While Eskom is currently implementing Stage 2 rotational loadshedding which will continue until 11pm, the power utility has announced that there will be no loadshedding tomorrow Sunday 24 March.
This is due to several improvements to the system over the last few days, including emergency diesel which arrived via ship, aswell as boiler leaks being fixed.
The power utility has thanked all South Africans for their patience and cooperation throughout this difficult period, although the damage on the economy is yet to be determined after almost a week of Stage 4 loadshedding, which ended yesterday.
In 2018, a staggering 20 193 items valued at R1 774 993,70 were not returned to libraries. The City’s Library and Information Service hopes the lure of Fine Free Week, which coincides with South African Library Week, will see most if not all of these items returned.
This year, the theme for Library Week is Collaborate @ Your Library. The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zaid Badroodie has urged patrons to take hands with librarians to make access to information a reality by returning those items that are long overdue.
No questions will be asked and any fines that have accrued on these items will be waived.
SA Library Week was initiated in 2001 for libraries across the country to use as an opportunity to market their services and to promote the important role that libraries play in a democratic society by advancing literacy, making the basic human right of freedom of access to information a reality, and promoting tolerance and respect among all South Africans.
“Library Week also coincides with Human Rights Day. The Bill of Rights recognises the freedom of access to information as a basic human right. It is therefore concerning that four of the top titles not returned last year are study guides. By not returning items, someone else is being deprived of the right to access those materials and, in this case, are denied an educational resource.”
Patrons are reminded that, while no fines will be charged, previous fines will not be written off during this week. This means if you take back currently overdue items, you will not pay a fine on those materials returned.
However, if you have already accrued a fine for late/lost or damaged items returned to the library previously, you will still be liable to pay that fine.
Eskom says it will continue to implement Stage 2 load-shedding until Sunday, 17 March 2019, as a result of a shortage of generation capacity due to plant breakdowns and the need to manage diesel and water resources.
The power utility says the management of the diesel and water resources is essential to ensure that the impact of the potential stage of load-shedding in the week ahead can be reduced.
The system outlook for next week further indicates a high risk that Stage 2 load-shedding may be implemented until the middle of next week.
The power utility has again appealed to residents and businesses to use electricity sparingly during this period. Switch off geysers as well as all non-essential lighting and electricity appliances to assist in reducing demand.
Eskom customers can check their load-shedding schedules on the Eskom website (loadshedding.eskom.co.za) or through the customer contact centre on 0860037566.
City-supplied areas are experiencing load-shedding according to Stage 1 until further notice.
Check the City schedule HERE
The City of Cape Town and the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa Cape, are hosting a capacity-building workshop for 38 interns that aims to equip them with the full spectrum of vocational and life skills for future employment within the hospitality sector.
This skills development programme builds on a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between the City and FEDHASA in 2016 for a pilot project that saw 20 young people being placed with FEDHASA members to gain practical work experience for a period of 18 months.
38 candidates are participating in phase two of the agreement this year, taking the total to 58 candidates who are benefiting from the training.
Through this intervention, participating youths go through a rigorous and well-structured training programme designed to give them a foot in the door for job opportunities in the sector.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Management Grant Twigg the the importance of these partnerships are vital to young people.
“Too many youth are unemployed, sitting idle and unsure of which career path to follow. Tertiary institutions are not the only places of higher learning that are available to them. Such training programmes prepare them for the world of work and this is something they should strongly consider as their future endeavour. All that’s needed for this particular training programme is a matric certificate.”
In terms of the MOA, FEDHASA will set and follow its own training criteria and framework. The objective is to enhance the individuals’ chances of securing permanent employment. The City will pay them a stipend from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
In addition, the skills programme has a built-in wellness programme which focusses on personal development, personal branding and communication, among a host of other areas to ensure the interns are well-rounded individuals upon completion of the programme.
The lion which has evaded authorities for a month, after escaping from the Karoo National Park, has been captured.
A relieved-sounding Reynold Thakhuli, SANParks spokesperson, told News24 on Wednesday night the lion dubbed “Mufasa” had been captured…and is safe and sound.
He said the lion was found on a farm outside Sutherland in the Northern Cape, about 300km from the Karoo National Park.
The male lion, estimated to be between two and four years old, went missing on February 15, and ranger and tracker teams have been working shifts to track him down.
The lion killed an eland and four sheep on his month long escapade.
Bidvest Protea Coin recently assisted the search effort by providing its high-tech helicopter equipped with forward-looking infrared cameras.
The last lion to hold the record for the longest disappearance was 4-year-old Sylvester in 2016. He managed to evade capture for two weeks.
It was particularly dangerous for team members because the lion entered very difficult terrain, which meant that the predator had to be tracked on foot.
“They are people who go beyond the call of duty. They are our heroes,” Thakhuli said of the team.
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