NEW: El Nino-driven hunger keeps Zimbabwe children out of school

Pupils in some parts of Zimbabwe are reportedly staying out of school in large numbers as El Nino induced hunger continues to rock the southern African country.

According to the state-owned Chronicle newspaper, pupils in the Matabeleland region were "dropping" out in droves, with some students said to be collapsing while at school.

Matebeleland North provincial director Boithathelo Mnguni said the El Nino induced drought, which has been experienced in most parts of the country, was taking its toll on the school children.

"They are not dropping out of school, because dropping out means someone is no longer interested in school. They are absent from school because of hunger. We are recording lot of absenteeism in schools," Mnguni was quoted as saying.


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*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6 or 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.

NEW: Ramaphosa spotted in economy class on SAA

Seeking to lead by example‚ Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa took an economy flight on South African Airways (SAA) from Cape Town to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo international airport.

Ramaphosa‚ returning from parliament where he answered questions from MPs on Wednesday‚ was photographed settling into a economy class seat while busy on the phone‚ a newspaper in his hand.

His spokesperson‚ Ronnie Mampoepa‚ said Ramaphosa took an ordinary commercial flight to Cape Town on Monday and returned the same way.


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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 87.6 or 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.

NEW: Wife jumped into river to try and save husband after car swept away

The wife of a man whose car was washed away during floods in Honingnestkrans in Pretoria North tried to jump into a river to save him, the family said on Thursday.

"Melanie got here this morning and she saw the car in the water and ran in. A diver stopped her," said brother-in-law Percy Pitzer.

Leon Strydom, 40, a father of two, was on his way to work when his car got swept away.


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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 87.6 or 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.

NEW: Heavy Rain Causes Flooding In Parts Of Kruger National Park

Several low bridges and roads have been closed at the Kruger National Park due to heavy rains.

Although the park's dams and rivers have been filled, the rain has caused damage to some of the roads and gates.

The park has been experiencing a drought over the past few months which has threatened the lives of its animals.


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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 87.6 or 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.

NEW: Zimbabwe plans to compensate farmers for seized land

Zimbabwe plans to start compensating mainly white farmers who lost their land and livelihoods during state- backed farm invasions that began in 2000 and triggered a near decade-long recession, the Finance Ministry said in a circular distributed to lawmakers.

Farmers may be compensated for “both land and improvements,” as well as for equipment acquired by the state during the often violent seizure of properties, according to the document that was submitted to parliament on Tuesday. If approved by the government, it would mark a major shift in policy. President Robert Mugabe previously said payments would be made only for investments in infrastructure such as dams, roads and buildings on seized farms.


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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 87.6 or 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.

NEW: What a downgrade will mean for you‚ me and South Africa

Ratings agency Moody's has placed South Africa on review for its sovereign credit rating‚ and Moody's analysts will be visiting the country a week from now to make a final decision on the country's creditworthiness.

If Moody's is not satisfied that South Africa will be able to strengthen its financial position in the medium term the agency will drop our credit rating to one notch above speculative or "junk" status.

Here's what this means for us:

In simple terms‚ if South Africa were a person with an income‚ debt obligations and a budget to manage repayments of that debt‚ our salary is going down while our costs of debt are rising. What South Africa makes from exports of commodities has been slashed by a weak global economy that just doesn't want to buy our raw materials.


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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 87.6 or 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.

NEW: Jacob Zuma To Send Over 1,000 Soldiers To DRC

President Jacob Zuma has extended the deployment of South African National Defence Force troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for another year.
 

Zuma’s written to Thandi Modise, the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, informing her of his decision.

The 1,388 soldiers are part of the United Nations Stabilisation Unit in the DRC.


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International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6 or 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.