Day: July 1, 2022

Good afternoon Ministers and members of the media,

As you are all aware, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday 25 July 2022 where he announced an unprecedented set of interventions to end load shedding and achieve energy security.

Load shedding is the single biggest constraint on South Africa’s economic growth. Government is taking bold steps both to address the immediate crisis and to make load shedding a thing of the past. Further, we are mobilising all of the resources at our disposal and will do whatever it takes to achieve energy security.

I must emphasise that achieving energy security is our single most important objective as a country, to enable economic growth and job creation. Our short-term objective is to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding through immediate measures to stabilize the energy system. Our long-term objective is to end load shedding altogether.

In this regard, Government will focus on:

1. First, improving the performance of Eskom’s existing power stations; and

2. Second, adding as much new generation capacity to the grid as possible, as quickly as possible.

To this end, the President established the NECOM – a National Energy Crisis Committee – comprising all relevant government departments and Eskom, led by the Director-General in the Presidency, Ms Phindile Baleni. This structure reports to an Inter-Ministerial Committee, which will be chaired by the President and comprises the Minister in the Presidency, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Minister of Public Enterprises, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment and the Minister of Trade Industry and Competition.

Several actions have already been taken to address the shortfall in electricity supply, which is the main cause of load shedding. Some of these actions include:

• Changes have been made to the Regulations on New Generation Capacity to allow Municipalities to procure power independently. As a result, several municipalities are in the process of procuring additional power.

• One of the first steps President Cyril Ramaphosa took was to revive the renewable energy procurement programme. This enabled 2205 MW from Bid Window 4 to proceed to construction, the majority of which has now been connected to the grid.

• A further 6800 MW of solar PV and wind power is being procured in terms of the current Ministerial determination. This additional generation capacity will connect to the grid from late 2023. Another 3000 MW of gas and 513 of battery storage will be procured through the next bid windows.

• In 2021, we raised the licensing threshold from 1MW to 100MW. This has resulted in a pipeline of more than 80 confirmed private sector projects under development with a combined capacity of over 6000 MW, several of which will commence construction this year.

• Eskom has established an independent transmission company and is on track to separate its generation and distribution businesses by the end of 2022.

These are just a few examples of the interventions government has already put in place. However, we recognize that we need to be responsive to the situation as it develops. The severe load shedding which we experienced last month showed that additional actions are necessary to restore system stability and increase generation capacity.

Today, the Ministers will be unpacking these actions in more detail as well as outlining the next steps to ensure effective implementation.

The plan announced by the President includes five interventions with specific actions and timeframes to address the electricity shortfall:

1. Fix Eskom and improve the availability of existing supply

2. Enable and accelerate private investment in generation capacity

3. Accelerate procurement of new capacity from renewables, gas and battery storage

4. Unleash businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar

5. Fundamentally transform the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security.

The NECOM has already begun to meet regularly to ensure that these actions are implemented swiftly. Eight workstreams have been established to ensure coordination across government, and discussions are underway with the private sector and other social partners to ensure that the best available expertise in the country is brought into this effort.

As the President said in his address to the nation: “The crisis that we are facing requires that we should take bold, courageous and decisive action to close the electricity gap.”

That is our overriding objective as government.

I will now hand over to the Ministers to provide further details.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa

WINDHOEK– Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, yesterday said, for Africa to realise Agenda 2063, human capital must be developed, to end hunger, domestic and gender based violence, conflicts and war in the continent.

Speaking at the Africa’s women’s day commemoration and 60th anniversary of the Pan-African Women Organisation (PAWO) in Windhoek, Nandi-Ndaitwah said, these are threats and the biggest enemies of Africa’s development that must be dealt with decisively, as they are undermining the mental capacity of Africans.

“We all know peace is a prerequisite for development, therefore, as women we must have interest in the peace agenda. Peace is necessary for Africa to take advantage of our enabling instruments, such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, to address the challenges facing us, in order to ensure that the wealth of the continent is used in the best interest of our people,” she said.

She said that, African Women have always played an integral role in the struggle of African people, to attain independence and human dignity at the National and Continental levels.

“It must also be mentioned that your participation here serves as a reminder of our shared commitment, to making sure that women empowerment in Africa gains momentum, and is accepted as normal in all areas, including politics, economy, education, and human rights,” she said, adding, PAWO was formed with a specific task to “unite all African Women’s Organisations into a single platform, to share good practice, promote human rights with a view to eliminating any form of discrimination against women, support Africa’s liberation and to promote full integration of African women in the economic, social and political development of the continent.

The theme of the 2022 Celebration of the African Women’s Day is – Towards Advancing Women’s Human Capital through accelerated social and economic development: addressing the scourge of violence while enhancing food security and good nutrition in Africa.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

DAKAR– Senegal kicked off legislative elections at 8.00 a.m. yesterday (local time and GMT), to elect 165 new deputies to the National Assembly, for a five-year term, across national territory and abroad.

Some seven million Senegalese, including 300,000 living abroad, voted until 6.00 p.m., in the 15,500 polling stations and 7,000 polling places open for them.

The vote took place under the supervision of national and international observers, including those from the Economic Community of West African States.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Senegal’s ruling and opposition parties claimed victory Monday as provisional vote tallies came in from Sunday’s legislative election.

Former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, who heads the ruling coalition, announced on national television that the party had won 30 out of 46 administrative departments.

“This undoubtedly gives us a majority in the National Assembly,” she said.

Toure said President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition will hold on to its majority.

The main opposition coalition said in a statement Monday that it has defeated the ruling party in most departments.

“The provisional results from the legislative elections show that President Macky Sall lost the elections … and that he will not have a majority in the National Assembly,” it said.

The final nationwide results of the election are not expected to be known until at least Friday.

Senegal’s hybrid election system includes both representatives who win a majority of votes in their administrative departments, as well as representatives elected from national lists, using proportional representation. In addition, some representatives are chosen by Senegalese who live abroad.

Senegal is considered one of the African continent’s most stable democracies, but there is concern because Sall has not ruled out running for a third term in 2024, a move that would go against the country’s constitution.

Violent protests broke out last year after Sall’s main opponent, Ousmane Sonko, was arrested on rape charges.

Source: Voice of America

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made earlier today a demarche to the Russian Ambassador in Athens over the expulsion of eight Greek diplomats from the diplomatic and consular authorities in Russia.

He underscored that the Russian reaction was disproportionate compared to the measures announced by our country against certain Russian diplomats who had been declared as personae non gratae for demonstrably engaging in actions inconsistent with their diplomatic status, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.

On the contrary, the expulsions of Greek diplomats have no justification whatsoever, other than being disproportionate reprisals. It was also underlined that the above-mentioned Greek diplomats had in no way violated the Vienna Conventions.

Lastly, the Greek side protested against the content of recent statements by Russian officials and emphasized the importance of avoiding generalizations and accusations against our country that cannot be verified.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic

In the context of my regular contacts with the parliamentary parties, the parties that are represented in the Hellenic Parliament, I briefed them on the major foreign policy issues.

First of all, I informed them about the NATO Summit in Madrid, where Greece was represented by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

And I provided the representatives of the parliamentary parties with a copy of the Agreement between Finland, Sweden and Turkey. I also had the opportunity to explain to the representatives of the parliamentary parties that this Agreement does not create excess benefits for Turkey, as part of Greek public opinion appears to believe. On the contrary, Turkey did not even succeed in designating the YPG or ‘FETO’ as terrorist organisations in this agreement; or, as it could not possibly have happened, to place the extradition procedure under a special regime other than the European Convention on Extradition.

Regarding the issue of PESCO, [Turkey’s] participation in these programmes, Greece and Cyprus have the relevant veto right within the framework of the Council of the European Union.

Therefore, I think that what is being said in Greece regarding Turkey’s “excess benefits” and “triumph” does not really reflect reality.

Of course, I had the opportunity to discuss all this with my two counterparts from Sweden and Finland, whom I met at the NATO Summit.

There was another noteworthy event in Madrid: the new Strategic Concept was adopted, and I believe it merits more attention. In this Strategic Concept, particular reference is made to the values of International Law and good neighbourly relations between countries, as well as to the overall framework of values and principles that Greece believes in and stands for. And which, if implemented, will resolve a huge number of problems in our wider region.

We also had the opportunity to discuss the escalation of Turkish rhetoric and the various violations on the ground. I informed the representatives of the parties about the perfectly clear Greek position. First of all, provocative conduct is not accepted and will be answered. But, beyond that, Greece will not be entangled in an ongoing escalation. On the contrary, Greece is seeking de-escalation; it believes that rhetorical outbursts from the other side of the Aegean cannot result in positive developments regarding Greek-Turkish relations. I also told them clearly that Greece has no intention of going down the path of this ongoing escalation. Instead, it always maintains a serious stance that is compelled by our own belief in and commitment to International Law and the International Law of the Sea, as well as international human rights law.

As we enter the last year of the government’s term of office, I would like to conclude by making a broader request. My request is that national issues be kept out of the realm of partisan politics, as has largely been the case to date. That is, we need to maintain the maturity and concord that have gotten us to this point.

Because I believe it is right to always remember that Hellenism has been historically divided over foreign policy issues. And we should keep in mind that this year, 2022, marks 100 years since the national catastrophe of 1922. A national catastrophe largely brought on by the National Schism.

We should not forget that we are facing a national threat and we can face this threat if we are united, that is, if we are united together.

Therefore, upon the instructions I have received from the Prime Minister, I will continue to serve this priority of concord and unity of the Greek people.

Thank you.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic

Blind people in Cameroon were protesting this week against job discrimination when according to witnesses, police bundled them up and dumped them outside the city. Despite the alleged abuse, the protests continue.

Scores of blind Cameroonians continued a week-long protest Friday in the capital against job discrimination, despite allegations this week of police abuse.

The visually impaired braved heavy rain Thursday in Yaoundé to protest in groups of nine along seven major streets.

They raised their white canes and said the world should know that Cameroon’s police abused them every day this week while they were asking the government to provide them with jobs.

Arnaud Djikissi is a spokesperson for the protesters.

He says on day one of the protest on Monday, Cameroon police destroyed their white canes, tore dresses, and arrested and detained blind persons for up to six hours. Djikissi says on Tuesday, while they protested in front of the prime minister’s office, his group of more than 60 blind men was again abused by police. He says the police bundled them in buses, dumped blind persons outside of the capital Yaoundé, and told the sightless people to find their way back home.

When contacted by VOA, Cameroon police acknowledged clearing the streets of the blind protesters for what they said were illegal protests.

But officials at Yaoundé’s first central police station would not comment on allegations they drove blind people outside of Yaoundé and abandoned them.

Eyewitnesses told VOA that police dumped the blind protesters in different districts outside of Yaoundé, some as far as 30 kilometers away. The protesters had to call family members or appeal for rides from drivers passing by to get home.

Local media reported that blind people on Thursday protested the police abuse in towns including Bamenda, Buea and Mbalmayo.

Tancho Fidel is president of the Bamenda-based Organization for the Realization of an Inclusive Society.

“Blind people in Cameroon are not given jobs,” said Fidel. “They are considered as underdogs. When they come out to decry the situation, they are tortured. We want the Cameroon government to consider us as able people and normal human beings.”

Cameroon passed a law in 2010 mandating protections for people with disabilities, including the visually impaired.

But blind Cameroonians say most employers ignore the law, which is rarely enforced.

Cameroon’s government says there are about 600,000 blind people in the country and more than one million who are visually impaired.

Source: Voice of America