News 18:00

BULLETIN 28 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tshwane receives positive feedback from 39 independent power producers 
# The national police headquarters is declared unfit for human use
# And Netball: Jenny van Dyk is appointed as the new head coach of the Proteas

# The City of Tshwane has received positive feedback from 39 independent power producers in response to its Request for Information on alternative energy generation. Mayor Cilliers Brink says this critical step will enable the City to develop and issue a detailed and evidenced-based Request for Proposal. A committee will now review the submissions to structure the Request for Proposal, aiming to secure one thousand MegaWatts of energy over three years from a mix of power stations and IPPs. This aligns with efforts to reduce reliance on Eskom.

# The South African Police Service’s national head office in Pretoria was ordered to shut down immediately due to appalling conditions. Solidarity’s Occupational Health and Safety Division and the Department of Labour inspected the building following complaints, and found it lacks basic amenities and poses health risks. It was bought and renovated eight years ago for nearly 900-million-rand. Solidarity deputy general secretary of the Public Industry, Helgard (Afrikaanse Helgard) Cronjé, says police must wait for safety inspections before reopening. 

# The Public Servants Association has commended the Department of Public Service and Administration for its recent directive aimed at professionalising the public service. The directive seeks to elevate service-delivery standards and instill a culture of excellence and integrity. The PSA views this directive as a significant step towards enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in the public sector. The association’s Stefan Viljoen appeals to the public to respect public servants for their critical service under challenging conditions:

# Netball: Jenny van Dyk has been announced as new head coach of the Proteas. She succeeds Australian Norma Plummer, who was in charge of the national team from 2015 to 2019 and again from 2022 to last month. Van Dyk coached the national under 21 team, and also served as a national selector. Netball SA’s president, Cecilia Molokwane, says Van Dyk was appointed on a renewable performance-based four-year contract. She will be tasked with selecting the national team, emphasising the importance of identifying the best players.

# And finally: African scientists received a 138-million-rand investment from LifeArc and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enter the global drug discovery arena. The Grand Challenges Africa Drug Discovery Accelerator programme aims to combat infectious diseases like malaria and TB, with about one million annual deaths in Africa alone. Stellenbosch University’s Erick Strauss says TB is still a major problem:

Stay tuned for more news………….