NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 3 February 2 pm

Good afternoon,

Here is your Good News:

# The average water levels in Mpumalanga’s dams continue to rise despite some listed dams recording declines in water volumes. According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s report at the end of January, the average water levels in the listed dams in Mpumalanga slightly increased from 92.5-percent to 92.7-percent. In the water management area, the Olifants River Management Area’s water increased from 80.8-percent to 81.7-percent, while the Inkomati-Usuthu Management Area’s water increased from 98.3-percent to 98.8-percent.

# A Gift of the Givers team in the Eastern Cape is set to deliver emergency food and water to the remaining animals at Seaview Predator Park in Nelson Mandela Bay today. Only five animals remain after the park closed its doors to the public last June, during the height of the lockdown. The organisation’s veterinarian, Annie Mears, says they have requested water, a tiger pool, and food for the two Siberian tigers and three Nile crocodiles. Gift of the Givers says 10-thousand litres of water will be provided in tankers.

# An Eastern Cape development agency says they have joined forces with the Siyaya Skills Institute to equip students and graduates with skills needed to improve their chances of employment. A spokesperson of the Mandela Bay Development Agency, Luvuyo Bangazi, says a lack of resources should not stop companies from trying to lower Nelson Mandela Bay’s startling unemployment rate. The students are in the fields of business administration and hygiene and cleaning.

# The mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, yesterday led the start of a major city-wide clean-up campaign in Mitchells Plain Town Centre. He said in the January Adjustment Budget, the council has allocated five-million-rand for a city-wide clean-up campaign of especially illegal dumping hotspots. He pointed out the City spends more than 300-million-rand a year on cleaning up such spots:

Play sound: ENG GordinHillLewisONCeanUp

# And finally: A stalwart of wine marketing body Vinpro, Francois Viljoen, received the prestigious Viticulture and Wine Creation Award in recognition of his contribution to the South African wine industry. He was honoured yesterday during the annual SA Wine Harvest Commemorative Event. Owner of the only black woman-owned wine business in the country, Carmen Stevens, won the 1659 Visionary Leadership Award. The SA Wine Harvest event is held annually on the 2nd of February in commemoration of the first vintage on South African soil in 1659.

For the latest news stay tuned to ………….