'Moving in the right direction, we made the promise that we are going to address the situation. We have made the promise that we are confident of our technical ability to resolve what many thought was an intractable challenge. We are within that touching distance. So we are saying that the next phase that we are addressing is load reduction and the cost of electricity.' READ NEXT: 17% of SA's electricity consumed by a few giant consumers – at huge discounts
