The N12 Road near Emalahleni became the scene of collision that involved three trucks and a sedan earlier this morning just after midnight.
The collision led to Ammonia spillage with a smell so strong that residents near Tasbett Park were severely affected.
The scene had to be taken over by the Disaster Management and it took some time before the traffic law enforcement officers could reach the scene due the strong smell from the spilt chemical.
The preliminary investigation suggests that the side swipe crash occurred when one of the trucks was attempting to overtake another truck.
The third truck involved collided into one of the trucks. Another sedan was also involved.
One of the trucks was transporting energy drinks. The ammonia was further leaked into the drain and this subsequently affected households and many residents woke up to the unbearable smell.
Although the smell has subsided, it still lingers on. The emergency personnel are still working at the scene.
No injuries were reported but the occupants of the sedan are currently receiving treatment for the effects of the Ammonia inhalation.
The MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Ms Gabisile Shabalala visited the scene earlier today.
Shabalala has called on truck drivers to always ensure that they use the road safely.
“Truck drivers and all those involved in trucking business must play their part towards road safety by among others ensuring drivers rest sufficiently along the way,” she said.
She encouraged to obey the rules and also plan their journeys well in advance as part of dealing with fatigue.
Meanwhile the Executive Mayor for Emalahleni Local Municipality Cllr Lina Malatji upon receiving the news arranged transport for residents who stranded when the incident occurred.
Die inperking keer nie Laerskool Secunda se danssport leerders om te presteer in die sport nie. Die volgende dansers het aan ‘n aanlynkompetisie teen verskeie skole in die distrik deelgeneem. Elke danser moes hul eie dans opneem en is aanlyn beoordeel.
Hulle het tydens die ‘Performing Arts’ en ‘Rhythm and Movement’ aanlynkompetisies die volgende plekke behaal.
Please join Pastor Ds Anton Knoetze in the morning service of Secunda Reformed Church
The theme for this morning’s service is : God is calling us.
Secunda Reformed Church Morning Service 3 May
Scripture reading is from Isaiah 1:18.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool
Ons reis die volgende paar weke rondom die vraag: “Wie is hierdie Man?”.
Kruik oggenddiens 19 April, 09H30
Kom ons herontdek saam meer oor wie hierdie Man, Jesus is.
Maak ‘n finansiële bydrae op 2 verskillende maniere: 1.Gee Aanlyn (Kruik Gemeente, ABSA, Tjek, 632005, Rek nr:1510140016) 2.Gee deur Zapper – vind ons QR code in die diens aankondigings.
Kontak ons gerus op Kruik Gemeente se Facebook Messenger en Whatsapp lyn (0721336130) of besoek ons webtuiste by: https://www.kruik.co.za/ Ons sal graag met jou gesels.
Eskom acknowledges the environmental breaches emanating from its operation of the Kendal power station and is in the process of mending the technical faults that led to the environmental breaches. This, however, will take some time to be completed as a significant amount of repair work is required to repair the generation units. Some of the work has already been executed.
The station has been operating above the emission limits since the strike action late in 2018 left infrastructure vandalised and damaged. During the strike action internals of the Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) were vandalised and the functioning of the dust handling plant compromised. To repair the internals of the ESPs of several generation units requires long outages, and the repairs on generation units can only be executed one after the other.
Unit 1 has been operating since 18 February 2020, within the 100mg/Nm3 emission limit after a 14-day outage. Unit 2 is also operating within the regulatory compliance limits.
Unit 5 is currently off and repairs on the ESP’s and Dust Handling Plant have started. However, due to long lead times to manufacture components it is expected that the unit will only return to service during the first quarter of 2021. Thereafter, the next planned outage will be Unit 6. Units 3, 4 and 6 are currently operating above the emission limits, for which Eskom has been granted an extension.
Given the generation system constraints, Eskom will, as speedily as possible, execute the work on one unit at a time. Eskom is committed to addressing the emission issues at Kendal power station and is in the process of doing so. An instruction to shut down the three units currently operating in non-compliance will result in significant constraints on the power generation system and would significantly increase the level of load shedding required.
This article was written by our eMbalenhle correspondent: Sandile Mkhwanazi
Unrest threatens as dissatisfied eMbalenhle community members are now fed up with the ridiculous power cuts happening during the Lockdown.
Different stakeholders from the eMbalenhle community have started to speak up on all social media saying that they are now tired of the whole administration of Govan Mbeki Municipality and demand that the National Government intervene.
When the President of South Africa announced the National Lockdown, he promised that there would be no load shedding. Eskom’s CEO said in a statement that there will be no load shedding during the Lockdown.
It is now day 35 of the National Lockdown and there has not been a single day in eMbalenhle where the community has not experienced power cuts.
From 27 March to date, every morning around 07h20 the power is cut until late in the evening. That is the biggest reason why the community does not adhere to the rules that were set out the by government.
“We have to go to shops almost every day to buy food because in our fridges we can’t store food. There is always no power,” said some of eMbalenhle’s residents.
What is even more devastating is that the township has apparently been divided into two categories; the holy places such as extension 04, 05, 09, 12 who never experience power cuts and then extensions 26, 11, 02, 15, 16, 22, 14 as well as Gate 7 and 8 who are always victims of the power cuts.
“What is even more shocking is that when we contact the municipality Call Centre to enquire about electricity, is the bad attitude we get from employees. Once you state that you stay at Welas they tell you how useless you are and nothing you’ll do,” said a few residents.
eMbalenhle residents were shocked on the morning of 29 March, when the Municipal Manager, Mr Simon Felani Mndebele, spoke on a national radio station giving the inaccurate information and making the wrong impression that things were going well in Govan Mbeki Municipality.
When the truth is that the situation is disastrous.
When The Bulletin contacted the call centre we were told that the community had exceeded their monthly demand.
There have been several open letters written to the President through social media, be it Facebook and Twitter and he is yet to answer…
If this continues there might be unrest in eMbalenhle very soon and that will contradict the Covid-19 regulations. – Sandile Mkhwanazi
A couple living in Hartbeespoort was arrested on Friday, 24 April 2020 for the illegal sale of Eskom pre-paid electricity vouchers. The arrest took place at their rented house situated in a luxurious estate in Hartbeespoort, after intensive investigations by members of the Pretoria Serious Organised Crime Investigations unit supported by the Eskom Internal Investigations Department. The arrest followed the issuing of an arrest warrant which was duly executed.
According to Peter Malitsha, Eskom’s Senior Manager responsible for internal investigations, “the ongoing investigations by the Pretoria Serious Organised Crime Investigations unit were triggered by an arrest that was made in December 2018, where two illegal credit dispensing units (CDUs) were recovered and seized in another rented house located in an opulent estate in Pretoria East.”
“The suspects are not registered Eskom vendors, yet they issued vouchers originated from stolen Eskom CDUs. In addition, the suspects were found in possession of fraudulent Disaster Management Act (DMA) travelling permits, R20 000.00 cash and pre-paid electricity vouchers which were immediately confiscated by the investigation team,” Malitsha added.
This event led to the arrest of a third suspect in Kempton Park, who is allegedly known to be the originator of the fraudulent travelling permits which enabled the suspected couple to travel for their illegal business of selling Eskom pre-paid vouchers.
According to Malitsha, the illegal buying and selling of pre-paid electricity vouchers is one of the forms of electricity theft which leads to the country’s economic downturn, job losses, spikes in energy tariffs, and pressurises the taxpayer’s pocket and those who are legal electricity buyers.
As Eskom, we would like to thank the SAPS and our Eskom Internal Investigation team for making this operation a success.
We continue to urge all South Africans to help combat the illegal buying and selling of prepaid electricity vouchers and other forms of electricity and infrastructure theft by remaining legal. Customers can anonymously report illegal activities to the toll-free Eskom reporting line: 0800 112 722.
Hunger has no colour! Communities from all over Govan Mbeki Municipality have been feeling the brunt of the COVID-19 lockdown. With no prospects of any income, large communities have been suffering to make ends meet and to put food on the table and are sometimes dependant on donations.
People of the Holfontein Community queuing for their parcels
The Trichardt Zakaat and Welfare Fund saw the need and decided to help. Only about 25 families from Trichardt contribute to this fund.
The working committee met and identified communities as well as individual families that needed help with food. One such community is the community known as the Holfontein community. The committee visited the area and identified the households that were in need. They handed them a voucher that was to be redeemed for food when the food parcels arrived.
The Trichardt Zakaat and Welfare Fund met with other role players in Trichardt and a plan of action was devised for the distribution of food to the Holfontein community.
Over 1200 food parcels were prepared by the fund for distribution.
On Thursday 23 April, the area at the soccer grounds next to Holfontein community was prepared and barrier tape indicated the route to take to receive parcels. It was all very well organised. The trucks arrived and were neatly positioned. Smaller delivery vehicles were also present filled with bread.
Trucks and Bakkies loaded with food
Voucher receiving area
Handing out the food
Everyone is busy making sure the process runs smoothly
Voucher receiving area
Handing out the food
Handing out the food
Handing out the food
Handing out the donations
Waiting for the community
Still organising
First recipients arrive
Fully loaded truck with donations
Discussing security matters
Fully loaded truck with donations
Scenes from the issuing area
A number of security companies were on hand under the watchful eye of Trichardt SAPS to ensure that there was no rushing, stampeding and looting. Fortunately, no incidents were recorded during the whole day.
The Department of Health also cordoned off an area where screening took place. After some initial teething problems, the process started to gain momentum.
Screening area
Whats your temperature?
Screening area
Filling the forms
Water for the thirsty
Screening area
Department of Health screening residents
Screening by Dept of Health (GMM)
Families collected food from the trucks and proceeded through the screening process. The vulnerable were targeted for screening and several medical practitioners were on hand under the leadership of Sister Mercy Masilela.
Over 720 parcels and about 1400 loaves of bread were handed out at Holfontein.
The Trichardt Zakaat and Welfare Fund restocked their vehicles and proceeded to other nearby communities. They ended by distributing to residents within Trichardt and Secunda as well.
The Trichardt Zakaat and Welfare Fund would like to thank the following people for their contributions to making this distribution a success:
They would like to express their thanks to God for giving them the ability and means to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Thank you to all the donors for their heartwarming contributions and donations.
Thank you to all those that assisted on the day and in the preparations.
Trichardt SAPS
Security companies that assisted namely Stratcon, Roman and SSS
Isibonelo Mine Security
The Department of Health.
Ward Councillor Ciska Jordaan
Councillor Jordaan sent the following message to The Bulletin:
As the ward councillor of Ward 25, I am extremely grateful for the selfless contributions that have been made by several organisations towards those in the community that are severely impacted by COVID-19 and the measures that have been put in place to spread the curb of the virus.
The Trichardt Zakaat and Welfare fund, the Muslim community, the Trichardt CPF, Anglo, members of the Zello group, Simunye HBC, Trichardt SAPS and the Health Department have all contributed in their own way such as by donating a considerable amount of food and soap, screening residents and keeping us safe. It is an immense honour for me to serve a community that has such a deep sense of neighbourly love and selfless giving. Their actions indeed prove once again that as South Africans we are stronger together. This togetherness reinforces the beauty behind the meaning of Freedom Day that we’ve just celebrated.
View of the food distribution
I’d like to wish the Muslim community a Ramadan Mubarak and admire tremendously the care they have shown for the community. Lastly, I encourage communities to continue to do their part in curbing the spread of Corona Virus by adhering to the lockdown regulations, washing their hands often and exercising social distancing.
The Bulletin would also like to express their gratitude to all those that are making a difference in others lives during this time. There is so much need in our area. Those that can make a difference can contact The Bulletin at encee@thebulletin.co.za or 0825547589 and we will gladly guide you to the organisation of your choice. Donations are also welcome
The following is a press release from Secunda Mall:
As we head into level 4 tomorrow and with more stores being able to trade. We have set out strict rules for when shopping at Secunda Mall. Rules can be found at every entrance and all main gates.
Remember stores are opening for essential shopping only and we would like to reiterate that all customers only shop when absolutely necessary.
We would all like to see things return to the new normal as soon as possible. And this can only be done by being mindful and following the rules.
The following tenants will be trading on 1 May:
@Home
Ackermans
African Bank
Bargain Books – 5 May
Biltong @ ZA
Capitec
Checkers Hyper
Checkers Medirite Pharmacy
Clicks
Contempo
Cotton On
Crazy Store
Cross Trainer
Dischem
Dynamic Vision
Edgars
Exact
Food Lover’s Market
Foschini
Game
Hi Fi Corporation
Identity
Imraan Outfitters
Incredible Connection
Jet
Legit
Markham
Matrix Warehouse
Miladys
Mr Price Clothing
Mr Price Home
MTN
Nedbank
Pep Clothing
Pep Home – 2 May
Pick ‘n Pay
PNA
Pick ‘n Pay Clothing
Sheet Street
Shoe City
Sport Scene
Truworths
Vodacom
Vodacom 4 U
Woolworths
*Trading hours are yet to be confirmed.
* Limited trade as set out by the South African government is applicable
We urge customers to kindly contact the stores directory when planning a trip to Secunda Mall. Store contact details can be found on our website: www.shopsecundamall.co.za or by calling: 010 001 0254
This morning at Evander Hospital, Sasol donated linen, crockery, hospital beds, air conditioners, hand sanitisers and other amenities to the Department of Health, Gert Sibande District. Sasol also donated 3 vehicles, fuel and the assistance of data capturers to assist the Department in their COVID-19 initiatives.
“I understand that SASOL has not spent less then R 4.5 million to this course. This of course excludes the overheads and other costs,” the MEC: Health Mpumalanga, Ms Manzini said in her keynote address.
MEC: Health Mpumalanga, Ms Manzini
She continued: ”Today is a deeper reflection of how the public-private partnership is working towards the improvement of our people’s lives and bettering specifically healthcare service delivery. According to chapter 2 of the Constitution in the Bill of Rights, it clearly states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare and no one may be refused emergency medical treatment.”
Mr Simon Baloyi, Senior Vice President of Sasol Chemicals Operations, said: “We became very proactive. From day 1 we sprang into action. We donated over 7000 hazmat suits and facemasks and also more than 14 000 litres of sanitisers to the district and the province and all the border posts. We continue to give sanitiser to the hospitals, SAPS and the taxis.” (Watch video interview for full speech)
The opening and speeches were followed with a tour of the hospital to see all the equipment that have already been installed and is being used.
Donated items:
Ms Nanana Hlatswayo, Gert Sibande Health District, was excited to see the new hospital beds that were donated to Evander Hospital. A bed was taken out of its wooden box and set up for all to see.
“With an emergency of this kind, there are bound to be teething challenges – and I am confident that we shall overcome this storm. As we navigate ourselves out of this storm, we remain confident that South Africans will continue to respond positively to our fight against this pandemic, which is the greatest threat to our lives,” Ms Manzini said.
The whole event was kept brief and only a few people were present.
