There is still no place for 529 citizens in Western Cape schools, the WCED are struggling to place these learners from Grade 1 and Grade 8 into the system. The Education MEC David Maynier says that the majority of unplaced pupils were extremely late applications. The department had resolved 124 808 or 99.6%, of the unique Grade 1 and Grade 8 placement applications for the 2024 school year. He adds that learners are already in class at brand-new schools in Belhar, Kwanokuthula, Fisherhaven, Saldanha, Hout Bay and Macassar. New classrooms have been added to existing schools across the province, where demand for placement is highest. He adds that a further 317 classrooms were in construction at new and existing schools, with delivery dates starting from the end of the month.
Government is in hot water as civil organisations and political parties blame them for not finding solutions to crime. They are calling for a reset of the policing system and they are saying that the statistics speak for themselves. On Friday the Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed the crime statistics for the country between 1 October and 31 December last year. Civil rights organisation Action Society’s director of community safety: Ian Cameron says that it is abundantly clear that South Africans have been abandoned by the government in the war against crime. He claims that we are on our own when it comes to safety and security. While the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, described the ‘high quality service the South African Police Service (Saps) provide for all people of South Africa’ as ‘among the best in the world’ at the 2024 national police day celebrations, the Q3 crime statistics of 2023/24 revealed that a woman is raped every 12 minutes in South Africa. The organisation says that the stats reveals that 86 people are murdered, 88 attempted murder cases opened, and 595 people assaulted with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, every single day.
Equilibrium Centre is an organisation that provides professional help for people in our communities. We spoke to Kayline Manuel a social worker with the organisation, and she says that that the aim and vision, is to put role models in front of people from their own communities, so that they can realize, that if others can make it so can they. She says that we also need to change the narrative within our communities.
Manuel explains that they work with mostly adolescents, young people and adults. They focus on early interventions for scholars in primary and high schools. If they are experimenting with substance abuse or if they are in addiction. The aim of the program is to try and get to the child before they reach full blow addiction. The community based program works with both young and adults, male and female.
Palestine has earned a piece of freedom by winning the Freedom Cup yesterday at Athlone Stadium. At closing time the score was 1 – 0 to the Palestinians. Tasting freedom the Palestinian National Soccer team visited some tourist attractions including Bo-Kaap, Table Mountain and The Castle. Palestinian Football Association president, Jibril Rajoub says that the initiative was the most inventive concept in the history of sport in his nation. This is the legacy of Mandela and the solidarity in this moment, we are very grateful. Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nocawe Mafu says it was a moment for them to demonstrate what South Africa stands for. He hopes the team has felt the love despite everything that is happening at home. The Freedom Cup match was made possible by Sports Stepping Stones and the SA Football Association Cape Town.
In some good news
The TerraCycle Global Foundation are proud of their achievement of removing over 2 million pounds of waste from canals, rivers and waterways. Their main focus is to clean the oceans, the pollution is detrimental to marine life and their ecosystem. Executive Director of the TerraCycle Global Foundation’s James Scott says that they take a holistic approach to reducing plastic waste in waterways. He says that their operations provide safe, stable employment for members of the local Lat Phrao community in Bangkok, Thailand while creating cleaner and healthier environments for communities along the canal. As an efficient company they turn all the materials into something of value. Support them by purchasing a bracelet to save the sea.
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