EWN reports that Northern Cape provincial leaders have urged farm owners to give workers regular breaks. Farmers are also expected to provide sunscreen lotions and protective gear, such as hats and lightweight loose clothing, to their workers.

MEC for Agriculture Mase Manopole confirmed last week that seven farm workers in the Kakamas area had died due to suspected heat stroke. According to Manopole's spokesperson Zandisile Luphala, one farm worker was on still a ventilator at the Kakamas Hospital. “The Northern Cape, like other parts of the country, is experiencing an extreme hot temperature in most parts of the districts. The South African Weather Services has forewarned of possible heatwaves in four provinces in the country, including the Northern Cape," Luphala indicated. “We are assembling a team, which is comprising of our department, the Department of Employment and Labour, as well as the Department of Health, to visit farmers which are affected,” Manopole reported.

• Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Kevin Brandt at EWN

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