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| PRESIDENT ZUMA RETURNS FROM SUCCESSFUL DAVOS VISIT |
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| The President led a seven-minister delegation to Davos, where they promoted South Africa as a key destination for foreign direct investment and development partnerships. |
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President Jacob Zuma has returned upbeat and satisfied with the outcome of South Africa's participation at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
The President attended successful interactive sessions with both global and South African business executives who expressed interest in various areas such as infrastructure development in particular energy, transport, broadband as well as mining, agroprocessing, manufacturing and other sectors.
The ministers accompanying the President also participated as panellists in several sessions, and shared the South African story of progress and readiness to meet the challenges that face the country through implementing the National Development Plan.
"The investors heard our message. They understood us very well that where there are challenges, we have plans to remedy the situation, for example the energy shortage in the country that we are attending to through an infrastructure build and maintenance programme.
“They heard us when we said we want to see a stronger mining sector and a transformed mining sector hence the need to revitalise mining towns and communities.
“We are happy that South African business was able to echo our message in Davos, making it clear to all that we do talk and work together. We are building our country, and will continue to make progress. We made the point strongly that any wise businessperson would really want to have a presence in South Africa," said President Zuma.
On 22 January, President Zuma held bilateral meetings with John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and with Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The talks contributed to further enhancing the good relations that exist between South Africa and the two countries. |
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| PRESIDENT ZUMA SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA |
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| South Africa and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial relations. Diplomatic relations between South Africa and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were formalised during a visit by former President Nelson Mandela to that country in November 1994. |
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President Jacob Zuma, has, on behalf the Government and the people of South Africa, sent a message of condolences to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the passing of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and King of Saudi Arabia, His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
President Zuma said: “The Government and the people of South Africa share the grief of the entire Royal Family as well as the Government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at this time of bereavement. South Africa lauds King Abdullah King for his leadership role and efforts as a peace-maker and mediator, particularly in the Middle East region". |
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| PRESIDENT ZUMA CONGRATULATES NEW ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT |
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| President Zuma expressed his commitment to working closely with President Lungu to enhance the historical political relations which exist between South Africa and Zambia, putting particular focus on strengthening economic and social cooperation. |
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President Jacob Zuma has congratulated Edgar Lungu on his election as President of the Republic of Zambia, following the Presidential election held on 20 January in that country.
In his message, President Zuma also congratulated the people of Zambia for conducting a peaceful, transparent, credible, free and fair election as declared by the Southern African Development Community Election Observation Mission. – Source: SAnews.gov.za |
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| SUDANESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT AGREEMENT LAUDED |
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| Addressing delegates at the signing ceremony, Deputy President Ramaphosa, who is also the Special Envoy to South Sudan, paid tribute to Tanzania as a nation that inspired others to secure peace. |
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Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the reunification of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), saying he hopes the agreement will silence the guns in that country.
“This is a big night for peace on our continent. Tonight is Africa's peace night,” said the Deputy President.
“We expect this agreement will silence the guns that have been raging in South Sudan; that it will silence the guns of death, destruction and the displacement of thousands and thousands of people in South Sudan."
The SPLM intra-party dialogue was facilitated by Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, South Africa's African National Congress and the National Resistance Movement of Uganda, with the signing ceremony hosted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
The Arusha Agreement commits the SPLM to rebuilding and democratising the movement internally to promote national harmony and end the conflict afflicting the people of South Sudan, the newest State in the international community.
It also recognises the collective responsibility within the SPLM for the conflict in South Sudan and calls for a public apology to this effect by all SPLM groups.
The agreement commits the movement to expediting efforts to end the war and to enhance the values and culture of democracy, unity and development. – Source: SAnews.gov.za |
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| MINISTER NKOANA-MASHABANE PARTICIPATES IN THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN UNION (AU) |
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| The 2015 AU Summit is held under the theme: "Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063". |
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The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, participated in the 26th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU, from 26 to 27 January 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Executive Council Meeting, which was at Ministerial level, took place ahead of the AU Summit on 28 to 31 January 2015.
Among other matters, the Executive Council Meeting considered reports related to health, especially on the AU’s coordinated response to addressing the scourge of Ebola in West Africa; peace and security-related issues, including terrorism, development, financial, trade and administrative issues; as well as alternative sources of financing the AU.
The Executive Council also discussed country-specific matters on the continent, as well as the situation in the Middle East and Palestine. |
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| MINISTER PETERS HOSTS MEETING OF MINISTERIAL WORKING GROUP ON AIR TRANSPORT IN AFRICA |
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| The Ministerial Working Group was composed of members of the current Bureau of the Conference of the African Ministers of Transport (CAMT) and ministers from a select total number of 15 states representing each region of the African Union with various aviation backgrounds. |
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The Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, hosted the meeting of the African Ministerial Working Group on the establishment of a single air transport market in Africa in Pretoria on Wednesday, 21 January 2014. The meeting was convened with the main objective of engaging the ministers and seeking their guidance on the implementation of this major continental initiative in the air transport industry.
The specific objectives of the meeting were to:
- highlight to the ministers the benefits of full liberalisation and unification of air transport markets in Africa
- apprise the ministers of the actions taken so far in the implementation of the Summit Decision regarding the establishment of a single air transport market in Africa
- sensitise the ministers on the need to promote the initiative and request heads of state and government to support the establishment of a single African air transport market as well as express the readiness of their states to enter into an open skies agreement with other African countries, during the January 2015 AU Summit.
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| SOUTH AFRICAN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) PAYS A COURTESY VISIT ON UN SECRETARY-GENERAL (SG) BAN KI-MOON |
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| Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo informed the SG that South Africa was in full support of the SG’s priorities outlined on 8 January 2015 and would, as the Chair of the Group of 77 and China, work closely with the Executive Office of the SG. |
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On 21 January 2015, the South African Permanent Representative to the UN and also the Chair of the 134-member Group of 77 and China, Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, paid a courtesy call on the UNSG, Ban Ki-moon, to exchange views on the calendar of the UN in the year 2015.
Ambassador Mamabolo mentioned that as the Chair of the Group of 77, he would invite the SG to interact with the broader membership of the group to discuss issues of mutual concern and of global importance in the near future.
In turn, UN SG Ban Ki-moon said: “You can count on me and my staff during your chairmanship”. The SG added that the G77 was a very important organisation and its active engagement in UN processes was crucial.
He mentioned that the year 2015 would be a critical year as it marked the target date of the millennium development goals; the negotiations on the Climate Change legal instrument; the convening of the Third Conference on Financing for Development would be held; as well as a summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The SG added that during South Africa’s chairship, a number of multilateral high-level meetings would be organised, such as the World Summit on Information; the Disaster Conference in Japan and the Review of the Istanbul Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries, among others.
The Chair of the G77 and the SG agreed to work together to deepen cooperation between their two offices.
South Africa assumed the chairship of the Group of 77 and China, the largest negotiating block in the UN system on 8 January 2015 at a handover ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York to which the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Luwellyn Landers, led the South Africa delegation. |
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| SOUTH AFRICA MOVES RHINO ABROAD FOR SAFE KEEPING |
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| Home to around 80% of the global rhino population, South Africa is at the epicentre of a poaching crisis. |
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Around 100 rhino have been moved to unspecified neighbouring countries as part of efforts to stem the illicit slaughter of the animals for their horns.
Government figures released last week show the country lost a record 1 215 rhinos last year, about a 20% increase on the 2013 toll, with 49 slain so far this year.
The animals are being poached to meet soaring demand for rhino horn, coveted as an ingredient in traditional medicine in fast-growing economies such as China and Vietnam.
South Africa said in August that it planned to relocate rhinos from poaching "hot spots" in Kruger National Park, where about two-thirds of the killings take place. Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa told a news briefing that for security reasons, the precise countries where the rhinos had been moved would not be named.
Minister Molewa said that 56 of the animals had been moved within the Kruger itself, from danger zones to an “intensive protection zone”.
In 2015, another 200 rhinos will be moved from Kruger to what Molewa said were "strongholds" where the animals will be safer from poaching. Kruger's rhino population is around 9 000.
Twenty bids have been received to purchase the animals and are being evaluated. The money raised will be put back into conservation projects. Private ranchers own around 5 000 of South Africa's roughly 20 000 rhinos, part of a thriving game farming industry in Africa's most advanced economy catering to ecotourism and hunting. |
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| SADC MEDIA AWARDS ENTRIES NOW OPEN |
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| Minister Muthambi said the time had come for African journalists to tell African stories to the world, adding that having journalists who understood the development imperatives was key in the region’s ultimate socio-economic development. |
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Entries to the 2015 South African Chapter of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Media Awards competition are officially open.
The awards, which aim at encouraging journalists in member states to report on cross-border issues pertaining to the region as well as to recognise excellence in journalism in the area of print, photo, television and radio, was recently launched by the Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi.
The Minister said while other journalists were only interested in covering stories about famine, diseases and corruption in the region, she said there were so many untold stories of success.
“All we are urging for us is that Africa must begin to tell the good story and not allow a narrative of negativity to persist and override all that the world gets to know about us.” For more information, visit: http://www.sadc.int/awards/media-awards
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| SAA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF DIRECT FLIGHTS TO MAURITIUS |
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| South African Airways (SAA) first introduced flights between Johannesburg and the Indian Ocean Island in 1957 as a refuelling stop on route to Perth with direct end-point flights commencing eight years later. |
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This year, SAA celebrates 50 years of direct flights to Mauritius.
“The airline presently operates daily flights on the route with a recent 9% increase in frequency, resulting in twice daily operations on Thursdays with double flights on Saturdays and Sundays.
“The route was one of SAA’s first African destinations and has shown sustained growth over the past 50 years,” said the airline.
“Mauritius has remained an important destination for SAA throughout its history. Recent frequency additions on several key African routes, including Mauritius, hold strategic commercial value for the business and forms part of the impetus of the Long-Term Turnaround Strategy."
The Mauritius route is served by Airbus A320, the latest arrival in the SAA fleet. – Source: SAnews.gov.za |
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| SOUTH AFRICA HITS ONE MILLION .ZA DOMAINS |
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| "The ZA Central Registry (ZACR) confirms that today's (23 January) tally of registered, active domain names ending in .za is 1 001 464," the organisation said. |
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The ZACR, which manages the .za domain, announced recently that the number of local Internet domains had passed the one million mark milestone.
The registry manages co.za, web.za, org.za, net.za domains, as well as the recently launched cTLDs (city Top Level Domains) of .capetown (dotCapeTown), .joburg (dotJoburg) and .durban (dotDurban).
"When the first .za domains were registered in 1992, few in the South African Internet industry ever expected the total to ever go beyond 100 000, let alone 10 times that amount. The one million milestone represents a great vote of confidence in the world-class .za domain name system," said Lucky Masilela, CEO of ZACR. – Source: www.fin24.com |
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| YOUNG SCIENTIST HEADING TO CHICAGO |
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| The 20-year-old Msimanga won the House of Le Roux Science Competition on 3 December after inventing a new way of generating electricity using molten rock from Hawaii and extract from an aloe plant. |
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Thabiso Msimanga, a promising young inventor from Standerton, Mpumalanga, is heading to Chicago in the United States (US) in May after beating 50 other inventors in a national science competition.
"At first when I entered and heard there were 50 other science students, I didn't think I would stand a chance," said Msimanga.
Msimanga started a chemical reaction between the molten rock and the aloe extract, which was used to power a small electric motor.
He will showcase this and other inventions to US companies in the hope that they will buy them.
"I was amazed when they awarded me with this trip. I'm a little nervous about it as I will be going to a different country and will be with total strangers but it’s a great chance for me to become successful," Msimanga said.
Msimanga is currently working to complete an unfinished experiment from world-renowned scientist Nikola Tesla, who wanted to prove that electricity could be transferred from one point to another without wires. – Source: African Eye |
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| SOUTH AFRICAN APP BEATS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION |
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| Vodafone, the international mobile telecommunications group, selected 10 regional winners from Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, India and South Africa to compete in the final leg of the competition in Bangalore, India, explained Singh. The awards were handed out on 15 January. |
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Car Guru, an app created by South African developer Sukasha Singh, beat off stiff competition from other emerging markets to be named runner-up in the international Vodafone appStar competition.
In the South African leg of the competition, Car Guru, which works on Apple and Android phones and tablets, won the Best Upcoming Developer Award; while Mike Kroger's Tracker app won the Best Established Developer Award.
Singh and Kroger went on to compete against the other country winners, with Singh's app recognised in the Best Upcoming Developer Category. The winner in this category was a Kenyan app, Guide Rig.
"It was an honour to represent my country in this competition and I'm really proud about the runner-up award because the other competitors had very good apps," she added.
Car Guru is a multipurpose motoring app featuring motoring news, cars for sale, business directories and more. It is free and can be downloaded from Google Play and the iTunes App Store. – Source: www.southafrica.info |
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| AMAJITA MAKE HISTORY IN EUROPE |
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| Goals by captain Motjeka Madisha and inspirational Pule Maraisane gave Amajita a confident win going to the CAF African Youth tournament in Senegal. |
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| The South Africa men's U20 national team, the Amajita, made history in Russia when they beat Finland with 2-1 in the final of the Commonwealth Cup on Sunday. – Source: www.sport24.com |
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