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Dear EditorThe latest budget put forward by the Eastern Cape Department of Education has shown that it does not care about learners with special educational needs, with scant provision to address the massive backlog for spaces. There is a severe lack of space for learners at special schools for those who have been evaluated and are languishing on waiting lists, unable to find a space. Principals at schools in Cradock and Middleburg also raised the alarm during recent oversight visits I … [Read more...] about No place for LSEN

Dear EditorWith Day Zero set to hit in less than 22 days, the ANC-led coalition government in Nelson Mandela Bay is floundering and rudderless in its response to this looming crisis, and appears to have no disaster management plan in place. It is critical that the Metro receive as much high-level assistance as possible, and I have reached out to DA-governed municipalities to provide Nelson Mandela Bay with assistance. DA-led Cape Town and the Western Cape government are now world leaders in … [Read more...] about DA to share governance best practice to assist with NMB’s looming Day Zero

Dear EditorAlmost four years ago, a young mother lost her unborn baby in the street due to gross negligence on the part of two Emergency Medical Services employees, but to this day, they have never faced a disciplinary hearing. This, despite the Department stating in response to a Parliamentary Question in July last year that the employees were formally charged and the disciplinary process would resume as lockdown restrictions had eased. Four years ago, a senior female official reported a case … [Read more...] about No consequences for delinquent Health Department staff

State power utility Eskom has announced a further week of stage two load shedding following the continued shortage of generation capacity at its power stations.The electricity supplier has been battling breakdowns and the slow return to service of some of its generation units for the past two weeks leading to load shedding from about 5pm to 10pm daily. “While there may be instances where load shedding might need to be implemented outside of these hours, as far as possible, Eskom will endeavour … [Read more...] about SNAFU

South Africa has administered a total of 2 804 COVID-19 vaccines in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of vaccines to 35 744 528 to date.According to data by the National Department of Health (NDoH), the highest number of vaccines were from the KwaZulu-Natal province with 860, followed by Gauteng at 768 and North West at 676. As at 17:00 on Sunday, 45.33% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the country has recorded 3 220 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 … [Read more...] about 2 804