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| DIRCO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CITY OF TSHWANE TO HOST ANNUAL DIPLOMATIC FUN FAIR |
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| Foreign diplomatic missions accredited to South Africa are expected to take advantage of the event to showcase and promote cultural diplomacy through arts, music, cuisine, etc. |
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The Department of International Relations and Cooperation ((DIRCO), in partnership with the City of Tshwane, will host the Annual Diplomatic Fair on Saturday, 31 October 2015, at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, from 9:00 to 18:00.
The Diplomatic Fair is an annual event through which DIRCO aims, among other things, to provide the public with information about countries accredited to South Africa and afford government, business, the diplomatic community and other sectors the opportunity to learn and network. |
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| DEPUTY PRESIDENT ON THREE-NATION VISIT |
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| Deputy President Ramaphosa was on a three-nation visit that saw him visit Sweden, Cuba and Mexico. |
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On 26 October, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa headed to Mexico to consolidate political and economic relations between the two countries. This was after he paid visits to Sweden and Cuba.
In Cuba, he led a high-level government and business delegation to strengthen bilateral, political, economic and trade relations.
During the visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa paid a courtesy call on President Raul Castro and held bilateral discussions with Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Deputy President Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa's support for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States of America and called for an end to the blockade against Cuba and the removal of all punitive measures that have been directed against the Cuban people.
Outlining the objectives of the visit to Cuba, Deputy President Ramaphosa said South Africa was keen to hear about the process that Cuba initiated to meet the challenges of the 21st century, particularly since the 2008 global financial crisis and the decline of commodity prices, which have brought economic hardship to many developing countries.
Deputy President Ramaphosa said Cuba had not only “contributed to our freedom by supporting our struggle and fighting side by side with us, but you continue to improve the lives of our people by training doctors and providing scholarships for over 80 students annually to study medicine in Cuba.
“Apart from doctors, Cuba has provided 45 engineers deployed in four provinces in collaboration with the Department of Human Settlements. Our Department of Water and Sanitation also has 35 Cuban engineers deployed across the country,” said Deputy President Ramaphosa.
He also used the opportunity to pay his respects at the Jose Marti Monument at the Plaza de la Revolucion and the Oliver Tambo Bust at the Park for African heroes.
He also had an occasion to interact with the management of the Latin American School of Medicine where a number of South African students are being trained to become doctors. In addition, Deputy President Ramaphosa visited the Cuban Combined Cycle Gas Plant to study how Cubans cope with energy challenges as well as the Cuban Molecular Immunology Centre, including the local Policlinic and the Military Historical Park Morro in Havana.
Deputy President Ramaphosa was supported by the deputy ministers of international relations and cooperation Luwellyn Landers; trade and industry, Mzwandile Masina; water and sanitation, Pam Tshwete; basic education, Enver Surty; and Deputy Minister in The Presidency, Buti Manamela. – Source: SAnew.gov.za
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| MINISTER NKOANA-MASHABANE PARTICIPATES IN MINISTERIAL SESSION OF THE THIRD INDIA-AFRICA FORUM SUMMIT |
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| The Third India-Africa Summit is taking place under the theme: "Reinvigorated Partnership – Shared Vision”. |
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The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, participated in the Ministerial Session of the Third India-Africa Forum Summit taking place on Tuesday, 27 October 2015, in New Delhi, India. The Ministerial Session preceded the summit.
The Ministerial Session considered two outcome documents to be adopted at the summit, namely, the Delhi Declaration and the India-Africa Framework for Strategic Cooperation.
The Ministerial Session focused on areas critical for Africa’s development as enunciated in Agenda 2063, such as trade and economic development, health, education and skills development, agricultural development, and peace and security, among others.
The India-Africa Forum Partnership was established in 2008 and remains an important structured African partnership articulated around addressing the challenges faced by the continent and realising transformational socio-economic development in Africa.
The relationship is also important as a positive illustration of the significance of South-South cooperation, which remains, not only a core principle of South Africa’s foreign policy, but a fundamental component of international cooperation for development. |
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| DEPUTY MINISTER MFEKETO REPRESENTS SA AT IORA COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING |
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| At the meeting, Indonesia succeeded Australia as Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Chair for the period 2015 to 2017. Significantly, South Africa will become the Vice Chair and a member of the Association’s Troika, along with Indonesia and Australia, and will Chair IORA from 2017 to 2019. |
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The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Nomaindiya Mfeketo, led a South African delegation to the 15th Annual IORA Council of Ministers on 23 October 2015 in Padang, Indonesia.
Key issues that the Ministerial Meeting addressed included, among others:
- the initiation of preparations for the commemoration of 20 years of IORA in 2017 and the strategic outlook for the association
- the association welcome Somalia as its 21st Member, and Germany as its sevent Dialogue Partner - attesting to the fact of the growth trajectory the Association has been on
- further enhancement of regionalism and greater engagement with the association’s dialogue partners
- the Blue Economy as a key IORA focus to harness oceans and maritime resources to drive economic growth, job creation and innovation, while safeguarding sustainability and environmental protection
- progress on IORA’s six priority areas, namely (i) maritime safety and security, (ii) disaster risk management, (iii) trade and investment facilitation, (iv) fisheries management, (v) academic, science and technology cooperation, and (vi) tourism and cultural exchanges
- gender equality and women’s economic empowerment as a cross-cutting issue
Deputy Minister Mfeketo was accompanied by an interdepartmental delegation of senior officials.
IORA was formally launched in Mauritius in March 1997 by 14 member states. South Africa is a founding member of the association, which is an economic cooperative community of littoral and island states around the Indian Ocean. |
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| NEWS FROM CABINET |
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| A Cabinet Meeting was held on 21 October 2015. Various key decisions were made. |
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Cabinet approved the endorsement of the G20 countries’ High Level Principles on Beneficial Ownership Transparency. The principles set out measures which each member country will have to take to prevent the misuse of legal persons and legal arrangements on ownership.
Cabinet approved the setting up of the Interdepartmental Committee that will oversee the implementation and reporting of the Country’s Action Plan. The committee will be convened by the Department of Public Service and Administration.
Cabinet approved South Africa’s taking up of the Chairpersonship Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee in 2015/16. Cabinet also endorsed South Africa’s draft Third OGP National Action Plan.
The OGP is a global initiative comprised of a coalition of leading governments and civil-society organisations working to advance transparency and accountability in government – with the goals of increasing the responsiveness of government to citizens, countering corruption, promoting economic efficiencies, harnessing innovation and improving the delivery of services. Since the inception of the OGP, South Africa has been an active member of the Steering Committee, which is the highest decision-making body.
Cabinet approved that the International Convention on the Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 be submitted to Parliament for ratification.
The Bunker Oil Convention ensures all the participants benefit from the reparation on damages that occur as a result of accidents on its shores. This convention will only be applicable to ship oil accidents that are not covered by other international conventions.
South Africa will not be liable for economic loss or cleaning-up costs arising from a release of bunker oil in its internal, territorial and exclusive economic zone waters but liability will be on the ship-owner or the insurer.
The convention also ensures that adequate, prompt and effective compensation is available to persons who suffer damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships’ bunkers.
Cabinet approved the New Development Bank (NDB) Special Appropriation Bill for introduction in Parliament. This will enable South Africa to pay its first capital instalment of R2 billion to the BRICS-led NDB in the 2015/16 financial year.
The NDB is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.
Cabinet welcomed the 2015/16 results of the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Index, which saw South Africa rise seven places from 56 to 49 of 140 countries.
South Africa’s biggest improvements are in the areas of: health and primary education (up six places), labour market efficiency (up six places), technological readiness (up 16 places), and innovation (up five places).
Cabinet congratulates the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in October. The IDC is a national resource and over the past 21 years of democracy, it has contributed significantly to increased investment, pursuing industrialisation opportunities and transformation of the economy.
Since 1994, the IDC has invested R150 billion in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Of this, R60 billion was invested in companies in which black South Africans hold at least 25% equity.
Some R20 billion was invested over this period in the rest of Africa, helping to strengthen African growth and development and also contributing to creating opportunities for the South African economy.
In the past five years, it has also attracted an additional R103 billion from private-sector investor partners, bringing its investment impact to R163 billion.
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| SA RELAXES VISA RULES |
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| Cabinet's approval of the recommendations to relax South Africa's new visa regulations have been widely applauded by industry role players. |
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The Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, recently announced that Cabinet had approved recommendations from the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked with reviewing South Africa’s immigration regulations. The IMC recommended that:
- accredited travel agents be able to make visa applications on behalf of clients
- foreign minors no longer be required to have an unabridged birth certificate in order to travel to and from South Africa.
That means a foreign national would no longer have to submit a visa application to travel to South Africa in person. In the case of foreign minors, proof of original birth certificates or certified copies would only be required during the application process, which is a common requirement in many countries.
Although South African children would still be required to travel with an unabridged birth certificate, the wording would be changed to read “birth certificate containing parental details”.
Grant Thornton Advisory Services said the changes would streamline visa requirements for foreign tourists to South Africa and would make it easier to obtain, thereby ensuring a much simpler process for travellers to the country. – Source: fin24 |
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| DEPUTY MINISTER DLODLO HOSTS OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP (OGP) |
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| The meeting focused on the validation of the South African OPG Third Country Action Plan and included a discussion on collaboration in implementing the action plan. |
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On 22 October, the Deputy Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ayanda Dlodlo, hosted a meeting between government and civil society on the OGP in Johannesburg.
Launched in September 2011, the OGP is a mechanism to promote increased accountability, transparency, citizen participation and the fight against corruption in the respective countries and across the world. South Africa joined seven other countries which are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States of America at the formation of this initiative.
Since the launch of the OGP, the Government of South Africa has been an active member of the OGP Steering Committee and has played a key role in convening OGP-Africa regional events and discussion forums aimed at deepening good governance practices on the African continent. |
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| MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR THE FOCAC SUMMIT IN SOUTH AFRICA |
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| The summit will take place under the theme: “Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development”. |
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South Africa will host the Second Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) from 4 to 5 December 2015 in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
To apply for accreditation, the media are required to complete all the fields in the registration form available on the following link: http://www.gcis.gov.za/content/media-registration. The deadline is 17 November 2015. |
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| SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST: TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATION |
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| Set up in KwaZulu-Natal, the mobile simulator has been constructed in a caravan. It is part of a two-phase pilot project to help truck drivers to improve their driving skills. |
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South Africa has launched its first three-dimensional truck simulator in an effort to reduce the number of truck-related fatalities on the road.
Project manager Jolene Boulton said it was aimed at dealing with pertinent issues that affected truck drivers.
The simulator was built by TMI Dynamatics, a company specialising in the creation of hardware and software for car and plane simulators. It features KwaZulu-Natal's high-accident zones on Van Reenen's Pass, Town Hill and the M13 at Fields Hill.
"We built the simulator to give an exact feel of what the truck is like," said Wouter Roos, TMI Dynamatics' developer.
This was part of the solution to save lives on the road, Boulton added. "Employers will even be able to verify this assessment with drivers and we are encouraging trucking companies to allow their drivers to do this assessment," she said. – Source: News24Wire and www.southafrica.info |
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| TWO SOUTH AFRICANS MOST ADMIRED IN GLOBAL SURVEY |
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| A survey of over 1 000 young people aged between 20 and 30 from around the globe found that millennials admired leaders who offered technology and social change to the world. |
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Two South Africans top a list of leaders who millennials around the world admire: Nelson Mandela at number one and Elon Musk at number three. Pope Francis came in at number two.
Three of the world's leading technology brains were flagged by the millennials. Musk, of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, leads a pack that includes Microsoft founder, Bill Gates (at number five), and Apple founder, Steve Jobs (at eight).
Other business leaders these young people admire include Virgin entrepreneur, Richard Branson (seven), social entrepreneur, Mohammad Yunus (nine), and investor guru, Warren Buffett (11). Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for founding the Grameen Bank and his work to "create economic and social development from below".
Mandela topped the list of political movers and shakers that included Mahatma Gandhi (four), American President Barack Obama (six) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (10).
The Global Shapers Annual Survey 2015 is one of the most geographically diverse surveys of millennials, with responses from 285 cities in 125 countries. The respondents are all members of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community, a network of over 450 city-based hubs of young, civically engaged leaders aged between 20 and 30.
According to Yemi Babington-Ashaye, the head of the Global Shapers Community, the survey reveals that millennials care about society in their reflections and in their own career and economic choices. "In addition to the diversity that we observe, the survey reminds us of those things that millennials value everywhere."
– Source: News24Wire |
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| AFRICA'S BEST BRANDS CELEBRATED |
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| Brand Africa 100, an annual event now in its fourth year, measures and ranks those brands that consumers in Africa admire and their corresponding values. |
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The top 100 brands in Africa were given recognition by Brand Africa and partners recently at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
Before 2011, said Brand Africa chairperson Thebe Ikalafeng, there was no independent measure of the value and performance of any brand in Africa.
The point of his organisation, he told Forbes Magazine at the awards in 2014, was to "capture and measure the value African consumers placed on brands that closely aligned with their core values and best reflected their lifestyles and aspirations".
Brand Africa says the businesses behind successful brands help the continent to drive its agenda and solve socio-economic challenges by creating jobs and the tax bases to fund public goods.
Ikalafeng said at the event that the initiative was to help shape Africa's image. "It's a moment to pause and assess the progress we are making, how we are developing."
Over the last three years, about 20% of the top 100 brands in Africa originated on the continent. "The top brands – even the non-African (origin) ones – show us they are adapting to the conditions, and responding to the needs of Africans," he said.
– Source: www.southafrica.info |
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| ZULULAND BREW IS TAKING THE UK BY STORM |
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| An Eshowe microbrewer and hotelier is quenching the thirst of thousands of people in the United Kingdom (UK) with his home-grown Zulu Blonde Ale. |
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Richard Chennells was invited as just one of 10 international brewmasters to the JD Wetherspoon’s Real Ale Festival, believed to be the biggest festival of its kind in the world.
Chennells, whose Zulu Blonde Export Ale was voted best beer at the same festival in 2010, has brewed over 100 000 pints for this year’s festival at the Marston’s Brewery at Burton-upon-Trent. It has since been distributed to nearly 950 pubs within the Wetherspoon chain in the UK.
“It is pretty lucrative financially, but it is the exposure that is awesome. They printed and distributed 3,5 million brochures punting my beer,” said Chennells.
And now Chennells, who owns The George Hotel in Eshowe where his brewery is based, said he was hoping to make one final big leap and sign a deal with the UK pub chain.
Once a London banker who worked for the Bank of America and Barclays, in 2005 he packed his bags for the United States of America to be taken through a brewmasters course by the American Brewers Guild.
According to a Wetherspoon’s brochure, the Zulu Blonde (4.5% ABV) has a “slight honey aroma and a flavour which is predominantly fruity, with a subtle underlying bitterness”.
– Source: news24.com |
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| ATHOL WILLIAMS WINS SOL PLAATJE EU POETRY AWARD |
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| The award is handed out annually and is in its fifth year. It is named after South African journalist, linguist and writer Solomon (Sol) Tshekisho Plaatje (1876 – 1932) to recognise his life and vision as a social and political activist. |
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This year's Sol Plaatje European Union (EU) Poetry Award has gone to Athol Williams for his poem Streetclass Diseases.
Portrait of a Mother and Indiscretion by Sindiswa Busku-Mathese was awarded second place, with Baleka, What do you Know by Jim Pascual Agustin coming in third place.
The winners were presented with their awards by the head judge and chairperson of the Jacana Literary Foundation, Mongane Wally Serote, and the EU Ambassador Designate, Marcus Cornaro, at a ceremony hosted by Poetry Africa on 17 October in Durban.
Poems that made it on to the long list were published in an anthology. "Like Plaatje's works did in his time, these poems reveal the political and social attitudes of our time," reads the Jacana website.
The works are written in numerous South African languages, including English, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga and isiZulu.
Williams grew up in Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, but has lived in Johannesburg, Boston and London. He holds five degrees from local and international universities such as Harvard, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently reading political philosophy at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
He said he loved to experiment and learn. "My poetry leads my pursuit of understanding just as imagination leads my efforts in social development," Williams states on his website.
He has published three collections of poems – Bumper Cars, Talking to a Tree and Heap of Stones – and two children's books – Oaky, the Happy Tree and Oaky and the Sun.
- Source: www.southafrica.info |
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| PROTEAS MAKES HISTORY |
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| Led by their batsman AB de Villiers, the South Africans crushed India by a rare margin of 214 runs in Mumbai on 25 October, and earned a 3-2 one-day international (ODI) series triumph in doing so – the first time South Africa has managed this in their five bilateral attempts in that traditionally taxing country for visiting teams. |
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Sunday’s decider saw South Africa produce their most ruthless showing of the previously closely-fought series, as sizzling centuries from De Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock saw them emulate their immortal winning total of 438 against Australia at the Wanderers several years ago. It was also the fourth time the Proteas have gone past 400 in the present calendar year, indicating the potency of their specialist batting line-up.
De Villiers now stands firmly at the helm of the global pack for players to have reached ODI centuries in 75 or fewer deliveries – he has done this eight times, taking him two clear of recently-retired Indian smasher Virender Sehwag.
De Kock now joins the great Sachin Tendulkar as the only two players to have notched eight tons in the format before turning 23.
The Proteas’ effort in so easily defending their juggernaut total was again headed by pacemen Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn, both of whom ended as leading series wicket-takers on 10 despite conditions so seldom making their craft easy.
– Source: news24.com |
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| BOKS TO FACE PUMAS IN BRONZE FINAL |
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| The Springboks will face Argentina in the Bronze Final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup at London's Olympic Park next Friday (22:00 SA time). |
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This follows Argentina's 29-15 semi-final defeat to Australia at Twickenham on Sunday.
The Springboks lost 20-18 to New Zealand in Saturday's semi-final at Twickenham.
Two-time World Cup winners South Africa featured in the third-place playoff match at the 1999 World Cup, when they beat the All Blacks 22-18 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Saturday's final between Australia and New Zealand at Twickenham is scheduled for 18:00 (SA time). |
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