Month: March 2022

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has gazetted a further extension of the National State of Disaster on COVID-19, until 15 April 2022.

In a Government Gazette issued on Monday, the Minister said the extension took into consideration the “need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by organs of state to address the impact of the disaster”.

The country has been under regulations of the National State of Disaster on COVID-19 since March 2020 when South Africa recorded its first cases of the virus.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address in February, said government planned to scrap the National State of Disaster as the country entered a new phase in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Later, Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, said various departments were “working on alternative measures” to replace regulations related to the National State of Disaster which could be presented to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC). 

Photo: Flickr

A Russian air raid struck a children’s hospital on the southern port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, killing at least three people, including a child.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, criticized attacks on hospitals, in response to a reporter’s question at a conference in Rome on Wednesday evening.

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Photo: Kremlin

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has been approached to play a “mediation role” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The President had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon.

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees, at least 2.3 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their country since a violent invasion by Russia commenced two weeks ago, with hundreds of civilians and military officials left dead by the military offensive.

“I outlined our position on the conflict that has unfolded, as well as our belief that the conflict should be resolved through mediation and negotiation between the parties and – if need be – with the help of agencies that can help bring a solution to the conflict.

“President Putin appreciated our balanced approach. We believe this position enables both parties to subject the conflict to mediation and negotiation. Based on our relations with the Russian Federation and as member of BRICS, South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role,” President Ramaphosa said.

In a statement, the Russian government said the Presidents will keep communication lines open between the two countries.

“At the request of [President] Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of Russia spoke about the reasons for and goals of the special military operation to protect Donbass.

“He also informed the South African leader about the situation regarding talks with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. The President of South Africa supported the ongoing political and diplomatic efforts,” the statement said. 

Thanking His Excellency President Vladimir Putin for taking my call today, so I could gain an understanding of the situation that was unfolding between Russia and Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/jzuWXyIjfL

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) March 10, 2022

Photo: Kremlin

Eskom Chief Operations Officer Jan Oberholzer says Stage 4 load shedding will give the power utility enough space to build up fast-depleting emergency reserves and avoid the risk of implementing Stage 6 load shedding.

Stage 4 load shedding was implemented on Wednesday morning following a barrage of breakdowns, shutdowns and trips at power stations across the country. This includes the loss of about seven units in one night, which left the power system under severe pressure.

“We again do apologise for the difficult situation we are placing the people of South Africa in and the negative impact to the economy. However…in order to protect and ensure the integrity of the electrical system, proactive implementation of load shedding is required,” Oberholzer said.

Compounding Eskom’s challenges are the 16 generating units, which Oberholzer said are currently “running at risk” – putting a further 5800MW of power at low to high risk.

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Photo: Unsplash