Alberton Edition
A FRESH APPROACH TO LOCAL NEWS 23 November 2021
Tania Campbell is a South African politician who is the newly elected Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. As a member of the Democratic Alliance, she was elected to the role on 22 November 2021. Campbell had previously served as the DA’s caucus in the metro.
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opportunity to serve the city these past 5 years. Asbonge,” he said. The DA had to make a U-turn on their election strategy and put Campbell forward for the metro’s top job after initial mayoral candidate Refiloe Nt’sekhe withdrew from her position as councillor. NT’SHEKHE
Campbell has been a Democratic Alliance councillor in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since 2000. In 2013, she was elected chairwoman of the DA caucus in the metro. She was also the DA’s community safety spokesperson in the metro. In October 2020, she was elected as DA caucus leader after the incumbent, Phillip de Lange, resigned after a motion of no confidence was brought against him. MASINA CONGRATULATES CAMPBELL FOR EKURHULENI VICTORY
In a tweet, Masina congratulated Campbell and insisted that the transition will be peaceful. “Congratulations to the newly elected exec. Mayor of the city of ekurhuleni cllr tania campbell. As an outgoing mayor we are committed to a peaceful transition of power. Thank you to and our coalition partners for the
CLARIFIES
RESIGNATION
RUMOURS
The DA has swept home major victories in the metro on Monday, securing its first victory after Raymond Dlamini took over the speaker of council position from the ANC’s Patricia Khumalo. Refiloe Nt’sekhe – who was the DA’s candidate for the Mayoral position before absconding from today’s meeting – clarified that she had made the decision to resign from the opposition party earlier this month, but was still standing behind the party with her full support. Speculation has been growing that Nt’sekhe had grown dispondent due to a belief that she was being used by the party to garner black votes. “Clearly what has happened today is that the ANC has decided to use this as a political ploy. And have not processed the resignation, therefore also using the racial narrative which is actually quite wrong.”
NICD Reports Spike In Human Rabies Cases Across South Africa The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported an increase in the number of human rabies cases across the country. “As of 23 November 2021, a total of 17 laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases have been reported in South Africa. The latter was reported from Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo provinces,” the NICD said. Rabies is a fatal viral infection of the brain. The virus is spread by contact with the infected saliva of a rabid animal. Humans can come into contact with the virus-laden saliva in different ways, for example, bites and other wounds inflicted by these animals via the eyes, nose, mouth, or broken skin. In October and November 2021, six cases of human rabies were confirmed from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo provinces. In addition, several suspected cases from these areas are under investigation at the time of this report. The NICD added that although cases are reported annually in South Africa, the occurrence of cases in these provinces has increased compared to previous years. “This compares to eight laboratory-confirmed cases for 2020, 10 for 2019, 16 for 2018, six for 2017, and one for 2016. During these years cases were also mostly reported from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo provinces,” the Institute said.
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It said the increased number of human cases is related to outbreaks of rabies in domestic dogs in the affected provinces. The first occurrence of dog rabies cases in Cape Town surrounds in decades has also been reported in recent months. A total of four dog cases were reported from Khayelitsha and Gordon’s Bay. No additional cases have been reported since mid-October 2021. What to do if you’ve come into contact with a rabid dog? When possible exposures in humans do occur (for example through bites or scratches inflicted by a suspected rabid animal), all wounds must be washed thoroughly with soap and water. It is then crucial that rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is sought immediately at a healthcare facility to prevent the infection. Rabies postexposure prophylaxis is considered a life-saving emergency intervention following possible rabies virus exposure. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis entails thorough cleaning of the wound site/s followed by rabies vaccination and rabies immunoglobulin therapy.
“ Clearly what has happened today is that the ANC has decided to use this as a political ploy.”