“NO ELECTRICITY, NO VOTE,” SOUTH AFRICANS THREATEN TO SHUN RULING PARTY ANC. (PHOTO)

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 “No electricity, no vote,” South Africans threaten to shun ruling party ANC Residents in Katlehong, a township outside Johannesburg, have resolved to boycott South Africa's upcoming local elections on November 4 due to long-standing failures by authorities to provide basic services like electricity. For over 20 years, around 180 households in the community have relied on illegal electrical connections pulled from neighboring areas to power their homes. Angry over the lack of formal grid infrastructure, residents are directing their frustration at the ruling African National Congress (ANC). "We have made a collective decision: no electricity, no vote," said community leader Lesiba Rankapole, 59. "We know it is illegal, but we had no choice because we cannot live without electricity. Our children cannot progress without electricity." "I was born ANC, but today I do not want anyone to tell me about the ANC because I am suffering," added 57-year-old resid...

UN AGENCIES CONCERNED BY MPOX SPREAD IN CONGO'S REFUGEE CAMPS. (PHOTO).


 UN agencies concerned by mpox spread in Congo's refugee camps


 U.N. agencies on Tuesday raised the alarm about the spread of mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo's refugee camps where people are more susceptible to infection because of depleted immune systems and cramped living conditions, Reuters reported.


More than 7 million people are uprooted across Congo which has one of the highest displacement levels in the world, including those fleeing internal conflicts and disasters and those arriving from Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.


The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said that some 42 suspected mpox cases have so far been reported in refugee camps and transit centres in South Kivu, eastern Congo where there are nearly 2 million internally displaced people and refugees.


"For those fleeing violence, implementing many of the mpox measures is a tremendous challenge," said Dr. Allen Maina, Public Health Chief for UNHCR. "They have no space to isolate when they develop symptoms of the disease," he added, saying that infected individuals were opting to distance themselves from crowded shelters to sleep in the open to protect others.


Congo has had more than 18,000 suspected mpox cases and 615 deaths this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared an mpox health emergency this month after a new variant called clade Ib emerged.


Mpox, which causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, is sexually transmitted but can also spread through close contact with an infected person.

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