Government has undertaken to improve living conditions and broaden economic opportunities in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality following appeals by residents to President Cyril Ramaphosa and members of the national and provincial executive and local government leadership.

Current and planned interventions to achieve social and economic upliftment range from expanded support for small businesses and security of tenure for people living and working on farms, to repairs to major roadways that serve as economic arteries and intensified efforts to spare communities from crime.

Government set out its plans for the district during an engagement with residents and stakeholder groups at the first District Development Model Presidential Imbizo undertaken by the Government of National Unity on Friday, 23 August 2024.

President Cyril Ramaphosa led the engagement at the Tsakane Stadium in Brakpan under the theme “Enhancing cooperative governance and integrated delivery.”

The event allowed scores of residents to raise issues and make suggestions publicly to government leaders while President Ramaphosa called on members of national, provincial and local government to respond at once.

Residents and organisational representatives raised a variety of service delivery issues, such as unemployment, lack of housing, agriculture funding, shortages of water and illegal businesses. 

During this interaction, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and other leaders outlined efforts address these matters and to improve economic prospects more broadly in the district.

Mayor Xhakaza assured residents the city’s Water and Sanitation Department was working tirelessly to ensure municipal services were reliable and sustainable.

The department has been allocated R590 million in 2024/25 for key projects including R30 million for a new 30Ml reservoir in Germiston; R15 million for the construction of a new sewer pipeline at Pomona and R10 million for a new water pipeline in Nigel.

To mitigate the challenge the city power cuts and load reduction the City has undertaken to install backup generators at 21 water supply infrastructure sites such as reservoirs and pump stations. Some sites where the backup generators installed include Sunward Park, Tsakane and Germiston reservoirs.

In partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government and National government, the City has undertaken mega human settlement projects, which are at various stages of pre-planning and construction.

The City has provided hundreds of serviced sites or stands that feature permanent infrastructure such as water, electricity and sanitation and are ready for top structures for integrated human settlements, and the development of transport services.

Ekurhuleni is implementing a range of housing projects and related infrastructure totalling just under half a billion rand at Brakpan Old Location, Esselen Park, John Dube, Helderwyk, Birchleigh, Leeuwpoort, Daggafontein and Palm Ridge.

To mitigate the challenge the city power cuts and load reduction the City has undertaken to install backup generators at 21 water supply infrastructure sites such as reservoirs and pump stations. Some sites where the backup generators installed include Sunward Park, Tsakane and Germiston reservoirs.

Other actions under way and in the pipeline in the district include public employment projects such as the Vala Zonke pothole repair initiative; the opening in the coming weeks of a shared facility that will bring together small businesses under one roof; the revival of dormant industrial parks, and the provision of solar panels to needy residents in an initiative that has the potential to create 30 000 jobs.

Residents were also informed by Ministers of the fast-tracking of land claims totalling R53 million as well as a new water pump station that will relieve shortages in the district.

As part of the build-up to the Imbizo, Minister of Transport Ms Barbara Creecy paid an oversight visit to the rehabilitation work construction crews are performing on 14km of the R21 freeway.

Preceding the Imbizo was a series of build-up activities led by Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MECs and Mayors, across the Ekurhuleni Municipality and the Gauteng Province.

Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mr Mzwanele Nyhontsho presented title deeds to land tenure beneficiaries who now have security on land bought by government at a cost of R12 million.

Residents, businesses and organisations attending the Imbizo had access to a range of onsite services offered by various government departments and agencies and non-governmental partners.

Exhibitors at the service fair ranged from the Department of Home Affairs and funders for small businesses, to organisations that help people who are affected by substance abuse disorder.

President Ramaphosa welcomed the openness with which residents had shared their experiences and ideas with government and the President emphasised the administration’s focus on job creation through partnership with the private sector.

The President also assured residents that government will attend to housing shortages and will step up the fight against crime.

On the eve of September as Public Service Month, the President called on public servants to deliver the upliftment of the people of Ekurhuleni.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.

On August 14, following the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Africa CDC) declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of continental security, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized it as a public health emergency of international concern.

Mpox, a highly contagious disease transmitted primarily through close contact with infected individuals, has seen a significant rise in cases this year, with more than 17,000 reported cases and more than 500 deaths, predominantly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Symptoms include a blistering rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, and muscle aches. Experts told Human Rights Watch the current variant of the virus seems to differ from previous outbreaks, with increased transmission occurring heterosexually and spreading to children through close interactions within families.

The Africa CDC has emphasized the need for global solidarity in combating this outbreak. Dr. Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC’s director-general, has called on the international community to avoid punitive measures such as travel bans against African countries. There is a critical need for support, particularly access to vaccines, from countries with substantial stockpiles that are not experiencing any active outbreaks. “Don’t punish Africa,” Kaseya urged, pointing to the unfair treatment the continent endured during the Covid-19 pandemic and stressing the importance of a fair and equitable global response.

Global health experts have warned that the African continent is “always last in line for access to lifesaving tools.” The continent’s delayed access to HIV/AIDS treatments, Ebola response resources, Covid-19 vaccines, and now mpox interventions, underscores the persistent inequities in global health access. The response to the 2022 mpox outbreak, which primarily affected men who have sex with men, highlighted the risks of stigmatizing gay men. Human Rights Watch has previously warned that some actors exploit public health crises to marginalize vulnerable groups and stressed the need to place human rights at the center of any response.

As the current mpox outbreak continues, it is essential that human rights principles are applied to this public health challenge. Ensuring all people, regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic status, have access to necessary healthcare resources is not only a legal and moral imperative, but a critical component in controlling the spread of this and future infectious diseases.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from US President Joe Biden this evening.

The Spokesman for the Presidency said the call came within the framework of the intensive mediation efforts exerted by the two countries to cease fire in the Gaza Strip and exchange hostages. The two presidents reviewed developments in the negotiation round currently hosted by Cairo and stressed the importance of the concerned parties’ commitment to overcoming obstacles and showing flexibility to complete the agreement.

The President was keen to emphasize that reaching an immediate ceasefire agreement is of utmost importance at this critical time, whether for the need to put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering in the Strip, or to end escalation and spare the region the scourge of expanding the conflict, with its serious repercussions on all the peoples of the region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.