insert_link South Africa Firefighters Make Significant Progress Containing Cape Winelands Fires The Cape Winelands Municipality reports substantial headway in controlling the fires in Worcester, Wolseley, and Rawsonville. Municipality spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto states that most of the fire lines demanding active firefighting efforts have been successfully contained. However, she notes that the fire line along the Brandvlei mountains toward the prison still exhibits active flames. todayFebruary 2, 2024 23
insert_link South Africa Firefighters Grapple with Intense Blazes Despite Marginal Nighttime Cooling in Cape Winelands While slightly cooler night temperatures provided some respite, firefighters continue to combat multiple blazes in Worcester, Wolseley, and Rawsonville within the Cape Winelands Municipality. Presently, nine firefighting vehicles with crews and an additional 65 ground crew members are on the scene. Jo-Anne Otto, the municipality's spokesperson, highlighted the challenging conditions, mentioning that the South African Weather Service predicts temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius today, posing additional hurdles for firefighting activities. […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 21
insert_link South Africa High Court in Western Cape Rejects Bid to Halt Sanction, Upholds Parliament’s Decision African National Congress Member of Parliament, Dipuo Peters, is set to be suspended from all parliamentary activities from today until 28 March. The High Court in the Western Cape dismissed Peters's attempt to halt the sanction, endorsing Parliament's decision. The suspension stems from allegations of state capture during Peters's tenure as the Minister of Transport. The accusations include a failure to appoint a CEO for the Passenger Rail Agency of […] todayJanuary 30, 2024 12
insert_link South Africa FOLLOW UP: Uncontrolled Fires Persist in Breede Valley and Witzenberg, Cape Winelands; Night Conditions Offer Some Respite In a follow-up to our previous report, wildfires in Breede Valley and Witzenberg within the Cape Winelands district continue to rage uncontrollably. However, more favorable outcomes have been observed due to cooler night temperatures and reduced wind speeds. Jo-Anne Otto, spokesperson for the Cape Winelands District Municipality, notes that the combination of hot, dry weather and available fuel, such as aged fynbos and alien vegetation, remains conducive to the fires. […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 13
insert_link South Africa Cape Winelands District Municipality says the fire line continues to burn out of control The Cape Winelands District Municipality says the fire line continues to burn out of control in the more inaccessible areas of the mountains above Kluitjieskraal outside Wolseley. Firefighters have been battling the fire since Monday afternoon, with about 40 structures lost. The municipality’s spokesperson, Jo-Anne Otto, says the area causing the most concern at present is the fire line, fuelled by the aged pine plantation, and strong winds, which is […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 4
