Day: October 4, 2024

A concert of pipa, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, was held in Zagreb on Friday evening, as part of the China Art Festival, the first of its kind in Croatia.

This special musical night, held at the Culture and Information Center Maksimir, was organized by the China-Croatia Economic and Cultural Cooperation Association. The festival runs from Oct. 1 to 6 with exhibitions, tea art, pipa performances, and cheongsam shows.

“We are very happy to be here to have the chance to show the Chinese culture,” said Bai Xiaoting, president of the association.

“It is a Chinese traditional instrument which has already 2,000 years of history,” said Zhao Yang, the musician, who expressed excitement about her first visit to Croatia and shared her performing experiences across Europe.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the 24th National Teaching Awards (NTA) to be held at Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre on Saturday.

The awards will be held under the theme: ‘Empowering Educators to educate a South African learner fit for the 21st Century: Strengthening Resilience, Building Sustainability’.

‘The National Teaching Awards is annually hosted by the Department of Basic Education to appreciate and acknowledge the extraordinary efforts made by excellent teachers, often in very difficult conditions. Such teachers provide for better futures for learners,’ the Presidency said in a statement on Friday.

The top of South Africa’s teaching talent is expected to be recognised in the following categories:

– Excellence in Grade R Teaching

– Excellence in Primary School Teaching

– Excellence in Primary School Leadership

– Excellence in Secondary School Teaching

– Excellence in Secondary School Leadership

– Excellence in Special Needs Teaching

– Excellence i
n Special Needs Leadership

– Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (GET)

– Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (FET)

– Excellence in Teaching Natural Sciences

– Excellence in Teaching Physical Sciences

– Excellence in Technology – Enhanced, Teaching and Learning

– Kader Asmal Lifetime Achievement Award

– National Best Teacher Award

‘The NTA aims to focus public attention on the positive aspects of Basic Education, thereby raising the public image of the teaching profession, recognise, appreciate and promote excellence in teaching performance,’ the Presidency said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Football Australia (FA) on Friday announced that new head coach Tony Popovic has named a 26-player extended squad for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers this month.

Popovic, who was named Socceroos head coach in September following the resignation of Graham Arnold, will face China in his first game in charge of the Australia’s national team in South Australia on October 10 and Japan in Saitama on October 15.

The extended squad for the fixtures includes the return of English Premier League midfielder Massimo Luongo from international retirement.

Luongo, the player of the tournament at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, retired from international football late in 2023 to focus on his club football with Ipswich Town but has made himself available for the remainder of the qualification cycle.

He is among nine players in Popovic’s first squad who were not called up by Arnold for September’s qualifiers.

Arnold, the longest-serving coach in Socceroos history, resigned after Australia were beaten by Ba
hrain and drew with Indonesia in the opening third round games in the Asian qualifiers.

A former Socceroo, Popovic on Friday named three players who he coached in the most recent A-League season at Melbourne Victory – forwards Daniel Arzani and Nishan Velupillay and defender Jason Geria – in his first national team squad.

European-based Ajdin Hrustic, Jordy Bos, Gianni Stensness, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Riley McGree have also been recalled.

“This October window offers a great opportunity to showcase a vast improvement, both in our desire and in the quality of our play,” Popovic said in a statement.

“This time in camp will be crucial as we lay the foundations that will not only help us succeed in this window but set the tone for our future ambitions.”

The Socceroos are currently fifth in Group C in the third round of qualifying as they aim to qualify for a sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup. The top two teams in the group will automatically qualify for the tournament and the next two will progress to
a fourth round of qualifying.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

The Department of Human Settlements intends to partner with traditional leaders to identify disaster-resilient areas suitable for human settlements development, using geo-mapping.

Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi made the announcement at meeting held with Members of Executive Councils (MINMEC) responsible for Human Settlements across the country on Thursday.

Kubayi said the collaborative initiative with traditional leaders aims to enable traditional leaders to identify safe land parcels for settlement purposes and avoid disaster-prone areas in vulnerable provinces.

She said the department intends to pilot this approach in rural KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Provinces, paving the way for proactive disaster mitigation and sustainable human settlements.

‘By leveraging geo-mapping technology, the department aims to inform decision makers to make better land allocation decisions, ensuring the safety and well-being of communities. We cannot be chasing after or reacting to disasters.

‘We must be proactive and put measure
s in place to mitigate future disasters. Climate change is upon us, and we should be better prepared and be able to respond accordingly,’ Kubayi said.

The Minister convened the meeting with the MECs, focusing on the 2024/2025 human settlements priorities.

This was the second meeting in the seventh administration included the Mayors and Members of Mayoral Committees (MMCs) for Human Settlements in metropolitan municipalities and representatives from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to tackle key critical areas.

These include prioritising vulnerable groups in housing allocation, the Title Deeds Restoration Programme, housing for military veterans, emergency housing, and an update on the Human Settlements White Paper.

The meeting discussed the finalisation of the White Paper and MINMEC was informed that extensive consultations have been undertaken to ensure that all sectors of the community took part in shaping the new policy.

Approved by Cabinet in 2023 for public consultation, the dr
aft White Paper seeks to address the prevailing gaps and inconsistencies in the housing and human settlements sector by responding comprehensively to contemporary sector reforms.

The meeting heard that sectors including NGOs, civil society, labour, academics, developers and contractors, and identified government departments were consulted.

The draft White Paper will be presented to Cabinet for approval, and once approved, a nationwide awareness campaign will be launched to educate the public on the policy’s key points through various media channels.

The Minister also underscored the importance of building integrated communities including rural areas, saying human settlements should be where people are, feel safe and have access to economic opportunities and social amenities.

‘Accordingly, the government has availed resources to build social amenities in rural areas including community halls and other facilities to encourage development within the communities,’ the Minister explained.

Assisting those affe
cted by disasters

On emergency response to people affected by disasters, MINMEC welcomed a briefing on the Emergency Housing Framework developed to ensure immediate response to people affected by disasters.

MINMEC stressed the need to clarify roles and responsibilities since the national department has assumed responsibility.

The meeting adopted a proposal outlining disaster response protocols, dividing responsibilities between the National Department of Human Settlements, provinces, and metros based on disaster severity.

‘Significant and severe disasters, affecting 51 to 100 or more households, will be jointly responded to by the National Department and provinces/metropolitan areas, while minimal and minor disasters, impacting 1 to 50 households, will be addressed by provinces working with metros,’ Kubayi said.

In response to disasters, the Emergency Housing Guidelines provide four key interventions, and these include restoration, rebuilding, relocation, and repairs.

MINMEC emphasised the need to addre
ss historic disasters that occurred from 2019 to April 2024, which have affected numerous households, with estimated damages totalling R1 billion.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The death toll in Typhoon Krathon that hit the Philippines starting the weekend rose to at least five, with one person still missing, a disaster operations agency said Friday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the deaths were recorded from two northernmost Philippine regions hit by Krathon.

The deaths included a 62-year-old male who drowned in Ilocos Norte and a 25-year-old who was electrocuted in Cagayan Valley. The agency said it was still validating the causes of the deaths of the three others.

The agency said search continued for the person swept away by a strong current.

The agency said that Krathon affected almost 243,000 people in at least 828 villages in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative region in the northern part of the main Luzon island.

The agency estimated the initial cost of infrastructure and agriculture damage at over 1 billion pesos (17.77 million U.S. dollars).

An average of 20 typhoons lash the Philippines yearly.

Source:
The Namibia News Agency

While government is fully cognisant that access to finance remains the most significant barrier to entry for new venture creation, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and entrepreneurship, steps are being taken to address this.

This is according to the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Zuko Godlimpi, who was during the Financial Inclusion Week session in Johannesburg.

‘The consequences of government inability to increase the pace of transformation after 30 years are evidenced by the lack of economic growth, unsustainably high levels of unemployment, widening inequality and market concentration,’ Godlimpi said.

‘Though government policies have worked to dismantle many structures of the apartheid state and increase living standards, these efforts have not translated into the creation of job opportunities for many South Africans,’ he said.

Godlimpi pointed out that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and its agencies, which include the Industrial Developmen
t Corporation (IDC) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), have managed to attract new business projects in which they will be investing R78 billion.

‘We have also agreed to push the dtic and its entities to go beyond the Treasury standards to pay SMMEs. This ensures that we, as an institution of nine branches and 18 entities, do not contribute to the barriers that constrain our SMMEs.’

Glodlimpi explained that on the policy front, government is aware that SMMEs find it difficult to access different forms of finance, including debt.

He said when SMMEs approach debt markets, they are often faced with onerous credit checks and, at times, fall victim to negative reinforcement tools such as credit bureaus due to a lack of access to patient capital.

‘When a small business owner misses debt repayment due to delayed payments from clients and, in many instances, the government, they are blacklisted. According to [the] Small Enterprise Development Agency’s SMME Quarterly and Stats SA, SMMEs contribute about 59%
of total employment in the country,’ he said.

Godlimpi said this picture demonstrates the unsustainable structure of credit market in South Africa, which is embedded in a consumption logic rather than a developmental and investment orientation.

‘As part of the Minister Parks Tau’s new wall-to-wall approach, we have begun to look at sharing important economic data within the dtic to enhance our understanding of the economy and achieve complementarity in deploying the various tools to achieve our industrial policy objectives,’ said Godlimpi.

Source: South African Government News Agency