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Thursday, 5 June 2008 First Edition
Headlines
Alleged letter from Tsvangirai to Mbeki a plot to derail efforts
Govt considers immediate relief measures as food prices soar
WEF establishes Africa gender equality group
Police winning the war against crime- Nqakula
SA to boost economic ties with Spain
Western Cape learners to get financial skills
Alleged letter from Tsvangirai to Mbeki a plot to derail efforts
By Bathandwa Mbola
Cape Town – Media reports that President Thabo Mbeki had received a letter from Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are incorrect and could be part of a disinformation campaign aimed at disrupting the facilitation process in that country.
Briefing the media in Cape Town Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane reiterated that President Mbeki has not received any such letter from Mr Tsvangarai.
This follows weekend media newspapers claiming they had in their possession a letter written by Mr Tsvangirai to President Mbeki accusing the President of, among other things, not being neutral during Zimbabwe talks.
President Mbeki was mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate talks between the opposition leader and current President Robert Mugabe.
The letter was said to have been delivered via official channels and urged President Mbeki to step down as mediator in the Zimbabwean talks.
Reverent Chikane said no such letter was ever sent nor has any official in the Presidency or the South African government received any such letter from any member of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
“Furthermore, the MDC has never discussed the letter with the facilitation team, the Presidency or any department of government and the MDC at any time,” the director general told the media.
Reverent Chikane then cited several instances where journalists had attributed incorrect statements on Zimbabwe’s mediation talks to Mbeki.
Among these was a report on the eve of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) head of states meeting in Zambia in August, where it was claimed that President Mbeki would use the occasion to attack Britain for its role in the Zimbabwean crisis.
“It was clear that these fabrications are focusing on demonisation of the facilitation process with the intention to prevent the possibility for a solution to the challenges in Zimbabwe.”
Reverent Chikane warned the media to be vigilant of false statements.
“In this context, the media ought to remain vigilant by, amongst other ways, authenticating information as well as greater scrutiny of the motives of those who leak information,” he said. – BuaNews
Govt considers immediate relief measures as food prices soar
By Shaun Benton
Cape Town – Government is considering immediate relief measures in the face of rising food prices, which are increasing not only in South Africa but globally.
This is according to Director General in the Department of Health, Thami Mseleku who was addressing the media on the Programme of Action of government’s Social Security Cluster on Wednesday.
He said government may provide various supplements to the social grants already being provided.
Food security is now a key challenge facing not only the most vulnerable people in South Africa but people throughout the world, Mr Mseleku told reporters.
One way of diminishing food vulnerability is that of pricing, and government will be looking at extending zero VAT, already applicable to some staple items, on certain other foodstuffs not already on the list of zero VAT items, Mr Mseleku said.
In the meantime, a focus is being made on sustainable food production, and will be moving to encourage South Africans to take the issue seriously and in their “own hands” through, for example, developing private vegetable gardens.
While this might seem a simple solution, it is a practice more widespread in other countries and needs to be encouraged among rapidly urbanising South Africans.
Italy is one such country, where it is common to see retired workers and pensioners tending small gardens in municipality-provided allotments of land around most cities and villages.
Government will be starting a campaign to inculcate “a culture of agricultural production” or rather – given South Africa’s historic dependence on agriculture, a “reculturisation” among various sectors of South African society, such as schools, where young people can tend to communal gardens, said Mr Mseleku.
The campaign will not only be rolled out in cities but will also seek to affect “rural behaviour”, the health director-general said.
Adding to Mr Mseleku’s remarks, the Director-General of Land Affairs, TT Gwanya, told reporters that the Department of Agriculture is implementing a campaign encouraging food production in each of the nine provinces.
Emerging farmers are to be a key focus, and government will be providing so-called “starter packs” which will include farm implements.
This will ensure they have the basic tools with which to go into the fields, Mr Gwanya said.
Cooperation is also central to making it work, and indeed the survival of the most vulnerable.
“The only way we can beat these food prices is to make sure we work together,” the Mr Mseleku said.
While large commercial, usually white-owned farms are central to food production, Mr Gwanya pointed out that the contribution of South Africa’s smaller farmers – including the so-called “emerging” group of those returning to the land – to the overall level of the country’s food production is often underrated.
On the question of livestock, for instance, Mr Gwanya cited some interesting figures: 64 percent of the country’s goats are herded by black farmers, 45 percent of the cattle belong in these communities, 20 percent of the pigs, 12 percent of the sheep.
The issue now is to build the “massification” of livestock farming and food processing, he said, adding that the agriculture “starter packs” being provided to poorer communities in each of the provinces was a beginning of this process.
To date, according to figures provided to reporters on Wednesday, 15 765 “production packages” have already been distributed in poorer communities around the country, and 6 390 vegetable gardens have been established.
About six million learners in about 18 000 schools have received meals in school-feeding programmes, and a proposal to encourage an awards system for the National School Nutrition Programme is being considered.
Meanwhile, there are 4 891 outstanding rural land claims, of which about 2 585 have been prioritised for settlement in this financial year. About 283 rural land claims have been settled in the past four months, while 144 of the rural claims are “facing community disputes”.
About 254 land claims are being contested by current landowners on “the grounds of validity”. – BuaNews
WEF establishes Africa gender equality group
Cape Town – Top female and male leaders from across the continent have launched an Africa Gender Parity Group at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, Wednesday.
The group of business, government, media, academia and civil society decision-makers are collaborating on ways for companies and countries to eradicate gender inequality and better engage women in the economy.
“Women account for a sizeable portion of Africa’s economies and could contribute considerably more if there were greater gender equality,” said head of the WEF’s Gender Parity and Women Leaders Programme Saadia Zahidi.
“The Africa Gender Parity Group believes both women and men need to work together to close the gender gap, and thus better leverage women’s talents to increase productivity and prosperity in all of society.”
Members of the Africa Gender Parity Group include Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; Governor of the Bank of Botswana Linah K Mohohlo; Chairman of the Board at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) Jay Naidoo; and African Union (AU) Commissioner for Trade and Industry Elisabeth Tankeu.
Other members also include Chairman of Nedbank Reuel Khoza; President of AllAfrica Global Media Amadou Mahtar Ba; Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accenture William Mzimba; CEO of ArcelorMittal Nku Nyembezi-Heita; and Director General and CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke.
At their first meeting at the WEF on Africa, the Group called for greater government commitment and funding for primary, secondary and tertiary education, focusing in particular on increasing the retention rates for girls.
Also, the forum called for better legislation to fight discrimination against women, particularly in the area of property rights and the effective implementation of this legislation.
A comprehensive overview of the policies and programmes that have been effective in narrowing gender gaps in the region’s best performing countries and a transfer of these best practices to low performing countries was also called for.
Africa lags behind most parts of the world in closing its gender gap on education and health, but is well ahead of many emerging regions on closing the gap in political empowerment.
In the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report, which ranks 128 countries according to the size of their gender gaps, the performance of Sub-Saharan African countries is greatly varied.
South Africa, ranked 20, is a leader in the region, boosted by its scores on the political empowerment of women.
However, the region also contains some of the lowest ranking countries in the world, including Zimbabwe (88) and Nigeria (107), hampered by particularly poor performances in the areas of education and health.
More than 800 leaders from 50 countries are participating in the 18th WEF on Africa in Cape Town from 4 to 6 June 2008. – BuaNews
Police winning the war against crime- Nqakula
By Bathandwa Mbola
Parliament – Police are winning the war against crime and driving down the levels of criminal activity in the country, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula has told Parliamentarians.
Tabling his Budget Vote in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Nqakula said the new crime trends report which is to be released soon indicates that the crime rate is being steadily reduced.
“Of course, more work needs to be done given that, despite the downward trend in crime levels, the levels of violent crimes are still unacceptably high.”
He said this would mean that the police must do more to create a safe and secured environment that is defined in their mandate.
Despite government’s calls for South Africans to help in building safer and more secure communities by mobilising against crime, another recent survey revealed that citizens need to do more to protect themselves.
According to a survey realised by the Institute for Security Studies on the 2007 National Victim Survey conducted during October to November 2007 found that 60 percent of the people that were interviewed had done nothing.
The report found that at least 75 percent of the people who reported the crime felt safer as a result.
Government believes that every citizen has a role to play in combating crime in the country, and that it was well documented that partnerships with communities and neighbourhoods have yielded good results.
The survey further revealed that crime in South Africa has decreased by 12 percent since 1998 and four percent since 2003.
According to the report, the notable decreases where mainly in housebreaking, corruption, theft from vehicles and stock theft.
“We are going to be discussing in due course, here in Parliament, and at other levels of human endeavour in our country, Bills that seek to define new ways of dealing with organised crime,” Mr Nqalula said.
He told Parliamentarians that government wanted to create a Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation which will be comprised of the best experience from the Directorate of Special Operations and the police’s Organised Crime Unit and Commercial Branch.
The unit will replace the Scorpions and he also announced that state-of-the-art technology has been procured to equip a new unit to deal with organised crime.
“That matter is not for today’s discussion but is an important matter to be discussed by all of us as we all strive to find the best measures to deal with organised crime.”
Mr Nqakula also announced that steps were being taken to increase the number of prosecutions by appointing organised crime prosecutors to provide guidance and assistance to detectives investigating these cases. – BuaNews
SA to boost economic ties with Spain
By Luyanda Makapela
Spain – Economic ties between South Africa and Spain are being given a boost with Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma meeting her Spanish counterpart for a four-day visit, beginning on Wednesday.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs the minister’s visit with Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister and Cooperation Miguel Angel Moratinos will focus on strengthening bilateral political, investment and trade relations.
It will also further promote the dynamic economic relations between the two counties.
Spain is South Africa’s seventh largest export destination globally and to date, total trade between South Africa and Spain has increased from R11 billion in 2004 to R19 billion in 2007.
Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Moratinos are expected to consider enhanced Spanish engagement with Africa through focused support for conflict resolution on the African continent.
“Promotion of social and economic developments including support for the Africa Union, socio- economic programmes, NEPAD [New Partnership for Africa's Development] will be discussed,” the department said.
Discussions will also look at South Africa’s participation in the Zaragoza World Expo which will be held from June to September 2008.
It will further focus on increased cooperation in the multilateral context, inter alia, the comprehensive reform of United Nation Institutions and United Nations Security Council issues.
During her visit, Ms Dlamini Zuma will interact with a number of Spanish companies who have shown a strong interest in investing in South Africa. – BuaNews
Western Cape learners to get financial skills
By Gabi Khumalo
Cape Town – Pupils in the Western Cape are to be taught financial literacy with the help of an American-based non-government organisation and the Western Cape Department of Education.
Provincial Education MEC Cameron Dugmore signed an agreement worth R7.7 million with Operation HOPE, whose “Banking on Our Future” financial literacy programme is designed to help students learn the power of banking, saving, investing, self-reliance and dignity.
The programme is to be piloted in schools in the Cape Winelands District, where learners will gain entrepreneurial knowledge skills.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on Tuesday, founder of Operation HOPE, John Hope Bryant said the aim of the “Banking on Our Future” South Africa program was to execute a global delivery system for financial education for youth and women at no cost to schools, with a focus on historically marginalised communities.
The $1 million program consists of six modules which are Basics of Banking and Financial Services, Cheque and Savings Accounts, the Power of Credit, Basic Investments, Entrepreneurship and Dignity.
Mr Bryant said through the programme, students are taught by trained volunteer HOPE Corp members, many recruited from the banking sector to share their knowledge of banking and credit into terms that youth can understand and utilise immediately.
“In addition to financial education, the students are left with a message of empowerment, responsibility and most important, a message of HOPE,” Mr Bryant said.
Mr Dugmore said the primary objective of the partnership was to deliver, promote and assess financial literacy, dignity and entrepreneurship education for provincial learners and youth through HOPE’s Banking on Our Future program.
“Entrepreneurial knowledge skills and attitudes form an integral part of the Economic and Management Sciences learning area in the General Education and Training band in primary schools and of Business Studies in the Further Education and Training band in high schools.
“It has become increasingly important for school-leavers to have developed a range of managerial, consumer, financial and computer skills to enable them to function optimally in the economy,” Mr Dugmore said. – BuaNews
BuaNews is a South African news service which provides quick and easy access to articles and stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government’s mandate.
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