More needs to be done
JOHANNESBURG - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said a lot still needs to be done to control, prevent and eventually eradicate malaria in the country. Tuesday is World Malaria Day. Principal Medical Scientist at the NICD, Raman Jaishree observed the day by highlighting ongoing efforts to deal with the disease in the country. “There are definitely requirements for new tools and new methods to make sure that we can effectively control malaria. You know there is always a need for a lot more.’’
Avian flu detected
JOHANNESBURG - The Western Cape Veterinary Services has confirmed the detection of avian influenza at two commercial poultry farms in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Ivan Meyer says the exact strain is still unknown. About 120 000 birds have so far died since the outbreak was confirmed last week. There is currentlynovaccineor treatmentand as a result, current practice requires culling infected birds as quickly as possible to limit the spread of the disease.
JOHANNESBURG - Military veterans will receive monthly pensions of just more than R5 000 each from Freedom Day. Deputy Minister of Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla announced on Tuesday that the funds would finally be rolled out after 12 years.
The pension fund was legislated in 2011 when the Military Veterans Act was passed by Parliament. However, it was never rolled out due to the military veterans’ department’s limited budget, he said.
After State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate, President Cyril Ramaphosa was prompted to establish a task team under the minister of Finance to look into the outstanding pensions.
The budget has now increased from R36.9 million in the previous financial year to R102 million in the 2023/24 financial year. In the years following, his will increase to R109 million and R115 million, with the funds distributed by the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA).
“We are here to inform, most importantly the community of military veterans, that as of Freedom Day the offices of government will be ready to pay out the military veterans’ pensions,” Makwetla said. However, this will not apply to everyone. Of 82 000 military veterans, only 9 000 qualify.