For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I am Halima Frost.

Making headlines: DA takes to the streets against Eskom’s proposed tariff increases; Motshekga praises decision to bring Denel under the wing of the Defence dept; And, HSRC report reveals high HIV prevalence in Mpumalanga

DA takes to the streets against Eskom’s proposed tariff increases

The Democratic Alliance will on Wednesday hold a National Day of Action across all nine provinces, to oppose Eskom’s request for a 36% electricity tariff increase.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will decide whether to approve the request, which would then take effect from April 1, 2025.

DA Electricity and Energy spokesperson Kevin Mileham said the party’s mass action is being organised ahead of an urgent Parliamentary debate scheduled for Thursday, where the DA will formally oppose what it calls “Eskom’s exorbitant demands”.

Mileham said Eskom’s increases over the years have placed unbearable financial strain on South African households and businesses.

Motshekga praises decision to bring Denel under the wing of the Defence dept

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga has praised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “wise” decision to bring State-owned enterprise Denel under the wing of the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans.

The move forms part of the government's plans to move those SOEs that reported to the former Department of Public Enterprises to their respective line departments.

She said this will help streamline the operations of Denel to the benefit of the South African National Defence Force, which will see benefits downstream.

Denel will now be directly supported by the leadership of the [SANDF] as its number one client.

This, in turn, will ensure that Denel is positioned as a premier SOE in the defence environment, ensuring that Denel moves in the right trajectory to deliver on its mandate.

And, HSRC report reveals high HIV prevalence in Mpumalanga

The Human Sciences Research Council announced today that the Mpumalanga province has the highest HIV prevalence in the country, at 17.4%, calling for targeted interventions.

This translates to an estimated 890 000 people living with HIV in the province.

The HSRC released the key findings of the Sixth South African HIV Prevalence, Incidence, and Behaviour Survey which indicated that, in 2022, HIV prevalence among all ages was highest in the Gert Sibande municipality with 20.5%, with Ehlanzeni at 16.0% and the lowest in Nkangala with 13.1%.

The study showed that HIV prevalence in the province was 7.8% among youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years, and 1.5-fold higher among males (9.8%) than females (6.3%) in this age group.

The overall principal investigator of the study, HSRC Professor Khangelani Zuma, noted that among adults between 25 and 49 years of age, HIV prevalence was 26.4% overall, and 1.6-fold higher among females (31.9%) than males (19.9%).

By locality, HIV prevalence was higher among those residing in rural formal/farms (21.1%) and rural informal areas (18.4%) and lower in urban areas (15.5%), but the difference was not significant, Zuma said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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