NEWS: Microlending industry picks up the pieces

The collapse of African Bank, which provided 40% of South Africa’ s unsecured loans, has sent aftershocks throughout the microlending sector.

Hennie Ferreira, CEO of Microfinance South Africa (MFSA), which represents providers of small loans, said the ramifications were “huge and very serious on many levels”.



African Bank used the same databases as many microfinance companies. This enabled Leon Kirkinis’s failed Midrand-based bank to pick and choose the best customers — clients that had a good track record of repaying loans.

Mr Ferreira said the bank’s reckless lending had severe repercussions, with many people now over their heads in debt.

“Those individuals will not be allowed to access credit. That has a ripple effect on the guys who provide short-term loans,” Mr Ferreira said.

Sean Emery, CEO of Rainfin, an online lending platform that processes about 18 loans a day, said that lenders had become reluctant.

“There is structural change because of African Bank,” he said.
Lenders had tightened their lending criteria.

Rainfin, for example, was demanding that borrowers had zero defaults, judgments or outstanding loans.

It remains to be seen which lender can grab African Bank’s customers, but Capitec is probably at the front of the queue.

Neil Grobbelaar, CEO of Real People Investments, said that investors were understandably “nervous and concerned” about the industry because most of them had been exposed to African Bank.

He said access to capital funding would be more difficult until investors regained confidence.

Real People Investment has a loan book of about R2bn and 350,000 customers.

The flip side is that as the more upright operators tighten up, loan sharks with less scruples may get a boost.

To prevent this, microfinance organisations are asking the National Credit Regulator to increase the cap on interest rates and fees beyond the current 32%.

Intuitively, this would seem to be a licence to rip customers off further because lenders could just charge more, allowing people to sink deeper into debt.

But a study by Econometrix — commissioned by MFSA — shows that the current cap has in fact acted as a form of “price control”, affecting borrowers negatively.

In the past 18 months, more than 30% of MFSA members closed down, Mr Ferreira said.

Econometrix MD Rob Jeffrey said: “Caps are not an effective way of addressing the real or alleged problems with regard to reckless lending, and they also potentially serve to encourage excessive and misinformed borrowing.”

But borrowers mired in debt thanks to the likes of African Bank might disagree. Allowing lenders to charge higher fees will not help.

• This article was first published in Sunday Times: Business Times

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Big increase in bucket system usage in ECape

DA MP says StatsSA report says number of households in province using system increased from 38 606 in 2012 to 52 732 in 2013

DA to submit SAHRC complaint on bucket toilets in the Eastern Cape

The DA will initiate an investigation into the increased use of bucket toilets in the Eastern Cape. STATS SA yesterday released a report indicating that the number of households using the bucket system in the Eastern Cape increased appallingly from 38 606 to 52 732 between 2012 and 2013 (see report here - PDF).

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) must investigate this as a matter of urgency to determine why and where this massive increase occurred.

Further, the report indicated that in the North West, 1481 households were using the bucket toilet system in 2012 and this increased to 1750 last year. In 2012, KwaZulu-Natal had zero reported households using the bucket system, however, in 2013, 1585 people were using it.

The DA will be initiating its own investigation to determine exactly in which areas of the Eastern Cape this has taken place. We will submit our research to the SAHRC to assist them to get to the bottom of the problem.

The use of bucket toilets is offensive and robs people of their dignity. It is shocking that the problem persists on such a large scale in the Eastern Cape.

After years of promises to eradicate the use of bucket toilets - first by December 2014 and has now been extended to 2015- the time has come to hold those responsible to account.

The SAHRC must identify those local governments that are responsible, and must enforce strong remedial action those governments responsible for this failure.

The DA will be extremely vigilant in identifying the hotspots, reporting them to the SAHRC and following up to ensure that remedial action is implemented.

We must work together to systematically eradicate this injustice.

Statement issued by Kevin Mileham MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, August 29 2014

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: SA not sending troops to Lesoth after coup

Pretoria - The South African government was not immediately sending troops to Lesotho following claims that the neighbouring country had been taken over by the military, the department of international relations (Dirco) said on Saturday.

Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said diplomacy should be given a chance and the situation should be resolved through peaceful means.

He was speaking at a media briefing held at Dirco's offices in Pretoria.
The Lesotho soldiers had reportedly taken over the police headquarters, radio and television stations resulting in a blackout in broadcast.

Concern
Monyela said government was concerned about the situation.
It called for the Lesotho defence force to restore order in the country.
"[We]... call on the commander of the Lesotho defence force to order the army to return to their barracks and allow the democratically elected government of the kingdom to carry on with its business," Monyela said.

"These activities of the Lesotho defence force have wrongly forced the constitutionally elected prime minister, the right honourable Dr Tom Thabane and the one of the leaders in the coalition government honourable Thesile Maseribane to go into hiding."

He would not confirm that Thabane had fled into South Africa.

No one had officially claimed taking over the Lesotho government.

SADC
Monyela said Southern African Development Community (SADC) was engaging with all the roleplayers.
He called for a dialogue to resolve the issues.

"Political problems need to be resolved through political channels which is actually dialogue," said Monyela.

He said all the South African officials in Lesotho were safe and accounted for.

Travel to Lesotho
However, Monyela urged people wishing to travel to Lesotho to "consider the situation".

"The SA government encourages the leaders of the coalition government to work together and implement the Namibia declaration which was presented at the recent Victoria falls SADC summit," said Monyela.

"In this regard, South Africa in her capacity as the chair of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security remain committed to assisting the leaders of the coalition government to find a lasting solution to their current challenges," he said.
(SAPA)


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NEWS: Lesotho's military seizes control of police headquarters

Armed forces have seized control of the country's police headquarters and jammed radio stations and phones, says a government minister.

Lesotho’s military seized control of the country’s police headquarters and jammed radio stations and phones in the early hours on Saturday, a government minister and member of the ruling coalition told Agence France-Presse.

“The armed forces, the special forces of Lesotho, have taken the headquarters of the police,” sports minister and leader of the Basotho National Party Thesele Maseribane said, describing a possible coup attempt in the small nation located in eastern South Africa. “At four o’clock this morning [0200GMT] they were driving around the residence of the prime minister and my residence,” he said. “There have been some gunfighting since four [am] up until seven or eight.

“They’ve jammed phones, they have jammed everything,” he added. Maseribane said he fled hours earlier after being warned. “The commander said he was looking for me, the prime minister and the deputy minster to take us to the king. In our country that means a coup,” he added.

He insisted Prime Minister Tom Thabane’s government was still in control. “The prime minister and myself, [we are] still the coalition government. The prime minister is still in power.” Thabane was “fine”, he added, declining to elaborate where the prime minister was.

“There’s still a lot of danger. People who have arms are running around Maseru.” The government secretary was unreachable for comment. A shaky coalition has governed the kingdom, which is entirely surrounded by South Africa, since elections two years ago. Coalition partners patched up the fragile deal through mediators in June.

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: SA doctors working in dangerous conditions: SAMA

The South African Medical Association says South African doctors are working in increasingly dangerous conditions. The organisation says apart from  vulnerability through needle pricks to diseases such as HIV/Aids, doctors have been killed, raped and robbed on duty.

SAMA spokesperson, Doctor Phophi Ramathuba, says doctors and nurses have in the past been shot and stabbed within the hospital premises.

“All these reports portray the profession as a dangerous profession to choose today. We have got to be provided with equipment that is up to standard. We must be allowed as end-users to be the ones to define the specifications of our needles, our scissors, or our theatre equipment, so that chances of us pricking ourselves are very slim, so that we do not have to stay at home.”

Meanwhile, escalating healthcare costs, matched by the rising costs of monthly medical aid contributions are making it harder for medical aid members to make ends meet. Bridging the gap between the two is just one of the talking points on the agenda at the upcoming Board of Healthcare Funders conference in Durban.

The organisation represents the majority of medical schemes throughout South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho.

The Board of Healthcare Funders says there are some 8,5 million South Africans that belong to a medical aid scheme - a mere fraction of some 54 million South Africans. But the organisation says these medical aid members are battling rising monthly contributions that is weighing heavily against the rising cost of medical care.

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Crimes against children, women still a problem

National Police Commissioner Riyah Phiyega says crimes perpetuated against children, women and the elderly remain a problem in the country. Phiyega was speaking during a crime awareness campaign in Thomo village, outside Giyani, Limpopo, on Saturday.

The tombstone of a victim was unveiled at the same event as part of the campaign.


In April, 52-year-old Catherina Nkovani-Chauke died after being stoned and set alight allegedly by some family members who accused her of bewitching her sister-in-law in Thomo.

Phiyega has issued a stern warning against people who accuse others of witchcraft, those who practice ritual murders and those who perpetuate mob justice.

“These crimes that continue in terms of children, women, the elderly and the vulnerable are the crimes that remain very problematic in our view. As the police we are gathered here to say let her death not be in vain but, rather use this time and opportunity for us as a nation that never should we find ourselves perpetuating these type of crimes,” added Phiyega.

Family spokesperson, Solomon Chauke has thanked the South African Police Services (SAPS) for giving them support, and for assisting in erecting Catherina's tombstone.

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: SA gospel group wows Edinburgh audiences

South African gospel ensemble Tshwane Gospel Choir is thrilling audiences at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

The group left the country on July 27 to be part of the festival, which started on July 30 and ends on Tuesday.

Tshwane Gospel Choir was featured on the festival ’ s fringe programme, and the group performed at various venues.

Last week, it was chosen among the best four groups at the festival. As one of the best festival performers, the group was also featured in a programme on BBC Television.

Two Scotland newspapers that have reviewed the group ’ s performances have given good reviews, with one paper giving it four out of five stars.

Speaking to Sowetan about their trip, director of the group Bheki Nene said he was happy the shows were going so well.

“There is no doubt that Tshwane Gospel Choir is going places.

“Out of the 3 000 shows that were part of the fringe, we are one of the best. ”

Nene, a former member of the two-time Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, said having toured the world extensively with his former group, he had an idea of a working formula on international stages.

He said he knew what European promoters and audiences wanted.

“I told the choir while we were rehearsing and preparing for the fringe festival that I don ’ t want to see anything I ’ ve seen before on stage.

“So, we had to involve experienced people like Khanyo Maphumulo and Lawrence Matshiza to create a unique concept,” he said, adding it felt good for their hard work to yield such positive results.


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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: 260 rhinos ‘sold’ to hunting firms

Controversy surrounds the sale of 260 rhinos from the Kruger National Park (SANParks) to three private hunting farms in the Northern Cape, and the public protector has been called in to investigate.

After the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, announced earlier this month that 500 rhino would be “evacuated” from the Kruger National Park to “ensure their ‘safety’ during the escalating poaching crisis in the Kruger”, it has emerged that SANParks signed contracts for the sale of 260 of these rhinos to three hunting safari companies in the Northern Cape.

Apparently the contracts with the companies, all three displaying photographs of rhino hunts on their websites, were signed in October and November last year, 10 months before cabinet approval of the sale of the rhinos.

It is believed that the 260 rhinos were sold for R60 million, which equates to an average price of R230 700 a rhino.

In May this year, at an auction held by Vleissentraal, six rhinos were sold for R3.3m, an average price of R550 000 a rhino.

When asked about the contracts, SANParks spokesman Rey Thakhuli said SANParks was not at liberty to divulge who it was doing business with.

Molewa has, however, confirmed that a senior SANParks executive was suspended because the board had “issues” about the procedures that were followed with the sale of the rhinos.

Allison Thompson, of Oscap, an anti-rhino poaching organisation, has lodged a complaint with the public protector asking for the sale of the 260 rhinos to be investigated.

She said yesterday that it was clear that the rhino would not be used in conservation efforts, but rather for hunting.

“Sixty male and 40 females were sold to one farm alone. This raises serious concerns, as only one male would be needed to cover a few females if the rhinos were to be used in conservation efforts.”

SANParks responded yesterday that although it had missed the window to move local rhino this year, it had developed a plan for March next year.

Read more at The Mercury, August 29, 2014


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NEWS: Inequality in South Africa remains rife

THE transfer of power from the late Nelson Mandela to Thabo Mbeki and then to President Jacob Zuma marked a notable generational change – from a generation that was committed to liberation and struggle to a much younger and seemingly inexperienced one whose sole task it is to deliver.

Thus, delivery, and the unmistakable lack thereof in important sectors such as education and civic services, is an important talking point for South Africans.

As a young South African, I believe that I must caution that it is perilous to assume that democracy necessitates political and economic freedoms. It does not. South Africa’s problems are diverse and interwoven. Former president Thabo Mbeki spoke (during his tenure as president) about two South Africas, one belonging to the developed world and the other to the underdeveloped world. These continue to exist side by side.

South Africa has developed a political economy in which the distribution of wealth is skewed in favour of a white minority that continues to enjoy excess and access.

According to considerable empirical evidence, the richest 10 percent of the South African population earns 50 percent of the national income while a stone’s throw away, the poor earn only 1.5 percent.

In South Africa’s education sector the troubles are topsy-turvy. The South African government spends 20 percent of its national budget on education, of which 78 percent is spent on settling salaries and yet the education system continues to proliferate immeasurable inadequacies and inequalities. Education drives social mobility, thus, if one is born into a poor family then one’s prospects for social mobility are slim.

If South Africa is to compete successfully in the global marketplace, it is imperative that it upgrade its skills base, crippled by generations of apartheid and the industrial colour bar that prevented the black population from doing skilled work.

This was the single most damaging thing that apartheid wrought on South Africa’s future economic prospects, and sadly the first 15 years of democratic government did little to start the process of rectification as the Department of Education stumbled from one crisis to another.

The government needs to get the syllabus right – an informed and precise layout of the syllabus must detail what is taught, how, and to what outcomes. Schools need to provide a comparable measure of pupil performance as well as a benchmark for grade-appropriate achievements, making it possible for targeted support to reach specific schools. Each pupil must master the basics of foundational numeracy and literacy, as these are the building blocks of further education.

Absenteeism

Teacher absenteeism amounts to about one month a year and learning is compromised. Teachers need to be in class. Every teacher must have the minimum basic competencies in the subjects they teach and every pupil needs to access adequate learning materials. Our youth cannot afford scandals involving missing textbooks, sabotage and tender irregularities.

The rural/urban divide dichotomy within South Africa’s economy is one typical of the developing world that is home to a struggling and economically marginalised black majority. Economic activities are restricted to urban areas. This means that rural poverty is plentiful and that urbanisation intensifies so fast that the government finds it difficult to mediate dysfunctional urban development such as informal settlements.

Also, high unemployment combined with a big youth dependency ratio leads to a low revenue base for the government. Widespread inequality, unemployment, and inadequate education, together with a macro-economic policy that subordinates development to growth and a macro-political structure that does not encourage accountability to voters, deny South Africans the quality of life proposed in the Freedom Charter.

For as long as macro-economic policies and macro-political structures allow one developed South Africa to live extravagantly while the other strains in poverty, we must work harder to realise that economic freedom is part of freedom itself.

Ideology must be tempered with pragmatism to provide freedom as power to the voter base.

Mmereki is a social entrepreneur and the founder of the African Youth Secretariat

Read more at The Mercury, August 29, 2014


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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Bucket toilets on way out

The use of the bucket toilet system increased in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and North West between 2012 and 2013, a Statistics SA report revealed yesterday.

No households in KwaZulu-Natal were using the bucket system now, but in 2013, 1 585 were. In North West, 1 481 households were using it in 2012, and 1 750 in 2013. In the Eastern Cape, the number of households using it increased from 38 606 to 52 732. – Sapa

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Snow falls in SA

Johannesburg - Snow fell in many parts of the country on Friday, the South African Weather Service said.

"Snow started to fall yesterday [Thursday] evening in parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, southern Lesotho, as well as in the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal," forecaster Bransby Bulo said.

Snowfall could also be expected in the southern part of the Free State, Lesotho, and the western high ground of KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.

Snowfalls were expected to stop by Saturday, except in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, where there was a small chance of snowfall on Saturday morning, said Bulo.

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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Massive petrol price drop

Cape Town - Cash-strapped consumers will get a breather at the pumps after the department of energy on Friday announced a drop in petrol and diesel prices.

All grades of petrol and diesel will decrease on Wednesday September 3.

Petrol 95 and 93 (ULP and LRP) is coming down by 67 cents a litre (c/l).

The price of diesel with 0.05% sulphur will drop by 25.38 c/l and diesel with 0.005% sulphur will decrease by 24.38 c/l.

Illuminating paraffin (SMNRP) will fall by 25.0 c/l and liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 108.0 cents/kilogram.

The department has also decreased the slate levy from 4.38 c/l to zero, in line with the self-adjusting slate mechanism.

It is the third time this year that the petrol prices have decreased. The prices fell in June and just ahead of the general elections in May.

The department said the reasons for the fuel price decreases are mainly due to the drop in the price of crude oil and the stability of the rand against the US dollar.

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NEWS: E-tolls harm poor- Sataw

E-tolling is harming the poor and working class, who are already struggling with the high cost of living, the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said on Thursday.

"It has proved to be anti-working class because the implications thereof have been detrimental to the proletariat," Gauteng provincial secretary Chris Nkosi told the advisory panel on e-tolling and its socio-economic impact in Midrand.

The union believed Austrian company Kapsch being awarded the tender worth billions of rands to operate and administer the e-toll system, and having a majority stake in the project, was indicative of privatisation.

"Sanral indicated that the [Gauteng] premier's review panel would create uncertainty," Nkosi said.

This showed the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) prioritised foreign investors over the working class.

Nkosi said while it had been said that public transport, such as buses and taxis, would be excluded from the system, taxis were privately-owned and did not qualify as public transport.

"Maybe there is a need for us to understand public transport," Nkosi said.

The working class continued to be excluded from the benefits of South Africa's infrastructure.

"Workers are forced to pay a colossal amount of money to travel on South Africa's roads."

This was in the face of an unemployment rate of at least 25 percent and the poor and working class being affected by higher-than-average inflation.

"In fact we are living from hand to mouth," Nkosi said.

Satawu lamented the lack of a safe, reliable transport system, making owning a car not a need but a requirement.

"You see e-tolls in developed countries, there is no problem," Nkosi said.

"In South Africa you have to travel to work, and the more you travel to work, the more you travel under gantries, the more you have to pay."

The union could see the "drastic improvement" that had taken place on Gauteng freeways since the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which e-tolls were funding.

"The standard is very high. We need to applaud the work done. The question is, how do you pay?" Nkosi said.

"Roads should be maintained through the petrol levy... The petrol levy should be developing South Africa's roads."

A slight increase in the levy would have minimal impact on the poor, and did not require any person to administer it.

Satawu wanted a minimum 1c addition to the fuel levy or an increase in corporate tax.

The panel is focusing on the implications and perceptions of financing the GFIP and e-tolls.

On Monday, the Gauteng provincial government announced the panel would embark on a month-long consultation process, starting on Wednesday, with organisations and individuals.

Organisations were invited to make submissions on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the GFIP and e-tolls.

The panel was expected to report to premier David Makhura at the end of November. (SAPA)


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NEW: Nicole Scherzinger to headline star-studded SA awards in September-

Nicole Scherzinger, an American recording artist, actress and television personality will be performing live at the inaugural ANN7 South African of the Year awards on September 6, 2014.

Scherzinger will be performing live along with top South African artists including LIRA, Mafikizolo, Zahara, MiCASA and Junior Mambazo for the elite guests at the event.

The former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, and the winner of season ten of Dancing with the Stars released herdebut solo album, Killer Love in 2011 and returned to acting with a role in Men in Black 3.
The inaugural ANN7 South African of the Year 2014 Awards will be a celebration of extraordinary South Africans.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/2014/08/28/nicole-scherzinger-to-headline-star-studded-sa-awards-in-september


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Joan Rivers 'critical' in New York hospital

New York - Joan Rivers, the brilliant but acerbic US stand-up comic who blazed a trail for female comedians, was rushed to hospital in New York on Thursday in a critical condition, reports said.

US media said the 81-year-old Rivers stopped breathing while undergoing surgery on her vocal chords at a clinic in New York's Upper East Side and rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital.

A spokesman for the New York Fire Department told AFP that officers responded to an emergency call at 09:40 from an address on the Upper East Side, taking a patient to Mount Sinai.

The hospital refused to comment, citing patient privacy.

Celebrity news site TMZ said Rivers was in critical condition after she stopped breathing during surgery on her throat and that her daughter Melissa was on her way to New York.

TV channel ABC reported that Rivers had been rushed to hospital in a critical condition. A woman matching her description went into cardiac arrest at a clinic and was taken to Mount Sinai, it said.

http://www.channel24.co.za/Gossip/News/Joan-Rivers-critical-in-New-York-hospital-20140828


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com
Phone: 010 500 8203 (in South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)
011 27 10 500 8203 (calling from outside of South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Mandela Marathon attracts over 10 000 runners

Over 10 000 people are expected to stride in the footsteps of Tata Madiba in the 2014 edition of the Mandela Day Marathon this weekend.

The race, which began three years ago with only about 1 000 local competitors, has soared to the ranks of a supermarathon as it will host more than 10 000 local and international competitors this year. This year’s growth is up 74% from the previous year.

The route traces Mandela’s legacy from the venue of his final speech as a free man before his arrest at Manaye Hall in Pietermaritzburg to the site of his capture in Howick.

The event caters for different events along the route such as a trail run, mountain biking , children’s races and road races of different lengths along with the 42,2 km marathon.

Even the prize money has increased to just less than R1 million and the proceeds of the entire marathon will be donated to charity.

The event has gained international interest with 23 countries participating this year. The marathon can be viewed on SABC 2.

Mayor of uMgungundlovu District Yusuf Bhamjee during a Mandela Day Marathon press briefing yesterday.

The Witness, August 29, 2014


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com
Phone: 010 500 8203 (in South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)
011 27 10 500 8203 (calling from outside of South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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News: New hope for PE schools

Education boss instructed to appoint about 300 teachers.

Port Elizabeth eduction district director Dr Nyathi Ntsiko has been instructed by the National Eduction Department to appoint about 300 teachers to vacant posts in school in the northern areas.

The letter was shared with principals and parents at a meeting at the district office yesterday, and raised hopes for better education in their communities

For more on this story see The Herald, August 29, 2014


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com
Phone: 010 500 8203 (in South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)
011 27 10 500 8203 (calling from outside of South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

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NEWS: Ebola harder to get than malaria

‘One of the biggest challenges we are faced with in this outbreak is misinformation or poor understanding.’

The head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said yesterday poor understanding of Ebola was undermining the fight against the epidemic, pointing out the fever was harder to get than malaria.
 

USAID director Jeremy Konyndyk, in Liberia to support the fight against an epidemic which has claimed the lives of almost 1 500 West Africans, said educating people on how to protect themselves was the best way to beat Ebola.

“Compared with something like malaria, it is a much harder disease to get. But obviously much worse when you do get it,” he said.

“So helping people to better understand how they can protect themselves, how they can avoid Ebola, is a critical piece of controlling this outbreak.”

The epidemic has sent shockwaves throughout the world since it emerged in southern Guinea at the start of the year, grounding fl ights to affl icted countries and damaging African economies.

But the death toll since it was discovered in 1976 is under 3 000 while, at conservative estimates, malaria is estimated to kill that many people every two days – the majority of them African children aged under five.

Ebola transmission can be prevented by avoiding contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.

Malaria, spread through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito, often while the human host is asleep, is more difficult to avoid.

“One of the biggest challenges we are faced with in this outbreak is misinformation or poor understanding. You know Ebola is not a hard disease to avoid – if you know how to avoid it,” Konyndyk said.

Konyndyk is due to hold talks with the affected communities in Liberia, where 624 people have died, as well as health authorities in the field and the government.

USAID is a government agency working in more than 100 countries, with a mission to end extreme global poverty.

Meanwhile, Nigeria revised its confirmed number of Ebola cases from 14 down to 13. This included five deaths.

Abuja blamed the reporting of a 14th case on a recent false positive.

Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said there were three people currently being treated at a special isolation unit, but that one was “for imminent discharge after necessary protocols”.

All five deaths from Ebola and confirmed cases have occurred in Lagos.

READ MORE


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com
Phone: 010 500 8203 (in South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)
011 27 10 500 8203 (calling from outside of South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

© PEFM 87.6