June 02, 2023.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines:

Professor Taole Mokoena is SA’s new Health Ombud

Municipalities owe Rand Water nearly R5bn

And, Tanzania declares end of Marburg viral outbreak

Professor Taole Mokoena is SA’s new Health Ombud

Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla announced today the appointment of Professor Taole Mokoena as the new Health Ombud of South Africa as of June 1.

Phaahla expressed gratitude to the outgoing Professor Malegapuru Makgoba for his efforts as the inaugural Health Ombud.

Mokoena is a graduate of the Universities of KwaZulu-Natal and Oxford and served as the Chief Surgeon at the Department of General Surgery at the University of Pretoria and at Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

He previously chaired a panel investigating surgical deaths and discrimination within the cardiology department at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Mokoena accepted the magnitude of his role in assisting the Department of Health to deliver a healthcare system that timeously responded to the demand of a growing population.

Municipalities owe Rand Water nearly R5bn

Municipalities across Gauteng owe water utility provider Rand Water just under R5-billion for water.

While some municipalities have responded to Rand Water’s call for them to pay for the water received, the utility still faces a significant challenge in collecting the outstanding debts.

The R4.62-billion cumulative debt is shared among municipalities, including the Emfuleni, Govan Mbeki, Merafong, RandWest, Victor Khanye and Ngwathe local municipalities, across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State.

The lack of revenue generation is risking Rand Water’s planned infrastructure development projects to improve the provision of water services.

Tanzania declares end of Marburg viral outbreak

Tanzania has declared the end of its first-ever outbreak of Marburg, a deadly Ebola-like virus with a fatality rate of up to 88%.

The World Health Organization said today that nine cases, including six deaths, were recorded in the outbreak, which was declared in March in the northwest Kagera region.

Marburg's symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and blood-stained vomit and diarrhoea. It is from the same virus family responsible for Ebola and is passed on to people from fruit bats.

While there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for Marburg, the World Health Organization said timely intervention by its local office along with government efforts helped prevent the disease from spreading.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.

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