Category: General

Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa and Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Public Works, Eric Molala, affirmed their commitment to the Trans-Kalahari Railway Project during a meeting in Windhoek on Wednesday.

Mutorwa said the project is gaining momentum and that visible developments are on the way.

“Roads play a very important role in the transportation of people, services and goods, but rail transportation is much better in terms of the transportation of lives,” Mutorwa said.

He added that people cannot exchange goods if there is no transportation infrastructure.

Molale meanwhile said the justification for the Trans-Kalahari Railway Project could not have come at a better time.

“The people of Namibia and the people of Botswana will benefit from this rail line,” Molale said.

The meeting was held to discuss the two countries’ mutual interests and the progress made thus far on the Trans-Kalahari railway.

The governments of Namibia and Botswana in 2010 signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the development of the Trans-Kalahari railway line connecting Botswana’s Mmamabula coal fields to Walvis Bay in Namibia. The two governments signed a bilateral agreement in 2014 to establish the 1 500 kilometre line.

Namibia and Botswana reaffirmed their commitment to the multibillion-dollar Trans-Kalahari railway project in 2022.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Minister Ntshavheni to visit Johannesburg fire scene

Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni will visit the scene of the Johannesburg fire.

Members of the media are advised as follows:

Date: Thursday, 31 August 2023

Time: 13h00

Venue: Johannesburg CBD, corner of Alberts and Delvers Street

Enquiries: Sipho Mbhele

Spokesperson of the Ministry

Cell: 0836253446

Source: Government of South Africa

The South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA), which recognises and rewards excellence by women in science and technology, will take place in September.

The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) will host a two-day celebration from 8 September in Durban.

Themed, ‘Harnessing technological change and innovation to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls,’ the awards recognises younger women who are starting their careers as researchers and scientists, as well as registered master’s and PhD students.

Participants will be awarded in the following categories:

Distinguished Woman Researchers: winner receives R90 000, first runner-up: R65 000, second runner-up: R40 000;

Distinguished Young Woman Researchers: winner receives R80 000, first runner-up: R55 000, second runner-up: R30 000;

DSI-Ndoni Mcunu Fellowship: six participants will receive R70 000 for a master’s degree and six participants will receive R90 000 for a PhD degree.

The category DSI Fellowships was renamed to DSI-Ndoni Mcunu Fellowships in honour of Mcunu’s memory and legacy as a young brilliant scientist and phenomenal woman.

The late Mcunu was one of South Africa’s leading young scientists in climate change, a social entrepreneur, and the founder of Black Women in Science (BWIS).

BWIS has provided developmental training to over 400 postgraduate fellows in business, entrepreneurship and research skills, scientific writing, project leadership, science communication skills and research career preparation.

During her lifetime Mcunu achieved numerous accolades including being named a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow, receiving an honorary award at the KZN Young Achievers Awards in the Science Research and Entrepreneurship category, winning the Gagasi FM Shero award in the Science and Technology category and recognised as one of the 40 under-40 African Leaders for Climate Resilience in 2019.

The DSI and 2023 SAWiSA has 26 finalists and one of the finalists selected is Gizelle Roque Van Niekerk from the University of Pretoria, who is a second year MSc student.

In 2022, she attended the 14th Green Chemistry Postgraduate Summer School (GCPSS) in Venice, Italy.

“I am grateful to Pietro Tundo for seeing potential in me as a young scientist by selecting me to attend the in-person event on scholarship.

“The 14th Green Chemistry Summer School was a life-changing experience and instrumental to my future career as a chemist. It was an honour to present my research at such a prestigious international summer school.

“The opportunity reinforced my belief that green chemistry solutions are a fundamental course of action for sustainable development in the Global South,” Van Niekerk said in a statement.

She said it was a privilege to engage with postgraduate students from a broad spectrum of countries and found the talks given by highly influential scientists very inspiring.

Networking with people who share the same common goal encouraged her to fervently continue the ground-taking field of green chemistry. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, will pay a working visit to Moroni, Comoros, where she will meet with her counterpart, Dhoihir Dhoulkamal on Friday.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the two Ministers will assess the status of the bilateral relations between South Africa and the Comoros.

“They will also share information and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

“The two Ministers will also sign a General Cooperation Agreement, meant, among other objectives, to establish a Joint Commission at the Senior Official’s Level.”

Through the Joint Commission, the department hopes that an increased level of cooperation across various sectors between the two nations will occur.

Pandor will also use the opportunity of her visit to pay a courtesy call to Comoros President Azali Assoumani, the current Chair of the African Union (AU).

In addition, she will have an engagement with the Comorian business community, women leaders and youth entrepreneurs during lunch.

The meeting will focus on women and youth as active African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) participants.

The engagement will be hosted by the Governor of Ngazidja, Madam Sitti Faroutta and be attended by the Comorian Minister of Economy and Investment, Ahmed Ali Bazi, and other dignitaries. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) says cinema-goers across Nigeria would enjoy discounted tickets on Saturday, Sept. 2, in commemoration of the International Cinema Day.

The National Chairman, CEAN, Mr Opeyemi Ajayi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Ajayi said that the discount was targeted at rewarding cinema-goers, bringing back old customers and encouraging Nigerians to cultivate the habit of going to the cinemas.

“Nigeria’s cinemas join cinemas in the United Kingdom and United States of America to announce “The National Cinema Day” which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.

“The Cinema Exhibitor’s Association of Nigeria welcomes moviegoers to celebrate a day at the movies with discounted tickets of N1,000 to kick-off the first National Cinema Day, on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.

“This one-day event will be held at more than 50 Cinema locations across the Federation, with over 100 screens.

“We believe this will bring together audiences of all ages to enjoy a day at the movies and see any movie of their choice at a discounted ticket price of N1,000.

“We are doing this to say thank you to movie-goers and promote the cinema-going culture as well as to remind audiences about the magic of cinema,” the CEAN chairman said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has urged women in leadership positions to become agents of change in the struggle for women emancipation.

Addressing the Evolution of Women in Leadership Conference at Durban, Dube-Ncube cautioned that it is easy for women to assume that their liberation will come from others, other than themselves.

“Those who are oppressed need not accept a diminished sense of self. This must not be the case with our fight for socio-economic emancipation as women. The evolution of women in leadership is less about celebrating how far we have come, but more about how we re-adjust the lenses of our struggle, such that we usher in a new world,” Dube-Ncube said.

Attended by more than 200 women leaders, entrepreneurs and decision-makers, the main point of the conference was the effect of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) and its impact in hampering impactful change in society.

The Premier highlighted a number of interventions that government has implemented to fight the scourge of GBV, these include, amongst others, the Light-Up Inanda Campaign where eThekwini Metro is working together with Mnambithi Group in Public-Private Partnership providing solar-powered streetlights in Inanda Township, which has been identified as the number one GBV spot in the country.

“The Office of the Premier recently secured funding from private sector partners to build the initial foundation of the GBVF App with a panic button. Making the system fully operational requires effective ward- based GBVF Rapid Response Teams integrated to War Rooms.

“The GBVF App will be linked to members of the Gender Based Violence and Femicide Rapid Response Teams which include war room, members of the Executive Committee (EXCO), traditional leadership, and SAPS,” the Premier highlighted.

The Premier also challenged women to be their own liberators and to understand that the change they want to see is not so that they can be like men, but to usher in a new world characterised by peace, equality, justice and prosperity.

She also urged women in leadership positions to lift more women so that the occupation of leadership positions should be seen less as an exception, but “more as a norm”.

Source: South African Government News Agency