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FCT Residents Accuse Minister Of Discriminatory Demolition

Toyin Adebayo
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FCT Residents Accuse Minister Of Discriminatory Demolition

Says PDP Chairman House Spared

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accused the administration of being selective in its continuing demolition exercises in the nation’s capital.

Some locals, particularly those in the Iddo Sabo neighbourhood, who spoke with newsmen on the site following the clean-up, claimed that the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation left some structures belonging to big wings untouched.

It would be recalled that approximately a month ago, the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation, led by Comrade Ikharo Attah, demolished unlawful structures near the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) permanent site at Iddo Sarki and Sabo Iddo.

One of the victims, Samuel Amalu said, ” just came here two years ago, I bought the land from chief and we were not told that they were coming for demolition. I cried when my house was brought down but I later stop crying because doing such will not solve the problem.

“The house left here belong to chairman of PDP, and he said they can’t touch his house. According to him, he decided to remove his zinc because of the pain we are feeling, but leaving his house and demolishing the ones inside is not fair”

Another resident, Mrs Apollos Funmi asked why the PDP chairman’s house was spared when every other structure around his house was pulled down.

“How comes that the PDP chairman’s house was spared, the demolition is not fair to the ordinary man.” she said.

Reacting to the allegations , the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, dismissed the accusations as baseless and unfair, insisting that the administration has always applied the principle of human face while implementing it’s policies.

Attah, however, maintained that the cleanup operation is being carried out in phases, stressing that the supposed spared houses were only given time to evacuate their properties.

“I think it’s completely unfair for anyone to accuse the FCT Minister of being bias or partial. Which is not the case at all. It’s all about the policy of human face which we recognize here.”

Giving instances of such he said, “The day we went to Iddo Sabo, you all saw what played out there, we tried as much as possible to understand the people.

“What I can tell you is that the owner of that particular building pleaded with us very strongly that he is somewhat not as prepared as expected, in fact that he was in shock. And in line with the human face principle, we decided to give them time. We went in, finished the cleanup operation for that particular day and pulled out with a promise to return. The same thing played out when we went into Iddo Sarki where we went to the house of a particular widow but the councilor in that area appealed that we give her time so they can relocate her beyond the fence line so you see its all about human face and not bias. If you follow through all our operations, you will see we have been fair

“Though we haven’t returned to Iddo Sabo since the last operation we carried out in the community about two weeks ago, but that does not mean we are biased and will be unfair to judge us as being bias.

“If you know the FCT Minister can vouch for him that Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, will be the last man to be partial. Even if Attah is partial, the minister will not be partial and that’s just the honest truth about it, and we must set the records straight,” he explained.

Mpape Cleanup: Residents Want Increased Security Surveillance Of dislodged criminals

Toyin Adebayo
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Mpape Cleanup: Residents Want Increased Security Surveillance Of dislodged criminals

…As 536 Structures Are Demolished

Residents of Mpape village wanted stronger security surveillance in order to dissuade angered displaced criminal groups from attacking innocent people.

Unprovoked attacks and theft of innocent people’s personal belongings have continued since the intensive cleaning operation began, with a focus on structures along road corridors and shanties housing suspected criminals, according to the horrified residents.

The clean-up exercise found 536 structures, the most of which were shanties, as well as local drama theaters, also known as ‘gidan drama’ in hausa, and a number of other locations suspected of being criminal hideouts.

Residents’ reactions to the intense bombardment, on the other hand, were divided.

While some locals claimed that the activity produced a clean environment, others urged that it be restricted to the highways.

Comrade Ikharo Attah, Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, said the cleanup exercise will take a long time, adding that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has promised to restore sanity to Mpape.

Attah went on to say that several of the structures demolished near highways were said to be housing criminal gangs.

While the administration was sad that the exercise caused so much disruption to citizens, he highlighted that the government could not be on the lookout for illegalities that would lead the exercise to be overrun.

According to him; ” what we observed today is the excessive level of criminalities in Mpape is very worrisome, you can see that even today they are still snatching people’s things.

” Several arrests have been made of the criminals. We thought we could just restrict ourselves to along the roads, but we have to move to where the criminals are staying”, he said.

On the arrested suspects, the Commander Combined Task Force, Idowu Azeez disclosed that about four suspected criminals that were arrested with some dangerous weapons were handed over to the Mpape Police divisional headquarters for further investigation. 

He also noted that Security will be beefed in the area to forestall further attacks of the residents. 

Also speaking , the Secretary, Command and Control of FCT Security Services, Mr Peter Olumuji said the Secretariat was working in concert with relevant security agencies to provide more surveillance within the area. 

Olumuji noted that the reported increased snatching of personal belongings from residents, was because the dislodged criminal elements have become shelterless.

He hinted that the security arrangements been put in place will ensure that all the criminal elements were completely eliminated from the place.

NiMet Warn Nigerians Against Flood Occurrences Across 34 States

Ekaette Ibuot
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NiMet Warn Nigerians Against Flood Occurrences Across 34 States

The Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has warned of slim chances of flash floods across 34 states in the federation in the next three days.
This was contained in a statement signed by the General Manager, Public Relations, Muntari Yusuf Ibrahim.

The statement noted that the moderate to heavy rainfall which could lead to flash floods are expected to commence from Tuesday, 24th, through to Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of August, 2021.
It further disclosed that, the flood could affect states such as, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Kebbi, Niger, FCT, Plateau, Adamawa, Taraba, Kwara, Oyo, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Abia and River States.

NiMet advised that the slim chances of flash flood events on roads, settlements, farmlands and bridges could be more pronounced and as a result, there are increased likelihood of cars skidding off the road and chances of car crashes.

The Agency has also cautioned the public to take heed and avoid damages from rain related hazards occasioned by the predicted flash flood.

NiMet further advised Nigerians not to treat this current update with kid gloves as the previous three-day forecast issued towards the end of last month was 100 percent accurate with disheartening tales of lives and property affected significantly.

FG To Partner Hungarian Company To Produce Airplanes In Nigeria

Ekaette Ibuot
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FG To Partner Hungarian Company To Produce Airplanes In Nigeria

The Federal Government has expressed its readiness to partner with the Magnus aircraft Manufacturing industry in Hungary to establish an assembling plant and begin to manufacture in Nigeria from start to finish before the end of the Buhari administration.

The Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika expressed the interest when he paid an inspection visit to the Magnus Aircraft Industry in Pogany, Hungary.

According to a statement by the Director Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, Sirika explained that “if we venture with them, we may start with assembling plant and later manufacturing”, adding that the Magnus aircraft is an aeroplane that is good for Military training, has an aerobatic manoeuvre and is made of fully composite materials high strength and very lightweight.

Aerobatics is the practice of flying manoeuvres involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport.

Sirika further said he was very satisfied with the features and more than willing to facilitate the production of the aeroplanes in Nigeria, saying one of the significant features of the Magnus aircraft is that it uses normal car petrol and outperforms any training aircraft of its kind”

The Minister who was at the facility on the invitation of the Company, said the proposed partnership with the aircraft manufacturer will be subjected to further analysis to verify the market and government willingness to partner with a significant amount of money and logistics.

He emphasized that the local production of aircrafts in the country will facilitate the growth of Nigeria as a regional aviation super power as it will also come with maintenance and repair facilities that will attract patronage from neighbouring countries.

Gunmen Invade NDA, Kill Two Soldiers, Abduct One

Saladin Babagana
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Gunmen Invade NDA, Kill Two Soldiers, Abduct One

Gunmen on Tuesday, invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in Kaduna state, killing two soldiers, and abducting another.

This was contained in a statement made available by Major Bashir Muhd Jajira, the Academy Public Relations Officer, (PRO), said that the security architecture of  the Academy  “was compromised  early this morning by unknown gunmen who gained access into  the residential area within the Academy in Afaka. During the unfortunate incident, we lost two personnel and one was abducted.”

Jajira said the Academy in collaboration with the 1Division Nigerian Army and Air Training Command as well as other security agencies in Kaduna state had since commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen within the general area with a view to tracking them and rescuing the abducted personnel.

He hinted the NDA community and Cadets were safe in the Academy, while assuring the general public that, “this unknown gunmen would soon be apprehended and the abducted personnel rescued.”

FCTA Vows To Sustain Cleanup For One Year

Toyin Adebayo
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FCTA Vows To Sustain Cleanup For One Year

…Miscreants Wreck Havoc After Demolition In Mpapa, Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has promised to keep the cleanup exercise in Mpapa going in order to maintain the Abuja Master Plan.

This was in response to the disorderly behaviuor of miscreants who raced to the streets of Mpape on Monday, grabbing women’s handbags and cell phones as soon as the task team left for another demolition site.

After a three-day pause, the FCT Ministerial Task Force on City Sanitation resumed demolition work, prompting citizens to return with an umbrella market, which enraged the authorities.

On the ever-bustling road, miscreants harassed passers-by to the point where they noticed the FCT Task Team Chairman, Comrade Ikharo Attah, who led a combined task team on the demolition exercise to demolished shanties, brothels, worship centers, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers Office (NURTW), miscreants harassed passers-by when they noticed the task team had moved to another location to finish the demolition.

The task force swiftly arrives on the scene and disperses the hoodlums, allowing motorists and other passerby to utilize the road freely.

Following the clean-up effort, Attah hinted and announced that the operation would last until December.

He explained that the decision was necessitated by the fact that shanties resurfaced within a week following the previous demolition.

In order to prevent the reemergence of illegal projects along the Mpape road corridor, he stated that the three-week effort would have to be prolonged.

Because Mpape has proven to be more difficult than usual invasion, he has promised that it will now be a theater of operation clean-up that would be continued.

According to him; “Today we are back to Mpape for what appears to be the most massive job since we came into Mpape community. We have begged residents of the area to vacate the road side where we are having enormous challenges because of the scrap market sitting on the road bed.

“The challenges of the roadside is also occasioned by the old shanty market that is badly bastardized in terms of urban and regional town planning use and practices so we had to torch the panteka market as well as the shanty market which are clearly a violation of town planning and the Abuja master plan.

“We thought the clean up in Mpape will be done in three weeks, but what we have seen in the last week that we were not on ground shows that the operation clean up Mpape will last till the end of this year. We can’t leave Mpape till the end of this year, we may not be standing here every day but it will be routine and periodic clean up.

“We are telling the people not to be deceived Mpape is a theater of operation clean up.

“The minister of FCT malam Muhammad Bello had handed over Mpape to us as a task team to clean up the whole area and report back to him, if he is not satisfy we will continue till next year,” he warned.

He further stated that, The Mpape scrap market, also known as panteka market, was demolished, as were brothels and other premises, as part of a demolition operation conducted out by a Joint Task Force made up of officials from various security organizations.

The panteka market, which is known for selling stolen goods and illegal substances, is claimed to not only provide cover for criminals, but also add to traffic congestion on Mpape lone road.

Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Olumuji Secretary, Command and Control, FCT Security Department, also reacted, assuring that the ongoing cleansing efforts will evict miscreants and criminals from their hideouts.

He claimed that the panteka has been a haven for criminals for years, but that the demolition of the market will put an end to criminality in the region.

Mpape: FCTA Condemns Massive Comeback Of Umbrella Markets, Says Demolition Is Just About 25% Complete

Toyin Adebayo
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Mpape: FCTA Condemns Massive Comeback Of Umbrella Markets, Says Demolition Is Just About 25% Complete

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has condemned the rebuilding of massive umbrella markets in the Mpape neighborhood, following the dismantling of illegal structures in the region a few days ago.

Comrade Ikharo Attah, Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation, made the remark during an appraisal visit to the area on Sunday in Abuja.

He told them that unlawful structures were still being demolished and that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, had asked the team to totally clean up Mpape.

Anyone planning any construction or modification work should wait until the operation is completed, according to Attah.

Anyone contemplating a project in Mpape must first certify the work and get approval from the FCT Department of Development Control, according to him.

Attah vows that no illegal development or structure would be tolerated in Mpapa because he was a clean-up theater.

According to him; ” We carried out major clean up of shanties and illegal structure, two weeks ago from the very heart of over densely populated Mpape community.

” We have not gotten to 25 per cent of the total clean up operation we are supposed to do but sadly, while we spend the whole of last week doing evaluation of the entirety of the work done across the city as well as going on surveillance inspections.

” I can tell you what we saw at Mpape was not looking good at all. Some person assumed that we are not going to resume demolition, some even carry rumours that the taskforce has been disbanded by the FCT Minister.

” If you look at Mpape now the enormity of illegality that is coming up there are multidimensional. The mobile shanties and massive return of umbrella or canopy markets, particularly in the evening is not good at all.”

Attah said the the taskforce would continue to remove all illegality in area, adding that the operation would touch Bedger Quarry and Panteka market by the roadside which was very disturbing.

” Sadly, they brought back all secondhand building materials to the road but we are going to push them back very strongly.

” To be very candid we have not even properly dress the set back we took and have not look at the old market because that particular one is an eye saw.

” What we saw within the week particularly this weekend shows that it is a bad bleeding points.

” And we spoke to the Bwari Area Council that the market it is a bad bleeding points with no entry point at all. It is very disturbing and with all of this there is still much work to be done.

” Mpape is just beginning and we are not going to issue special notice again like we did in the past. It is an ongoing operation so there is no need for new notice.

” We told people to vacate but many of them refused and even those that we removed their shanties have fully return trying to do whatever they can do,” Attah further stated.

1 Billion Children Live In One Of 33 Countries Classified As “Extremely High-risk”, UNICEF

Toyin Adebayo
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0
1 Billion Children Live In One Of 33 Countries Classified As “Extremely High-risk”, UNICEF

UNICEF report launched today has revealed that young people living in Nigeria are among those most at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education and protection.

The report further hinted that, Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index is the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective. It ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.

Launched in collaboration with Fridays for Future on the third anniversary of the youth-led global climate strike movement, the report finds approximately 1 billion children nearly half the world’s 2.2 billion children live in one of the 33 countries classified as “extremely high-risk”.

The findings reflect the number of children impacted today; figures likely to get worse as the impacts of climate change accelerate.

Nigeria is ranked second among these countries, together with Chad, and just after the Central Afracan Republic (ranked first). The report found Nigerian children are highly exposed to air pollution and coastal floods, but also that investments in social services, particularly child health, nutrition and education can make a significant difference in our ability to safeguard their futures from the impacts of climate change.

UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Peter Hawkins said, the climate crisis is a child’s rights crisis.

He stated that, “Nigeria is not immune to the effects of climate change, but we can act now to prevent it from becoming worse. We need to  invest in the services children depend on to survive and thrive such as water, healthcare and education to protect their futures from the impacts of a changing climate and degrading environment.”

The Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) reveals that globally:

240 million children are highly exposed to coastal flooding;

330 million children are highly exposed to riverine flooding;

400 million children are highly exposed to cyclones;

600 million children are highly exposed to vector borne diseases;

815 million children are highly exposed to lead pollution;

820 million children are highly exposed to heatwaves;

920 million children are highly exposed to water scarcity;

1 billion children are are highly exposed to exceedingly high levels of air pollution

An estimated 850 million children – 1 in 3 worldwide – live in areas where at least four of these climate and environmental shocks overlap. As many as 330 million children – 1 in 7 worldwide – live in areas affected by at least five major shocks.

The report also reveals a disconnect between where greenhouse gas emissions are generated, and where children are enduring the most significant climate-driven impacts. The 33 extremely high-risk countries – including Nigeria – collectively emit just 9 per cent of global CO2 emissions. Conversely, the 10 highest emitting countries collectively account for nearly 70 per cent of global emissions. Only one of these countries is ranked as ‘extremely high-risk’ in the index.

“The frightening environmental changes we are seeing across the planet are being driven by a few but experienced by many,” said Peter Hawkins. “Children know climate change is a threat to their future, and they are calling on world leaders to act. So far, too little has been done, but we still have time. We must urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work as a global community to build a better world for all children.”

Without the urgent action required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, children will continue to suffer the most. Compared to adults, children require more food and water per unit of their body weight, are less able to survive extreme weather events, and are more susceptible to toxic chemicals, temperature changes and diseases, among other factors.

UNICEF, therefore called on governments, businesses and relevant actors to: Increase investment in climate adaptation and resilience in key services for children. To protect children, communities and the most vulnerable from the worst impacts of the already changing climate, critical services must be adapted, including water, sanitation and hygiene systems, health and education services; Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, comprehensive and urgent action is required. Countries must cut their emissions by at least 45% (compared to 2010 levels) by 2030 to keep warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

More so, Provide children with climate education and greens skills, critical for their adaptation to and preparation for the effects of climate change. Children and young people will face the full devastating consequences of the climate crisis and water insecurity, yet they are the least responsible. We have a duty to all young people and future generations.

Include young people in all national, regional and international climate negotiations and decisions, including at COP26. Children and young people must be included in all climate-related decision making. 

Ensure the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is green, low-carbon and inclusive, so that the capacity of future generations to address and respond to the climate crisis is not compromised.

NNPC Resumes Oil Production In Ogoni 30 Years After

Saladin Babagana
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NNPC Resumes Oil Production In Ogoni 30 Years After

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has resumed crude oil production in the Ogoni region after an Appeal Court judgment affirmed its operatorship of the Oil Mining License 11 (OML 11).

This came after more than 30 years of a legal tussle with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over the entitlement to a renewal of the Lease on OML 11.

The Federal High Court, Abuja had on August 23, 2019, held that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was entitled to the renewal of the Lease on OML 11.
The NNPC thereafter went to an Appeal Court to challenge the ruling.
But the Appellate Court in Abuja on Monday held that the Minister of Petroleum Resources has the discretion whether or not to renew the OML 11 Lease in favour of SPDC.
The Court further held that the minister rightly exercised his discretion in awarding the OML 11 Lease to NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC.
Friday, a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammad, quoted the NNPC Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, as saying that the ruling had paved the way for the NPDC to lead a formidable OML 11 team towards bolstering productivity in a responsible, efficient, environmentally friendly, and sustainable manner.
Accordingly, he said the resumption of operations on OML 11 will demonstrate the NPDC’s full commitment to develop and add value to its communities and the nation as a whole.
“We now have an opportunity to reconstruct a new beginning on OML 11, driven by global best practices and a social contract that would put the people and environment of the Niger Delta above pecuniary considerations.
“This is a huge victory for the government and people of Nigeria as we now have the impetus to responsibly unlock the oil and gas reserves the block offers for the benefit of all Nigerians,” Malam Kyari stated.
The statement further stated that the NPDC has taken over the assets and operations are in full gear.
It added that the company is working closely with all stakeholders and partners to achieve the new vision of “responsible, smart engineering and environmental sustainability,” that the federal government has endorsed for OML 11.
The NNPC GMD stated that the NPDC would pursue the promotion of clean energy via its gas production with prospects of gas-to-power initiatives to “light up opportunities in the region,” and provide the much-deserved industrialization.
The statement noted that the environment would be a top priority for NPDC’s operations, as well as the implementation of a robust host community engagement strategy to address subsisting issues while agreeing to a transparent engagement model going forward.
The NNPC cautioned against any further legal challenge by the SPDC, stressing that it was about time Nigeria derived the benefit of the OML11 after over three decades.

Doctors Strike: FG commences implementation of MOU with NMA on Monday

Ekaette Ibuot
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0
Doctors Strike: FG commences implementation of MOU with NMA on Monday

In a bid to end the indefinite strike of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the Federal Government will commence the implementation of its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige made this known in Abuja while making an opening remarks at the continuation of an all-stakeholder meeting he summoned at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, aimed at resolving the doctors strike. The meeting had earlier started at about 2pm on Friday and adjourned in the early hours of Saturday before reconvening in the afternoon.
Ngige who addressed journalists before the meeting went into closed door session, said both parties had reached agreements the previous night on all the 12 disputed issues, adding that implementation would start from the next working day (Monday).
Regarding the issue of non-payment of some house officers, the Minister said NARD is expected to submit the list of the affected 114 officers for further verification and when confirmed that they are genuine, and their IPPIS particulars and BVN are in order, they would be paid in September with the outstanding arrears.
He said an agreement was reached on the Residency Training Fund outstanding for 2020 and 2021, after the Budget Office had explained that N617, 429, 121 was the outstanding to be paid in the 2020.

“There are reconciliations to be done here because the 2020 was done with some errors. Some people who are not supposed to benefit from the fund got money and because of that, the number of genuine people that were not paid also came to that quantum of persons.

“So, reconciliation is being done and some monies are being returned. We have given a timeline for this reconciliation to be done.

“And for the 2021, the money approved by Government is N4.802B. This money like I said earlier was contained in the 2021 Supplementary Budget, which the President signed on the eve of his departure to UK for the meeting and medical check-up.

“So, between that time and now, it became a money law. The funds have now been sourced and it has gotten from the CBN to the Budget Office where we expect it to be processed in one week as undertaken by the Government side.”

Ngige added that the meeting agreed that by next Friday, August 27, residents in institutions would have started getting their money, with each receiving about N542, 000.

He noted that the issue of consequential adjustment on National Minimum wage cuts across the health and educational sectors, which were both affected by the projection of N160B done in 2019, but which fell short of the people that were to benefit from this.

“The meeting agreed that we need to let this matter. Therefore, the Budget Office of the Federation should start from the 2021 service vote to start paying. And if we have any leftovers, we roll it into the 2022.”

“Coming to hazard allowance, everybody agreed that the discussion is still ongoing and therefore government wants to finish it up. We agreed with NMA position to us that they don’t want to discuss holistically anymore as an association and that they have their own peculiarities that are not same with other health workers.
Ngige said the meeting equally noted that the non-payment of skipping allowance cuts across the entire health sector and therefore agreed that it was going to be handled holistically, while awaiting the court judgment on the matter.

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