Cape Times 2023-12-28

The Two Oceans Aquarium is celebrating the holiday season with the release of Nobomvu, the loggerhead turtle. The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre released Nobomvu off the Cape Point coast into the warm Agulhas Current last Friday. She was fitted with a satellite tag, two flipper tags and joined by 28 loggerhead turtle hatchlings and two yearlings, who were also released. Fondly known as the “Red Lady”, after her unusually red colouration when rescued, Nobomvu made her mark on the Turtle Conservation Centre team that expertly cared for her since 2021. “Nobomvu taught me everything I know about turtle conservation and rehabilitation. Her journey to recovery has been a roller-coaster, but she bravely overcame all the challenges that faced her. Turtle releases are bitter- sweet – you build…

THE Centre for Applied Legal Studies has a new deputy director – a lawyer with a passion for practising law for a greater cause. Busisiwe Kamolane-Kgadima is a practising attorney, researcher, advocacy specialist and activist. She joined the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in 2019. Kamolane-Kgadima said she was honoured to be appointed deputy director of the oldest and one of the most reputable public interest law organisations in South Africa. She said she was proud to be part of an organisation that excelled at representing clients in crucial and landmark cases. She said the centre produced quality research reports and worked closely with social movements, communities and grass-roots organisations to advance their causes in the achievement of social justice. Kamolane-Kgadima, 30, was born in Pietermaritzburg and raised in the…

Joel Smith and his father Martin recently covered 252km over the Lesotho mountains in an effort to raise R100 000 for King’s Children’s Home in the Eastern Cape. King’s Children’s Home just outside East London is a safe house that provides a temporary home and place of safety for abused and abandoned babies and young children. Founded in 2008 by Tracy and Jonathan King, who run the local Crossways church in the area, King’s Children’s Home has positively impacted the lives of many children in the Eastern Cape. Touched by the plight of these children when the family relocated to the East Coast, Smith who matriculated from Selborne College last year, pledged his support and instead of an 18th birthday party, he tackled the famous 100km Amatola Mountain trail in…

PUBLIC health facilities nationwide welcomed 1 708 healthy babies on Christmas Day this year, a significant increase from the 1 414 deliveries recorded in 2022. Statistics from the health department showed 840 baby boys and 868 baby girls were born on December 25. The 1 708 births also included more than 145 teen mothers. “The Department of Health extends its heartfelt congratulations to the dedicated health workers, particularly the midwives, for their tireless efforts in ensuring the safe delivery of these precious bundles of joy. Special wishes go out to all parents, including more than 145 teenage mothers, as they embark on the rewarding journey of parenthood. “The department is scaling up human milk banking for survival and healthy growth for babies born to mothers who are unable to breastfeed…

from page 1 that level or intensity of load shedding again. “Yes, there will definitely be load shedding in 2024, but not as severe as in 2023,” Mashele said. Civil nuclear engineer Hugo Kruger said: “Eskom has to find a way to do maintenance and extend the lifetime of the plants. The government has been dragging its feet regarding it, but if we continue to pretend that we don’t have a coal fleet then load shedding will continue. What we need is for Eskom’s leadership to commit in law to fix the coal fleet, to overhaul it. “If we fix only 10% of the installed capacity then load shedding will be a thing of the past. South Africa didn’t have load shedding in 2009 to 2013 and in 2016 to…

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has ordered several state-owned enterprises (SOEs) falling in his portfolio to formulate and implement turnaround plans as part of his department’s solutions to address mismanagement of the entities. “I have directed the boards of several SOEs in my portfolio to formulate and implement turnaround plans. These plans aim to enhance operational efficiency and significantly improve the overall performance of the respective companies,” Gordhan said, when responding to parliamentary questions from IFP MP Mzamo Buthelezi. Buthelezi asked whether Gordhan’s department has any short-term step-by-step solutions to address the mismanagement of SOEs. According to Gordhan, Eskom was making strides towards ensuring energy stability and sustainability. “The generation recovery plan has already recovered 1 535 megawatts between April and September 2023, contributing to Eskom’s goal of achieving an…