People's Post False Bay E-edition 25 November 2025

Chief Heat Officer will help to Beat the Heat

ANAMHLAMONAKALI

s the world grapples with rising temperatures and extreme heat events linked to climate change, the City of Cape Town has announced the appointment of Albert Ferreira, as its first Chief Heat Officer

Ferreira, who is also the City’s Manager for Resilience and Climate Change, will lead initiatives to raise public awareness and strengthen the City’s heat response measures as part of its Beat the Heat programme and broader Heat Action Plan

“Cape Town’s Climate Change Action Plan addresses various climate hazards including droughts, fires, floods, and storms The specific focus on extreme heat as a growing public health and urban planning challenge highlights the need to treat it with the same urgency as other climate hazards,” said Ferreira

In the hottest months, some parts of the city experience temperatures above 35°C The highest temperature on record for last year was

44,6°C, recorded at the Royal Cape Yacht Club in the Foreshore, the hottest yet for Cape Town

The Beat the Heat programme, introduced during the summer of last year, focuses on communities most affected by high temperatures, including Atlantis, Mamre, Dunoon, Joe Slovo and Sir Lowry’s Pass Village

The initiative is implemented by multiple City departments, including Environmental Management, Risk and Resilience, and Disaster Risk Management

Cape Town joined the international City Champions for Heat Action (CCHA) network last year, making it one of only three African cities, alongside Freetown and Kisumu County, to be part of the global partnership

“Albert’s appointment forms part of this international collaboration Chief Heat Officers across the world aim to unify city responses to extreme heat, accelerate protection measures, and reduce the risks and impacts of heat, especially for vulnerable communities,” said Gareth Morgan, the City’s Executive Director for Future Planning and

HIGHEST TEMP IN CITY LAST YEAR WAS 44.6°C

Resilience

The United Nations (UN) issued a Call to Action on Extreme Heat in July last year, urging governments to prioritise protecting vulnerable groups, workers, and communities while strengthening economic and social resilience

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joined other CCHA mayors in endorsing the call

The South African Weather Service has issued a warning of extremely hot and uncomfortable conditions expected over the Bergrivier and Matzikama municipalities, with daytime temperatures forecast to reach the 40s Residents are urged to take precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses

TIPSTOBEATTHEHEAT:

. Drink plenty of water, spray bottle or damp cloth to cool down

. Seek shade or visit air-conditioned public spaces such as

libraries or shopping centres

City of Cape Town has announced the ap-

. Wear lightweight, loose clothing and a wide-brim hat

. Limit outdoor activities to early morning or late afternoon

. Watch for signs of heat-related illness such as nausea, dizziness, or fainting, and seek medical help immediately

. Check on family, neighbours, and friends, especially those at higher risk

. For details and downloadable tools on heat safety,visit capetown gov za or access the City’s Beat the Heat educational materials site.

MyCiTiupdatestomodernvalidationtech

The City of Cape Town has announced plans to replace its current validators in its buses and at the stations from the beginning of December until the end of January next year

According to the City, these devices will be able to support modern and convenient payment methods in future The replacements will be done in phases, starting on Tuesday 2 December until Friday 30 January next year, if all goes as planned

“Our validators at the MyCiTi stations and on the buses are reaching their end of life and much like a mobile phone that needs to be replaced after a certain period, we now need to replace these validators with the modern version For now, the new single validators are only replacing the old separate “IN” and “OUT” machines on the buses and streamlining the boarding process for commuters,” said the City’s Mayco member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas

All work is planned for after hours and during off-peak times to minimise the disruption for commuters

As of Tuesday 2 December, commuters will notice replacement validators are activated at one station gate in the Stadium; Granger Bay; Refinery; Sandown and Janssens stations Around Thursday 4 December replacement validators will be activated on the first ten buses

Customers may encounter a mix

of old and new validators while the installations are still under way and commuters are encouraged to use the old separate IN and OUT validators At stations, customers should continue to tap in and tap out on any old validator or replacement validator in order to enter or exit These devices are also being used to replace info terminals at all stations where commuters view their card balance and transaction history

I am trying to be gentler with myself...

We all want to belong From the moment we take our first steps into school, society teaches us that our worth is tied to achievement, to being someone, doing something, building something We grow in years, in experience, in titles Somewhere along the way that hunger for belonging becomes tangled with the need to feel enough through what we do or produce I have come to realise that I’m married to work Not in the romantic sense, but in the way it occupies my thoughts, dictates my moods and defines my sense of worth For many of us this relationship starts innocently We pour ourselves into our studies, our first jobs and the careers that follow We tell ourselves it is ambition, that this is what success looks like Then life shifts From my observation the children one raises grow into their own people The career ladder one has climbed so relentlessly begins to feel less like an ascent and more like a treadmill One morning one wakes up

and wonders who one is outside of one ’ s job title, outside the roles one has played so diligently for years I see it all around me Friends who feel lost when they are not working Parents who struggle to rest because they do not know who they are beyond their families Colleagues who measure their worth by their productivity And I see it in myself too I often say I am married to my work, half as a joke, half as a confession Work gives me purpose and stability It keeps me focused But it also keeps me busy enough not to think too much about the deeper, messier parts of life

That is the danger, I think , when we start confusing doing with being When our sense of worth is tied to what we do rather than who we are

My generation was raised in a world that celebrates hustle and glorifies busyness We were told to dream big, work harder and never settle We internalised those messages until slowing down began to feel like failure It has become normal to answer emails at midnight, to skip rest days and equate exhaustion with success

But what happens when the career slows down, when the children grow up or when the titles fade? What happens when the thing that

once defined one becomes partly redundant, has partly outlived its use value?

That question haunts me sometimes Because I do not want to wake up one day and realise that I built my life entirely around my work, that I poured so much into becoming someone that I forgot simply how to be Work, like parenthood, can be a beautiful calling It gives purpose, structure and sometimes even meaning But it can also become a hiding place , a convenient distraction from the quieter work of being human There is safety in emails, meetings and deadlines There is clarity in schedules and targets The messiness of inner life, loneliness, grief, uncertainty, can always wait for later

Except “later” always comes It comes when the office lights dim and the house is quiet It comes when promotions lose their thrill, when children leave home or when one ’ s body reminds one it has limits even when one ’ s will does not It comes when one finally has time and the silence asks “Who are you now?”

I am learning that belonging comes from connection, to ourselves, to others and to moments that have nothing to do with ambition Sometimes that looks

like a quiet walk after a long day

Sometimes it is laughing with friends without checking one ’ s phone Sometimes it is doing absolutely nothing and realising one is still enough

That recognition takes practice For me it has meant setting boundaries that once felt impossible, saying no to late-night deadlines, taking weekends to reconnect with family and picking hobbies up that do not have outcomes or evaluations It means making peace with stillness, an uncomfortable task for those of us conditioned to measure our days in productivity I do not have the balance figured out yet, far from it But I am beginning to understand I cannot keep defining myself by what I do There has to be more There has to be room to breathe, to grow, to change

So I am trying Trying to be gentler with myself Trying to measure my days not by how much I achieve, but by how present I am Trying to build a life that is full, not just busy Because when the noise fades and the accolades mean less what will matter most is whether I still recognise myself Whether I can belong to me, not to my work, not to anyone else, but to the quiet truth of who I am becoming

CT launches season’s safety plan

F Firecrewsbattletocontainfires

‘Let’s keep going’ for change

KAYLYNNEBANTOM

KAYLYNNE BANTOM@NOVUSMED A CO ZA

A15-minute silence. Name after name more than 400 women and children called into the wind In the distance, an open, empty casket stands. Inside are the faces of those murdered or scarred by Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in South Africa.

These were the scenes at the Sea Point Promenade on Friday 21 November, where hundreds gathered for the national shutdown demanding urgent action on the country’s GBVF crisis

The 15-minute silence represented the 15 women killed daily in South Africa The shutdown was led by Women for Change, a non-profit organisation fighting for the constitutional rights and protection of women and children across the country As 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign starts today (25 November) until Wednesday 10 December, Sabrina Walter, founder of Women for Change, encouraged people to continue spreading awareness

“Let’s not change our profile pictures from the colour purple Let’s continue speaking up and

to both her bank and the police r prompt action within just 27 r the transactions,the bank denied ng that the payments had been auselfie-authentication on her trusted consumer escalated the matter to Financial Ombud (NFO), seeking Following investigation the NFO he funds had already been utilised aud was reported, leaving no opr recovery Also, the bank provided t biometric authentication was ove the transactions he specific facts of the complaint, nt that the compromise originatconsumer ’ s interaction with a hird-party app, which contained able of remote access and biometn d no proof was provided that the had taken place as a result of ration or safety and security failpart of the bank “By downloading nt app, the consumer essentially her phone,” she said, “including mation stored on her phone, to the d this resulted in the fraud The ngly could not conclude that the ble for the consumer ’ s loss ”

ANTI-FRAUDTIPS:

hare your OTP with anyone, even if o be from your credit provider picious calls immediately and credit provider directly using an e number and not the number the scammers

CALOFSOCIALMEDIAPROMOTIONS. gitimacy: Check official airline webfied social media accounts before aring personal info: Never post number or sensitive details publicly

WICEBEFOREDOWNLOADINGAPPS

ted sources – only download apps d developers with strong reviews ownload count

RYOURBANKACCOUNTSCLOSELY ansactions daily, especially after ctivity raud immediately to your bank and affidavit if needed s facing challenges are encouraged to NFO on tel: 0860 800

Readersspeakon‘BlackFriday’

As the nation gears for another Black Friday spending, People's Post reached out to Capetonians to get their take, plans and preparations for the day

. Jamie Adams believes Black Friday is out of touch with the realities of the society "Even the country and its economic deficiencies

I am most certainly not shopping on Black Friday, because firstly, the cost of living is so high I can't even think about buying anything but food and bare essentials, and most of the items in sale at the Black Friday specials are not even some of the basic essentials So instead of hyping up one day of the year retailers should try and make goods more affordable and accessible throughout the year "

. Ruwayda Thomas said Black Friday is not worth the hype "Many 'deals' aren't actually deals, stores

often advertise small discounts as if they're massive Black Friday deals, which creates pressure and one spends more to ' save ' Black Friday makes people forget the December holidays, food, gifts, travel, January school fees or budgeting stress You feel the 'saving' now, but get the financial stress later " Photo: Supplied

. Esther Julius: "I don't go with the hype pertaining to 'Balck Friday' because I feel it may be just a strategy to draw customers However, if you plan well you cannot go wrong

Do: Stick to a budget and create a list of what you actually need to avoid overspending Research items beforehand to confirm they are a good deal and use secure, reputable retailers for online or in-store shopping Don't:

Make impulsive purchases or fall for 'too-good-to-be-true' deals without verifying them first Avoid making emotional purchases or using a personal loan to finance your shopping spree "

. Avumile Dywili: "For me Black Friday is mostly hype Every year you see people rushing, but the discounts are not that impressive I do not think it is worth stressing over I am skipping it completely this year because I would rather save for December "

. Luvo Totana: "I think Black Friday can be worth it, but only if you go in with a plan Sometimes the specials look big, but when you compare prices it is not always a real saving I am only buying small things I actually need, such as toiletries I am not

planning to overspend this year "

. Gloria van Niekerk: "Black Friday depends on your shopping habits If you have a bit of extra cash available all good and well If not, don't borrow to spend To get the most value from this shopping experience research the prices ahead of time Do concentrate on items you really need and be strategic about such "For me personally, it's a no, no Shop with your head, not your heart "

. Camiellah Petersen: "I believe it is worth it because you safe alot of money and can buy your holiday shopping for less I will be in the line when open this year "

. Cathy Stevens: "People get so excited when they hear there's Black Friday sales My view on this is that

it's just a money-making story; the prices are no different from normal prices If it's half price then I would say yes, it's worth running for But for me it's a ' no story' People go mad shopping for Christmas and spending money on unnecessary things Life is so difficult nowadays where money is concerned "

. Nicole Jacobus: "Black Friday is upon us as is festivity As the Grassy Park Community Policing Forum we want to urge our community to be extra cautious at shopping malls, at the shops To our older folk: go with someone who can assist you and do not ask any strangers to do so at the tellers, the banks and so on As we know, this is the crazy season, however reluctant I actually am to use such expressions because they detract from the meaning of this period As a precautionary measure it's best to take a relative when shopping I know shopping centres have long queues "

CTCB will thrill audiences in 2026 season

Alice in Wonderland, chord Charles This colourful duction – set to debut in nth – features playful choanting storytelling accommusic

wo special performances: ation of Youth and Ballet, g dancers alongside CTCB t of a youth development

programme; and Velvet Feathers, an intimate tribute to classical ballet inspired by Swan Lake and other masterpieces

The season concludes in December with The Nutcracker, choreographed by Veronica Paeper with designs by Peter Cazalet, running from Friday 11 to Wednesday 30 December at Artscape

Artistic Manager Tracy Li says the season blends heritage, innovation and community engagement

Get ready to step back into the late '80s as one of Hollywood's most beloved love stories comes alive on stage next year

Pretty Woman: The Musical will make its South African debut at Artscape Theatre from Wednesday 18 March to Sunday 19 April, before heading to Johannesburg's Montecasino Teatro

Brimming with warmth, humour and romance, this dazzling stage adaptation of the 1990 film, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, promises a feel-good evening packed with laughter and nostalgia

With music and lyrics by poprock legend Bryan Adams and his long-time collaborator Jim Vallance, the show blends Hollywood glamour with Broadway sparkle

BOXOFFICERECORDS

When fate brings together the unlikely pairing of Vivian and Edward, they take a leap of faith on each other, and on love The result

is a joyous, uplifting celebration that captures all the charm of the original film while giving it new life through music and movement

Since its Broadway premiere in 2018, Pretty Woman: The Musical has broken box office records and wowed audiences in the West End, North America and across Europe

Produced by Showtime Management in association with Crossroads Live North America, this production will feature an allSouth African cast, crew and band working under a combined local and international creative team

The production carries a PG 12+ age restriction due to mature themes

Tickets start from R250 (or R200 on Terrific Tuesdays) Book before 30 November to enjoy a 20% early-bird discount valid for Wednesday and Thursday performances only (maximum six tickets per customer, limited availability) . Book at www ticketmaster co za