Public urged to remain vigilant as cyclone Eloise approaches

Public urged to remain vigilant as cyclone Eloise approaches

Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga residents are bracing themselves for Tropical Storm Eloise, which is expected to hit the local shores on Sunday.

Heavy rains and floods are expected to lash the Mopani and Vhembe districts, among other parts of the country.

The two municipalities say they are prepared for any disaster that may occur and are working closely with the national disaster management team.  

Mopani District Spokesperson, Odas Ngobeni, says they have roped in the health, and environmental health practitioners to make sure that the municipality observes lockdown regulations such as social distancing, in cases where individuals may be required to be evacuated to community halls. 

The Vhembe District Municipality Spokesperson, Matodzi Ralushai, is urging community members to remain vigilant at all times.

In KwaZulu-Natal, meteorologist Mkhushulwa Msimango says the cyclone could wreak havoc in parts of the province.

Msimango is also warning people to be extra careful on Sunday and Monday.

Meanwhile, power utility, Eskom, says it has made contingency plans to mitigate any risks and the possible impact on  infrastructure and the provision of electricity.

Mpumalanga, where most of the power utility’s power stations are situated, is one of the areas expected to be hard hit by the storm. Eskom Spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, says the power stations will implement wet coal contingency plans should the need arise.

“Typically, heavy rainfall for four or less days does not pose a significant threat to power station operations, but continuous heavy rainfall for more than four days does hamper coal handling at the power stations and the mines supplying them. There are some power stations in the Mpumalanga area that have been experiencing ash dam constraints. Continuous heavy rainfall over these power stations could hamper operations and recovery efforts already under way,” says Mantshantsha.

Disaster management authorities in Mpumalanga are also on high alert.

The cyclone is currently lashing parts of Mozambique. – Additional reporting by Maputuland FM News Editor, Philani Zulu.

Stop burning 5G towers, urge KZN political parties

Stop burning 5G towers, urge KZN political parties

Political parties in KwaZulu-Natal have come out guns blazing, shooting down rumours of 5G towers being linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This follows the burning of the cellular networks in the province amid social media claims that it helps spread the deadly virus that has the turned the world upside down, claiming thousands of lives.

IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa says people should stop demolishing the towers as they have nothing to do with the virus.

Hlabisa says the demolition of the towers will only affect the same communities that are being duped into believing that the networks are a problem.

He is urging locals to not reject a COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available in the country to avoid the loss of life South Africa witnessed at the beginning of the Aids pandemic in the country where people didn’t take antiretroviral drugs due to lies that were peddled about them being deadly.

DA KwaZulu-Natal leader, Zwakele Mncwango, has also weighed in on the matter.

He says 5G has nothing to do with the spread of COVID-19.

Urging people to stop spreading unsubstantiated claims, Mncwango says the towers not only assist with communication but also help hospital respirators, which are used to improve the condition of those with breathing problems.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has also slammed the attacks on the cellphone network towers.

Calling for the arrest of those responsible for the destruction of the towers, Ndabeni-Abrahams described the misinformation campaign as a threat to investments made into telecoms network infrastructure. – Philani Zulu is the News Editor of Maputaland Community Radio.

Jozini man mourns loss of livestock

Jozini man mourns loss of livestock

Lunga Simelane from Jozini kwaPhaweni, KwaZulu-Natal, is mourning the loss of his livestock.

Simelane’s 25 goats were struck by lightning this week. 

He says 2020 has been a bad year for him as he lost most of his cattle in October.

They went missing and were never found.

Now the death of his goats has added to his woes.

He says he is devastated and doesn’t know what to do as he supplements his income by selling them.

The ward 19 resident says although his councillor had snubbed his plea for help, Disaster Management and Agriculture Departmental officials came to his rescue.

They brought a grader and helped bury the livestock.

Bad weather has been wreaking havoc in parts of KwaZulu-Natal recently.

A family in Nongoma’s Ward 21, at eMahhashini, recently lost two family members after they were struck by lightning.

Houses in the area and Ulundi were also damaged.

Jozini parents reunited with kidnapped son after 9 years

Jozini parents reunited with kidnapped son after 9 years

The parents of a young boy from Jozini, in KwaZulu-Natal, who was kidnapped when he was six days old are over the moon after the child’s safe return home.

They have thanked the Shembe prophet, known as the king of Nazareth uNyazilwezulu, to whom they went to consult for help. The couple says Nyazilwezulu promised them that the boy would return home safely one day. A prophecy that has come true.

Nhlakanipho is now nine years old.

He was abducted by a woman who had promised to help his mother register his birth.

She was visiting Jozini at the time of the crime and while on their way to the home affairs department – Khanyisile, the kidnapper, asked Nhlakanipho’s mother to go buy something to eat at the nearby shops before disappearing with the boy.

The father of the child, Thokozani Gumede, has told Maputaland Community Radio News that they had spent a lot of money trying to find Nhlakanipho.

Nhlakanipho’s mother, Fikelephi Mpotshane-Gumede, has thanked the Jozini police and everyone who has tried helping them find their son.

She has warned young women not to trust strangers with their children. Mpotshane-Gumede has also called on young people to draw closer to God and forget the pleasures of the world.

The former boyfriend of the alleged kidnapper, Joseph Ndala, lived with the boy in Daveyton, eMaphupheni, and says he loved the boy like his own child.

He says the child’s abductor also had him fooled, pretending to be a good person while she was in fact a wolf in a sheep skin.

“She poisoned me and the child and then handed herself over to the police. The police came to our home and took me and Nhlakanipho to hospital. The child spent three weeks there and I was discharged after being treated.”

Ndala says Khanyisile confessed to a social worker that she had stolen the child and that’s the only time he learnt the truth about his beloved Nhlakanipho. The kidnapper had previously told him that the child was born of rape.

Ndala is urging other men to learn more about their partners and where they come from before settling down with them.

The spokesperson for the police in Jozini, Captain Senzo Gumede, says they worked tirelessly since 2011 to solve the case.

He has urged members of the public to be patient with the police as they work on other unresolved cases. 


 

Lightning strikes two family members dead in Nongoma

Lightning strikes two family members dead in Nongoma

 Bad weather in KwaZulu-Natal has claimed two lives in Nongoma’s Ward 21, eMahhashini.

The Buthelezi family members were killed by a lightning strike on Friday afternoon. 

A relative of the two was injured and rushed to hospital.

The storms damaged a number of houses in both Nongoma and Ulundi.

The provincial Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) says disaster management teams are busy with assessments.  

They are also providing support to the Buthelezi family.

KZN Cogta MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, has sent condolences to the family.

Hlomuka has also warned residents across KZN of the dangers posed by inclement weather conditions in the province, urging them to be cautious.

Shock over rape, murder of 4-year-old boy in Mkhuze

Shock over rape, murder of 4-year-old boy in Mkhuze

The Mthembu family in the Dukumbe area of ​​Mkhuze, in KwaZulu-Natal, is still reeling from shock following the sexual assault and brutal murder of 4-year-old, Bandile Nyaweni.

 The boy’s aunt, Nomusa Mthembu, says the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect has a child with one of the Mthembu sisters and lives nearby the home of his victim’s mother.

They are renting rooms in the same area.

One eyewitness has told the family that they heard the child’s screams emanating from the man’s place and went to inspect.

“When they got there, the man chased them away,” Mthembu says.

The child’s grandmother says she still cannot believe the tragedy as the incident happened after Bandile left her place.

She wants the suspect to spend the rest of his life in jail.

However, she does not trust the local police and says what breaks her heart even further is the knowledge that the suspect could be released from jail soon.

Sexual assault on boys is a rare in the Mkhuze area.

Deputy Mayor Municipality of Jozini, Ncamsile Zulu, has visited the family to convey the municipality’s condolences.

Zulu also expressed shock over the unusual incident, saying she hopes it would never happen again. – Philani Zulu is the News Editor of Maputaland FM

DA’s premier hopeful welcomes new members

Zwakele Mncwango, the DA’s candidate for premier of KwaZulu Natal, (far right) campaigns with DA members in Estcourt. Pic: @zwakelem

The Democratic Alliance’s KwaZulu Natal candidate for premier, Zwakele Mncwango, visited Escourt to welcome hundreds of new members into the DA.

According to the party’s Twitter account, more than 600 people were welcomed.

Mncwango also campaigned door to door in the area, asking residents to vote for the DA.

Residents who were able to meet Mncwango told him about the challenges they are facing, particularly unemployment.

Speaking to the media, Mncwango said the community of Escourt is suffering and vowed that if his party were to be elected into office, they would make sure that at least one member of  each household is employed. – Nqubeko Community radio

The DA’s Mncwango speaks to Nqubeko Community Radio