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MINISTER NKOANA-MASHABANE PARTICIPATES IN SADC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING |
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| The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit is a statutory meeting of the regional body which convenes annually in August. Some of the issues discussed during the summit in Lilongwe included an overview of the political and socio-economic situation in the region. |
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The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 14 August to participate in the SADC Council of Ministers Meeting, scheduled for 14 to 15 August 2013.
The SADC Council of Ministers Meeting preceded the 33rd Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will take place on 17 and 18 August in the Malawian capital.
The meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers usually considers a variety of matters for decision and noting. It also examines the performance of SADC institutions and reviews the overall implementation of the SADC’s socio-economic programmes.
President Jacob Zuma is expected to lead the South African Government delegation to the 33rd Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government. The President is also expected to participate in the SADC Organ Troika Summit prior to the SADC Summit. The Organ Troika comprises Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.
The Republic of Malawi will assume the position of Chair of the SADC during the summit. |
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| MINISTER NKOANA-MASHABANE HOSTS PRESIDENT OF THE 67TH UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY (UNGA67) |
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| South Africa will continue to actively participate in the deliberations of the GA, with the aim of making it more democratic, transparent and responsive to the needs of all its member states. |
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The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, hosted the President of the 67th UNGA, Vuk Jeremić, for a bilateral meeting on 12 August 2013 in Pretoria. The strengthening of the multilateral system is one of the key priorities of South Africa’s foreign policy. South Africa views the UN with its universal membership, as the chief deliberative policy-making multilateral institution.
The theme that President Jeremić selected for the 67th UNGA, which runs from September 2012 to September 2013, is “Bringing Adjustment or Resolution of Conflicts through Peaceful Means,” which afforded the UNGA to reassert its role in the peaceful resolution of disputes through mediation and dialogue.
Speaking at a press conference after the visit, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said she had thanked President Jeremić for the significant focus that he had placed on the African Agenda throughout his terms if office.
He was the first President of the GA to arrange a special thematic debate of the GA on the “Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts in Africa”, which took place on 23 April 2013 and resulted in the adoption of a Political Declaration. This initiative placed the cooperation between the GA and the African Union on a sound footing. As such, the Declaration also complemented the adoption of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2033 that South Africa initiated during its Presidency of the UNSC in January 2012.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and President Jeremić also discussed preparations for the Special Event to Assess and Follow Up on Efforts towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is scheduled to take place on 25 September 2013 on the margins of UNGA68 and for which President Jeremić appointed South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, and his counterpart from Ireland, as co-facilitators.
“We agreed that every effort should be made to fully achieve the MDGs in the period remaining before the 2015 target date,” the Minister said. She added that the issue of the Post-2015 Development Agenda was very much at the centre of multilateral deliberations at this time and that they agreed that this very complex issue had to be fully accommodated in whatever dispensation was eventually decided upon in the intergovernmental negotiations. |
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PRESIDENT ZUMA URGES WOMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ECONOMY |
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| South Africa celebrates 100 years of the contribution of women to the struggle for liberation and also in building a better South Africa. While challenges and gaps still remain, a lot has been achieved to work towards the emancipation of South African women of all races in the past 100 years. |
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President Jacob Zuma has encouraged women to participate actively in the economy as entrepreneurs and as workers depending on their choice and circumstances.
Speaking at the National Women’s Day commemoration, held at Thulamahashe Stadium Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, on 9 August 2013, President Zuma told the thousands of South Africans who packed the stadium to capacity, that the country had specific objectives for women’s empowerment.
“We want to promote access to land ownership by women in order to promote food security for many households in distress. We want young women to develop their self-confidence and to seize leadership opportunities. Women should play a role in the ongoing pursuit of all these goals and should not just be beneficiaries. More girls must take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics and more education opportunities must be made available for women and girls," the President said.
With regard to women’s access to decision-making positions, the South African Parliament, which had a mere 2,7% representation of women before 1994, now has 42% since the 2009 democratic elections, following a consistent improvement after each election.
This puts the country in fourth position worldwide with regard to women’s representation, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2012. South Africa has 13 female Cabinet ministers and 16 female deputy ministers. Out of nine premiers, five are female, which mean the majority of provinces are governed by women. Government has not reached the 50/50 parity goal, but progress is being made towards that objective. |
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| STAR-STUDDED LINE-UP FOR MANDELA SPORTS DAY |
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Award-winning artists such as DJ Black Coffee, Zahara, Toya Delazy, Mafikizolo, DJ CNDO, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Salif Keita and Kurt Darren are part of the line-up at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Sports and Culture Day on 17 August at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Other artists include David Jenkins, Mahotella Queens, Umoja, Gcina Mhlophe, DJ Alessandro, Wouter Kellerman, Naima Mclean, Elvis Blue and 1st Project.
Announcing the artists who will perform on Saturday, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile, called on South Africans to continue to celebrate the life of Mandela.
“As we continue to celebrate the life of former President Mandela, we will do so in order to recommit ourselves to the ideals he dedicated all his life towards achieving. It is these noble values that continue to guide us as we seek to build a national democratic society that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous.”
The day will begin with a football match between the South African Masters against the Italian Masters, followed by an international friendly between Bafana Bafana and the Africa Cup of Nations runners-up, Burkina Faso.
The Springboks will then tackle Argentina in the opening match of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
The proceeds will go towards building the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Gauteng. –www.sanews.gov.za |
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| RUSSIA TO GIVE SA NUCLEAR TRAINING INPUT |
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| The memorandum envisions the development of collaboration programmes in research, exchanges of experts, joint seminars and the writing of textbooks. A joint working group is to draw up a list of projects for collaboration. |
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Russia's State Nuclear Power Corporation, Rosatom, has signed an agreement with the North-West University that will see it getting involved in training nuclear industry specialists for the country.
Rusatom Overseas, a Rosatom branch that specialises in the promotion of the corporation's projects abroad, recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with North-West University, the only institution in South Africa that offers postgraduate degrees in nuclear engineering.
"We are pleased to announce the signing of the memorandum with our Russian colleagues," said Professor Herman van Schalkwyk, Rector of the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. "We recognise that nuclear energy remains an important option for South Africa.”
"The intention is to explore the potential for future collaboration, ranging from education to specific technical projects in nuclear engineering, hydrogen technologies, energy, etc."
Jomart Aliyev, Director-General of Rusatom Overseas, said the memorandum would promote the development of technical education in South Africa, while giving local researchers and scientists the opportunity to find out more about modern Russian technologies.
"Joint research and scientific developments", he said, would "provide a solid foundation for the development of Rosatom’s business relations in South Africa".
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma in Sochi in May, that Russia was ready to assist South Africa in building a comprehensive nuclear power engineering industry.
South Africa's Koeberg nuclear plant is the only nuclear power-generating facility on the African continent.
South Africa's Integrated Resources Plan for 2010 to 2030, a 20-year projection on the country's electricity supply and demand, envisages 9 600 MW of additional nuclear capacity by 2030. The plan is due to be reviewed soon.
Speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba in Johannesburg in February, the Minister of Energy, Dipuo Peters, said South Africa planned to expand its use of nuclear power in a safe and secure way as a key part of the country's move towards a diversified, low-carbon energy mix.
"If we are serious about diversification towards a low-carbon economy, we cannot belittle the role that natural gas and nuclear power can play in the realisation of that 2030 low-carbon energy vision," Minister Peters said. – www.sanews.gov.za-Itar-Tass
, with additional reporting by www.southafrica.info |
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SAA, JETBLUE IN CODESHARE PACT |
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"We are excited to expand our successful relationship with South African Airways through this new codeshare via Washington and JFK, where JetBlue is the number one domestic airline," said Scott Laurence, JetBlue's Vice-President of network planning and partnerships. |
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South African Airways (SAA) and United States airline, JetBlue Airways, have struck a codeshare agreement to seamlessly connect the two carriers' African and North American networks via New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, Washington's Dulles International and Johannesburg's OR Tambo International.
The partnership, an expansion of an interline agreement first inked in 2010, will allow customers to purchase a single ticket combining SAA- and JetBlue-operated flights and enjoy day-of-travel conveniences such as one-stop check-in and baggage transfer.
Tickets will be available for sale at a later date, pending regulatory and government approvals. –
www.southafrica.info |
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| SIX SA HOTELS ON WORLD’S BEST LIST |
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| "A commitment to providing access to some of Africa's best game-viewing, while minimising environmental impact and maximising comfort, has earned Singita's properties repeat appearances in the World's Best Awards," Travel + Leisure says in its July 2013 issue. |
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Six South African hotels feature in the 50 "World's Best Hotels 2013" list of United States magazine Travel + Leisure, with three of them ranking in the top 10 – all three are located within the world-famous Kruger National Park (KNP), and two belonging to South African hospitality group Singita.
The Singita KNP, comprising two lodges with treetop suites and riverside rooms in the south-eastern reaches of the KNP, on South Africa's border with Mozambique, was voted third best in the hotels category of the magazine's annual "World's Best" readers' survey.
Singita's flagship Sabi Sand, also located within the greater boundaries of the KNP, came in at number 10. Ninth on the list is the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, at whose flagship Bush Lodge, "twice-daily game drives, firelight boma dinners, and spa treatments using marula tree, African potato, and aloe vera extracts keep parents occupied, while kids can enrol in the EleFun Centre, offering conservation activities and outdoor fun".
The Cape Grace in Cape Town was ranked 26th. At 39th place, and returning to the KNP and its surrounds, is the Londolozi Game Reserve. And at 50th on the list is the Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa, in Sandhurst, Johannesburg. –
www.southafrica.info |
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