Month: July 2023

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille extends her heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the Irish tourist, former rugby player and coach Greig Oliver who tragically lost his life in a paragliding accident in Cape Town on Monday, 3rd July 2023.

“We share in their grief and offer our full support at this difficult time,” de Lille said.

The 58-year-old Irish tourist had reportedly collided with another paraglider in the air above Sea Point Promenade. Despite the immediate emergency response by the National Sea Rescue Institute and Emergency Services, he was sadly declared deceased at the scene.

“South Africa offers a broad spectrum of adventure tourism activities, and we firmly believe in providing exhilarating, safe and memorable experiences to our visitors. This tragic incident is a reminder that we must fully support robust safety protocols and a strong regulatory environment to grow and develop South Africa as a destination in which adventurers feel safe and secure,” de Lille said.

Minister de Lille further reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to the highest levels of safety standards maintained by the adventure tourism sector in South Africa, commending the efforts of organisations such as SATSA which promote self-regulation in the adventure tourism sector.

“Through our collective efforts, industry stakeholders, adventure tourism operators and associations can strengthen our safety protocols and ensure the well-being of adventure tourists. I am committed to engaging with industry stakeholders to collaborate on any initiative that prioritises the welfare of our tourists,” de Lille concluded.

Source: Government of South Africa

Deputy Minister Alvin Botes leads South Africa’s delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau (CoB) in Azerbaijan

Deputy Minister Alvin Botes leads South Africa’s delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau (CoB) in Azerbaijan

The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr. Alvin Botes, will lead the South African delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Coordinating Bureau (CoB) to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 5 and 6 July 2023 under the theme: “NAM, United and steadfast in confronting emerging challenges”.

It is expected that the meeting will consider preparations for the upcoming 19th Summit Conference of the NAM Heads of State and Government to be held in Kampala, Uganda, from 15 to 20 January 2024. The meeting will review the Movement’s principled positions on global issues pertaining to development, human rights, peace and security, and the promotion and preservation of multilateralism, in line with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Founding Principles of the NAM.

Inspired by its founding principles, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Movement has proven itself to be one of the most united and efficient multilateral platforms.

A meeting of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine will also be convened during the NAM Ministerial Meeting of the CoB. South Africa is a member of the NAM Committee on Palestine, which has the mandate to coordinate the NAM’s activities in support of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.

The Ministerial Meeting will conclude with the adoption of the outcome documents of the meeting, including the “Baku Political Declaration” and the “Political Declaration of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine”.

With its 120 Member States, the NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the UN, making it an important role player in global and multilateral affairs, especially in the current global context where geo-political divisions are negatively impacting the interest of developing countries. Since its inception in 1961, the Movement has played a crucial and highly visible political role in representing the interests of developing countries, particularly in the eradication of colonialism, supporting struggles for liberation and self-determination, the pursuit of world peace, and the search for a more equitable and just global order.

Source: Government of South Africa

In respect of an ongoing court application which was launched back in 2018, wherein the Minister of Water and Sanitation is cited as a Respondent, the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg) has, as per the agreement between the parties, ordered that the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu, to file an affidavit outlining all the measures taken to date by the Minister in respect of the Minister’s Vaal River Intervention in terms of Section 63 of the Water Services Act, 1997. The agreement was made an order of court and the notice thereof was given on the 26th of June 2023.

The main court application, which was filed by Save The Vaal Environment, a Non-Governmental Organisation, concerns “the discharge of raw or inadequately treated sewerage by Emfuleni Local Municipality from its wastewater care and management system into the Rietspruit River and/or the Klip River and/or the Vaal River and/or the Vaal River Catchment Area”. The matter has not been finally ruled on by the court.

The Section 63 Vaal Intervention, one of the Ministry’s priority projects in Gauteng, includes the upgrading of water infrastructure, refurbishment, operations and maintenance, sustainability, water conservation, water demand management, and advocacy within the Vaal area. This is meant to deal with urgent matters relating to security of supply and more urgently, matters relating to the pollution of the Vaal River, and enhancement of capacity for the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality.

Rand Water, as the Implementing Agent, was formally appointed on the 5th of October 2021. Minister Mchunu will be filing a detailed affidavit, containing amongst others, progress updates on the various elements of the Intervention.

Source: Government of South Africa

“I am not poisoned, I am well,” he said on a video released on Monday evening.

At the weekend, the king’s traditional prime minister said he had gone to neighbouring Eswatini for treatment.

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi added that it followed the sudden death of one of the king’s senior advisers, also of suspected poisoning.

But in response, the king’s spokesperson, Prince Africa Zulu alleged there was “an orchestrated agenda and a desperate narrative to communicate defamatory and baseless claims of His Majesty’s ill-health”.

The dispute is a sign of how the relationship between King Misuzulu and Chief Buthelezi has fallen apart, reports the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg.

But in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, Chief Buthelezi said there was “certainly no growing rift” between him and the king. He did acknowledge that there were “disagreements on matters from time to time”, but this was “like any other family”.

Chief Buthelezi added that he had not “acted in malice by making the announcement about his health”.

In the video released on Monday, the king, looking well, explained that he had travelled to Eswatini for a regular medical health check – something that Chief Buthelezi continues to dispute saying that the king crossed the border to “urgently seek medical attention”.

“I’m happy, everything is well-functioning, there is no poison whatsoever. So please people, mostly to the Zulu people, the Zulu royal family also to remind everyone to please don’t listen to everything that people say,” the king said.

King Misuzulu was crowned in front of thousands of his subjects last October.

But a vicious power struggle has been raging within the royal family over the 48-year-old’s accession, while tensions have also recently surfaced between the monarch and Chief Buthelezi.

The Zulu king does not have formal political power and the monarch’s role within broader South African society is largely ceremonial, but he remains hugely influential with a yearly government-funded budget of several million dollars.

King Misuzulu’s accession to the throne was sooner than expected and he has been at the centre of palace intrigue.

His father died during the Covid pandemic in March 2021 of diabetes-related complications.

He was the Zulu nation’s longest-reigning monarch, having served on the throne for almost 50 years.

King Misuzulu’s mother, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, then became the regent, but she died a month later.

She was the sister of Eswatini’s King Mswati III – Africa’s only absolute monarch.

At the time, Chief Buthelezi dismissed rumours that she had been poisoned.

He had backed King Misuzulu’s accession to the throne after her death, but recent reports suggested that sharp differences had emerged between the two.

It followed a dispute over the chairmanship of the Ingonyama Trust Board, which manages vast tracts of land controlled by the monarch.

The king appointed Chief Thanduyise Mzimela as its chairman, but this was opposed by Chief Buthelezi who felt he was inexperienced for the post, according to local media.

Source: BBC