Zimbabwe is grappling with the second biggest outbreak of cholera in its history, with cases rapidly spreading across the country. It started on 12 February 2023 and to date, more than 600 people have died from cholera and over 35 00 infected. To avoid people from continuously falling sick and to save lives, Zimbabwe has to invest in its water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.

Cholera is a potentially deadly disease, caused by bacteria that live in water. Access to clean water and proper sanitation infrastructure and hygiene measures reduces the likelihood and severity of cholera outbreaks. The problem of recurring outbreaks in Zimbabwe, is a problem of old and degraded water- and sewage systems in the urban areas. Certain cities, such as Harare, have endured months without running water, with raw sewage becoming a common sight in the densely populated suburbs.

Rural communities are affected because they are resorting to drinking unsafe water from the surrounding rivers. The lack of substantial, adequate rain has compounded the situation both in urban and rural areas with the water table depleting.

In Zimbabwe’s Buhera District, where Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) teams supported the Ministry of Health and Child Care in the fight against cholera for three months, villagers had to drink river water, which they shared wild and domestic animals. Boreholes have broken down, leaving villagers with no other options. Unsurprisingly, cholera did not spare Buhera.

MSF also intervened in Mbire District, 200km north of Harare. In Mbire, our teams noticed there was 52% coverage for safe water sources, while 48% was from the river, and just a paltry 37% latrine coverage. When people from Mbire work their gardens and fields along the river, they consume water from the river, which is unsafe. As there were no toilets in the field, community members resorted to using bush toilet along the river.

Mining communities are also recording a high number of cases. They attract a transient population of artisanal miners and the surrounding communities. Miners access water from contaminated sources like dumped mining pits and nearby rivers, creating a breeding ground for cholera. This is a case of Shamva district where MSF teams were recently supporting. Open defecation and limited sanitation facilities further exacerbate the situation.

Another population recording a high number of cases is a conservative religious community who object to contemporary medication. They believe in using water as a way of cleansing, whereby sometimes contaminating water sources, with many cases believed to have emanated from their gatherings.

The common element between all these communities, is the lack of access to clean water and adequate sewage facilities. This problem urgently needs to be addressed to get control over the cholera outbreaks.

In theory, cholera vaccines could also help to control cholera. Unfortunately, there’s a global shortage of those vaccines today and Zimbabwe doesn’t have enough doses to cover a wider breadth of the population. (The situation is the same in any other place: no country has enough cholera vaccines today.) This shortage is not going to be solved soon so countries shouldn’t count on vaccination to prevent or curb cholera outbreaks. This stresses the urgency of strengthening water and sanitation systems.

The longer-term solutions include replacing the antiquated water and sewage systems, a sustainable waste disposal system and the provision of piped safe water. The provision of safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene practices is critical to prevent and control the transmission of cholera – and other waterborne diseases too.

In response to the 2023 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, the government and non-governmental organizations launched extensive efforts to combat the disease. These combined efforts appear to be working, but more effort will be needed to get to zero cases. MSF continues to support cholera response around the country.

Caring for patients and enhancing cholera prevention measures are both critical elements to bringing the outbreaks under control. But MSF warns that, without meaningful action to ensure people’s access to safe drinking water, cholera is likely to resurface regularly in the country.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

The Mossel Bay, Overstrand and Swartland K-9 Units, in partnership with the Rural Safety Units (RSUs) in the Overstrand and Swartland areas, have once again been actively combatting crime. Between 22 and 28 April 2024, these units, along with various other municipal law enforcement agencies and the South African Police Service (SAPS), arrested seven (7) individuals for various crimes. Of these, one (1) suspect was apprehended in the Overstrand municipal area, two (2) were arrested in Mossel Bay and four (4) in Swartland.

The Mossel Bay K-9 unit conducted operations in Heiderand, Voorbaai, Hartenbos, Sonskyn Valley, Danna Bay and Kwanonqaba. The units also manned a number of roadblocks at strategic points, and distributed safety and security awareness flyers to community members in Kwanonqaba.

The arrests were made for:

x2 drunk driving.

The Swartland units conducted operations in the broader Malmesbury, including Chatsworth, Illengelethu, Abbotsdale and Moorreesburg areas. The individuals were arrested for:

x1 possession of a firearm;
x1 alleged rape; 
x1 dealing in liquor; and
x1 possession of drugs.

The units confiscated:

x2 mandrax tablets; 
x1 packet of tik; and
large quantities of liquor.

Amongst others the Overstand arrests included:

x1 for possession of drugs.

This unit confiscated:

x3 bankies dagga; and
x1 bankies tik.

Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen said, “Week in and week out, our K9 and RSU’s are diligently working in their respective areas to ensure safer communities are created. Over the last two weeks, Premier Alan Winde and I have had the opportunity to see firsthand how dedicated these units are in ensuring crime is eradicated from their areas. As the Western Cape Government, we will continue to support the crime-fighting efforts of these units, as it will assist in creating areas where community members can live without fear and in dignity.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) calls on the public to use water wisely and sparingly as water levels drop in the Mpumalanga Province. 

According to the latest DWS weekly state of reservoirs report of 29 April 2024, the Mpumalanga Province recorded a 0.7% drop from 98.2% to 97.5% on average water levels over the past week. In the Water Management Areas (WMAs), the Olifants WMA dropped from 87.2% to 87.0% and the Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropped from 98.4% to 97.3%. 

In terms of water levels per district, Ehlanzeni remained unchanged at 99.7%, Gert Sibande dropped from 97.1% to 95.7% and Nkangala dropped from 98.6% to 98.4%.
Ehlanzeni District and the Lowveld recorded mixed results with slightly more listed dams dropping in water while the rest recorded some improvements. On the positive, the listed dams that recorded improvements in water levels include Blyderivierspoort Dam increasing from 100.4% to 100.5%, Driekoppies from 100.3% to 100.5%, Klipkopjes from 99.6% to 99.8%, Primkop from 100.6% to 101.1%, and Da Gama from 99.8% to 100.3%.

Dropping in water levels in the Lowveld include Buffelskloof from 100.2% to 100.1%, Longmere from 100.2% to 99.8%, Witklip from 100.4% to 100.3%, Kwena from 100.4% to 100.3%, Inyaka from 100.4% to 100.3%, and Ohrigstad from 69.1% to 68.2%.

The majority of listed dams in Gert Sibande District recorded declines in water levels except for Westoe Dam which recorded an improvement from 70.5% to 70.8%.

On the decline in Gert Sibande District, Grootdraai Dam dropped from 97.1% to 96.9%, Nooitgedacht from 96.9% to 95.8%, Vygeboom from 100.6% to 100.5%, Jericho from 69.5% to 68.5%, Morgenstond from 100.5% to 90.0%, and Heyshope from 103.0% to 102.2 

In Nkangala District, Witbank Dam remained unchanged at 99.0% with the rest of the listed dams recording declines in water levels.

The listed dams that recorded drops in water levels in Nkangala District include Middelburg Dam dropping from 96.5% to 96.2%, Loskop from 100.3% to 100.2%, and Rhenosterkop / Mkhombo dropping from 95.8% to 95.5%. 

The Department of Water and Sanitation encourages the public to be more responsible and conservative in their water use as we enter the dry winter season taking into consideration that water has no substitute and South Africa is a water scarce country.

For more information, contact Wisane Mavasa, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 060 561 8935 or Themba Khoza on 066 301 6962

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.

Premier Alan Winde hosted a digicon today where he and the Western Cape Government’s Special Advisor on Energy, Alwie Lester, gave an update on numerous energy initiatives the provincial government, along with other stakeholders, is implementing to make the Western Cape the first province to beat load shedding.

“We are making steady progress. This is thanks to the hard work and expertise of our Energy Council, which brings together all of our departments and municipalities as well as our universities and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the energy crisis,” said Premier Winde.

The provincial government’s drive towards making the Western Cape energy secure is informed by the Western Cape Energy Resilience Programme (WCERP). Among the programme’s objectives is to understand the current and future energy needs of the province and its residents, with particular emphasis on alternative energy sources and forging partnerships and enabling the environment to reduce the region’s reliance on Eskom power.

The Premier said, “Our province is well on its way to meeting its target of generating 5 700 MW of energy by 2035. With the resilience plan as our blueprint, we are mapping out and implementing measures, both short and long-term, to beat mass power cuts. While we seek out and implement short-term measures, we must always keep one eye on the future and what our future energy needs will be, so that we don’t face this crisis again.”

The WCERP consists of the:

Load Shedding Relief Programme (LSRP)
Provincial Integrated Resource Plan (PIRP)
Demand Side Management Programme (DSMP)
New Energy Generation Programme (NEGP)
Network Development Programme (NDP)

Mr Lester stated that there has been good progress in all of these focus areas.

Load Shedding Relief Packs

A key objective of the resilience plan is offering support to vulnerable communities and citizens. Load shedding has a disproportionately higher impact on the poor. Since late 2023, the WCG has been distributing load shedding relief packs to vulnerable residents across the province. “Over and above the more high-level interventions we are leading, we have also been handing out load shedding relief kits (emergency lighting and solar charging systems) to Western Cape Department of Social development-funded facilities, like gender-based violence shelters and school learners. In any way possible, we want to help our residents, in this case, by offering them these packs in the hopes of making them feel less vulnerable during power cuts,” explained Premier Winde.

To date:

4 000 packs have been distributed to social development facilities
This week the next phase was rolled out, focusing on the education sector. More than 16 000 packs have been distributed to quintile 1-3 schools. 
In total, 96 000 packs are to be distributed to vulnerable grade 1 and 12 learners across the province.

Helping SMMEs: Alternative Energy Support Programme

Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME)s – the engines of the Western Cape economy – have borne the brunt of the energy crisis. Since load shedding commenced in 2007, the Western Cape has lost between R48.6 billion and R61.2 billion in real GDP. In the 2023/24 financial year, the provincial government allocated R12 billion to its Alternative Energy Support Programme which is rolling out solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems to 12 trading hubs in 7 municipalities where SMMEs operate. This is helping about 50 businesses to stay open, sustaining more than 100 jobs. 135 businesses are also benefitting from mobile power solutions procured by the provincial government to keep them trading despite power cuts.

Enabling and empowering municipalities
With financial and capacity support from the WCG, the Hessequa Municipality is implementing a renewable energy project to make the town of Riversdale load shedding free. Mr Lester explained that the municipality has gone to market with its bid. He added “That bid closed at the end of April. The WCG and municipality are currently evaluating the bid and within the next few weeks we should be able to announce a successful bidder for that project.”

The initiative is made up of 3 phases:

Phase 1 is a 4 MW solar plant with 2 MWh battery storage
Phase 2 is an additional 6 MW solar plant with 2MWh battery storage and 
Phase 3 is 6 MWh battery storage to provide a complete solution delivering a 10MW solar plant with 10 MWh battery storage after 3 years. 

The Saldanha Bay Municipality is also in the process of rolling out a renewable energy project. A 50-hectare site has been earmarked for the development of a 1.5 GW gas-to-power project, in partnership with ArcelorMittal. A service provider has been appointed to initiate the next steps in this process.

The WCG’s Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Initiative develops and capacitates municipalities to implement renewable energy solutions. This initiative has so far seen the successful request for information from more than 100 potential energy generation projects. Around 2 000 MWs are already in the market.

Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG)
The uptake of small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) has been significant. 220 MW of small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) has been registered by municipalities across the province so far. New GIS data shows that an estimated 835 MW of solar PV has been installed to date across the Western Cape. 

24 municipalities are being supported with SSEG interventions, with 21 providing compensation for feedback of electricity. Mr Lester pointed out, “Between last year October and January 2024 nationally there was close to 4 500 MW of SSEG that came into the system. Roughly 35% of that is sitting in the Western Cape.” The Premier added that the WCG will keep providing support to municipalities to in turn make it easier for private households to explore and implement alternative energy solutions.

Protecting critical services
To protect as far as possible essential municipal services, early in 2023 the WCG allocated R89 million to local governments to ensure services such as water treatment and sewage infrastructure are still operational during power cuts:

195 health facilities have generator capacity to continue essential services during load shedding.
47 clinics have completed inverter installations and 
10 hospitals have been exempted up to Stage 6 load shedding. 

The Premier stated, “we are also taking steps to save power and manage demand for energy in facilities we manage.” Energy-saving LED interventions were undertaken at 52 schools with 23 schools fitted with this type of lighting, and work under way at a further 29 schools. The total estimated annual energy savings of the 23 schools is 536 MWh per year.

At 18 schools 418 kWp solar PV and 653 kWh of battery storage have been installed thus far. This means when the power goes out up 17 000 learners can still be taught. A further 56 schools are in line to receive these alternative power systems.

Premier Winde concluded, “In just under 2 years we have made significant progress in tackling the energy crisis, which has plagued our country for over 16 years now. There has been a reprieve from load shedding in the short-term. At least we will be better prepared in the Western Cape for its unwelcomed return.”

To watch a recording of the briefing, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/A-3A9M_iyNw?feature=shared

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.