“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...

SENATE PASSES BILL TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL AGENCY FOR MALARIA ELIMINATION. (PHOTO).


 The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination, marking a significant step towards strengthening the country’s fight against the disease.


The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB.172),” scaled third reading after the Senate considered and adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).


Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North, sponsored the bill.


Presenting the committee’s report, Senator Ipalibo Banigo, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), explained that the proposed agency would serve as the central coordinating body for all national efforts aimed at the prevention, control, and eventual elimination of malaria in Nigeria.


Banigo noted that stakeholder consultations on the bill received widespread support from health experts, government agencies, civil society organisations, and development partners. Participants at the consultations included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Justice, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, and the Nigeria End Malaria Council.


According to the committee’s report, the new agency is expected to shift Nigeria’s malaria response from a focus on treatment to a more proactive approach centred on prevention and elimination. It will establish zonal and state offices and implement a strategic plan grounded in law, science, and accountability.


Stakeholders emphasised the need for a specialised institution dedicated specifically to malaria elimination, rather than the current approach of managing recurring outbreaks. Lawmakers also adopted the term “elimination” instead of “eradication,” noting that the former is the internationally accepted terminology for country-level interventions.


The bill now awaits concurrence from the House of Representatives before it can be transmitted to the President for assent.

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