South Africa will showcase its abundant artistic talent to the people of Palestine during South African Week later this year, following the signing of a cultural agreement between the two countries in Pretoria on Wednesday.

"We welcome with both hands the opportunity to visit Palestine later this year to be part of the South African Week celebrations," Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said after signing the agreement with Palestinian Minister of Culture Siham Mohammad Abdel Salam.

"Our ultimate objective of participating in South African Week is to further strengthen people-to-people contact and to build new bridges of friendship and solidarity with the people of Palestine."

Mashatile said the government would continue to make arts, culture and heritage important tools of bringing people together and working towards a shared future.

The signed agreement would promote mutual understanding of the two countries' diverse cultures, create opportunities to access cultural markets in both South Africa and Palestine, and facilitate training and development in areas of common interests.

"Our cooperation will also cover areas such as languages development, heritage preservation, exchanges of literature as well as exhibitions to showcase both our countries' artistic talent."

Mashatile said South Africa counted the people of Palestine among those patriots who stood with the masses in the struggle for national liberation. "For that, we are indebted to you."

In line with the Non-Aligned Movement and the international community in general, he said, South Africa would continue to support efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"In our view, the best option for the resolution of the Palestine-Israeli conflict is premised on a two-state solution, with Palestine and Israel existing peacefully side-by-side as two independent states."

Source: BuaNews

Art

Diverse contemporary artists producing new and important work.

Craftwork

Adapting every medium to produce a remarkable range of craftwork.

The economic decline of the developed North makes it crucial for African countries to increase trade among themselves and other developing countries, South African President Jacob Zuma told the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) heads of state and government orientation committee meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday.

Zuma said the latest forecast from the IMF indicated that Africa's economy would grow by over five percent on average in the next two years, he said, adding that economists from all over the world were predicting that Africa would be the next major growth area in the world.

"We all know that efforts to accelerate the development and structural transformation of African economies are hindered by very substantial obstacles, particularly those related to finance and infrastructure as well as governance, and human capital," Zuma said.

"But we should not wait until all of these obstacles are resolved to create productive jobs. Other economies managed to expand production and exports while still grappling with the same sorts of constraints currently observed in Sub-Saharan Africa."

Zuma said that traditional models of financing and delivering infrastructure had to give way to new models, with a particular focus on public-private partnerships.

$6.9bn needed to upgrade north-south corridor

Zuma told the meeting that billions of dollars would be needed to upgrade and maintain Sub-Saharan Africa's north-south corridor, the road network forming the main trade route between Durban, South Africa and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

South Africa was appointed to lead Nepad's presidential infrastructure championing initiative.

"In order to upgrade and maintain the north-south corridor road network, we will need US$6.9-billion, of which $4.5 billion is for capital investment and the remainder is for recurrent costs," Zuma said.

"The entire north-south road network was physically assessed and inspected. With the exclusion of the road network in South Africa, the north-south corridor network that was assessed amounted to 8 600 kilometres."

Increased intra-African trade 'imperative'

There was already work under way to upgrade and maintain the road network in some parts of the corridor, Zuma said, adding that serious work was also needed to improve the continent's rail infrastructure.

Zuma said increased intra and inter-regional trade was not an option but an imperative.

"Without trade, individuals, communities, countries and regions cannot reduce poverty or achieve economic growth.

"We have to challenge these issues, failing which our key differentiator to boost intra-regional trade will remain inadequate and perhaps a distant dream."

Source: BuaNews

South Africa is working towards a thriving mixed economy that is integrated into the southern African region and African continent as a whole, President Jacob Zuma said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.

"In June last year," Zuma told a gathering of South African businesspeople, "26 African countries signed an agreement to create a free trade area that covers more than half of Africa.

"By June 2014, nearly 60 percent of the economy of Africa will be a single free trade area, covering the Southern African Development Community, the East African community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa."

Towards job-creating growth

Zuma told the businesspeople that the government's economic transformation programme meant "[continuing] to work towards achieving a thriving mixed economy, premised on creating inclusive employment-creating growth.

"This is an economy where the state, private capital, cooperative and other forms of social ownership work together, complementing each other to foster shared economic growth and eliminate poverty."

As part of the country's efforts to alleviate poverty in the short term, the government was supporting employment creation through public works programmes which have proven to be effective in providing short-term jobs, while close to 15-million South Africans receive grants.

"Our social assistance programme creates a caring society. We are improving the economic situation and working towards finding means to provide able-bodied grant recipients with skills to help them become independent.

"With regards to youth support, government has directed that the number of public-sector internships be increased to 60 000 positions by 2013. This will expand the number of public internships more than tenfold."

'Real challenges'

South Africa, after hosting the United Nations' COP 17 climate change conference in December, was also working to achieve a sustainable economy that was not harmful to the environment or the health of its people.

"We are proud of our progress so far in shaping a new model of economic governance and growth - one that is dynamic, sustainable and increasingly inclusive.

"That is not to play down the very real challenges that we face," Zuma said, adding that the South African economy could not be sustained unless more was done to address social ills and economic exclusion.

"We must also develop strategies for managing the instability of the global economy," Zuma added.

Source: BuaNews

Cooperation on infrastructure development between South Africa and Qatar is set to intensify, following a meeting between President Jacob Zuma and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in Doha.

Zuma stopped over in Qatar on Tuesday, en route to the World Economic Forum annual meeting starting in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.

"The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including concrete projects that the two countries can engage in, as part of implementing South Africa's New Growth Path," Zuma's office said in a statement.

The two countries also agreed to intensify cooperation in other economic sectors, while it was agreed that a ministerial delegation from South Africa will visit Qatar early in February to follow up on issues raised and to ensure that no time is wasted in implementing the decisions of the two heads of state.

The South African government is seeking cooperation with Qatar in areas such as water, energy, construction, agriculture and general infrastructure development.

Already the two countries maintain a strong bilateral relationship and have strong cooperation in petrochemicals.

One of South Africa's largest investments in the Middle East, Sasol's joint venture gas-to-liquid facility, is located in Qatar. Qatar is currently the seventh-largest supplier of crude oil to South Africa, but bilateral trade and investment have not reached their full potential.

According to the Presidency, the two leaders also discussed the situation in Libya at length, and agreed that the African Union and the Arab League should work together to assist the National Transitional Council and the people of Libya to return the country to normalcy.

This comes as there are reports of fresh violence in that country. Protesters are reportedly saying that the interim National Transitional Council must deliver on promises of transparency and compensate those injured in the civil war.

Source: BuaNews

Saving electricity and using it efficiently is the responsibility of all South Africans, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said at the launch of the 49m 2012 Plan in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga province on Sunday.

The 49m campaign, an Eskom initiative endorsed by the government and business partners, was launched by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe last year. It is the country's biggest energy saving movement, seeking to address the issue of the country's constrained power system.

Gigaba urged South Africans to use electricity wisely in order to secure a sustainable future for the country.

"What we are trying to do with this campaign is to explain why electricity is important, why saving it is important, and how people can do that," he said.

Gigaba stressed that electricity was vital for the country's economic and social development. Households and new human settlements required electricity as well as developing industries.

"It is also important to save electricity for the future. We need to learn to use electricity efficiently for a sustainable future."

People also needed to understand the benefits of using electricity more wisely, which include more money in their pockets due to reduced electricity bills, he added.

Eskom Chairman Zola Tsotsi explained that the idea behind 49m, based on 49-million, the population of the country, was that "each and every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that we exercise some saving in the supply and use of electricity so that there is a greater amount available to the country."

Tsotsi added that it was significant that the campaign started in Emalahleni which was a major player in power production and was home to a number of power stations.

He said he was impressed with the positive response the campaign had received from Emalahleni residents.

"They understand the full impact of what we are talking about. I believe they will be very involved in the campaign and that we will have their full cooperation."

Source: BuaNews

Francis Hweshe

Parliament's ad hoc committee looking into the Protection of State Information Bill has adopted an ambitious public hearing drive aimed at getting input on the Bill from as many South Africans as possible.

The Bill, which has sparked debate across the country, was approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly late last year. It has now been passed to the National Council of Provinces for further scrutiny before it is sent to President Jacob Zuma for his signature into law.

Committee chair Raseriti Tau said on Tuesday they would not "rubber-stamp" the National Assembly decision. He said they were taking the process seriously, with the aim of "deepening democracy".

"The only way to do [that] is to reach out to the people," he said.

Tau, who was positive about the public hearings, said they would take on board the views of as many people as possible.

Two programmes have been drawn up by the committee, one for public meetings to be held at Parliament in Cape Town, and another for public meetings to be held in all nine provinces, with a focus on both rural and urban settings.

Tau said his team of 15 MPs would be split into three groups to allow for multiple meetings to be held concurrently.

The process is meant garner what people know about the bill, as well as tell them what it is about.

Advertisements for public submission on the bill were expected to be published on Wednesday.

The Department of State Security has been scheduled to brief the committee on the bill next Tuesday, after which the public hearing meetings will commence.

The committee hopes to have them wrapped up by the end of April.

Asked whether the committee would meet its deadline, Tau said it was going to be a challenge but they would make it. In the event that they failed to complete on time, they would seek an extension of the deadline through a resolution in the National Council of Provinces.

All the committee members seemed to agree on the action plan. However, Congress of the People (Cope) MP Dennis Bloem said he did not want the hearings to turn into rallies.

Tau responded by saying that the committee wanted as many people to attend the hearings, as that was the aim of the process.

Source: BuaNews

South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples.

Gabi Khumalo

Thirty-six new schools will be opened in Gauteng during this year's first term, with 13 of these schools expected to be ready for occupation when inland provinces schools open on Wednesday.

Briefing the media in Olievenhoutbosch, near Centurion, on the province's readiness for the reopening of schools this week, Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy said it was all systems go for the start of the new academic year.

She said the new schools would not only help with the accommodation of new learners coming to the province, but that they would also ease the pressure in some of the overcrowded schools. Plans to beef up teaching staff are well underway.

"In August last year, we distributed the vacancy list for teaching posts in our schools and all vacancies were filled… We have approved 500 additional posts for the new schools," Creecy said.

To ensure that learning and teaching start on the first day of school, Creecy said orders for Learner Teacher Support Material were placed by school principals and officials in May last year.

"Admissions started on 1 August 2011 and this year, we anticipate 209 000 Grade 1 learners will begin their schooling career. We are also registering 110 000 learners in state supported Grade R facilities," she said.

Late applications

Parents who are still seeking space in schools have been advised to go to their nearest district offices where the department has set up operation centres. District officials will advise parents on the capacity of schools and help to place learners.

Late applications will be handled at the special operation centres established at head office and district offices to allow principals to manage the curriculum in schools from the first day of schooling.

The department also conducted an audit of furniture needs at all districts last year and a list of schools with shortages and damaged furniture was generated.

"We've placed orders and deliveries are currently underway. We have also procured furniture for the new schools and started maintenance work at 69 schools in May 2011. Currently, work is in progress at 42 sites," she said.

Source: BuaNews

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to enhance ties between the UN and regional organisations, particularly the African Union.

Resolution 2033, adopted in New York on Thursday, urges the UN and the African Union (AU) to work closely together in the areas of prevention and resolution of conflicts in Africa.

It was approved after an initiative by South Africa, led by President Jacob Zuma, who was in New York to oversee the country's assumption of the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of January.

Zuma said he was happy that other countries had heard the message and unanimously supported calls to strengthen the relations between the UN and regional bodies, particularly the AU.

"While we are pleased with the current relations between the two bodies, we also feel that we can deepen them further for better co-ordination when it comes to dealing with issues affecting our continent," Zuma said. "We want the views of the African Union to be respected by the UN."

Africa not a 'playground' for global interests

Zuma chaired the Security Council summit debate on "Strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security."

During the debate, Zuma strongly urged the Security Council to avoid a situation such as the one which transpired during the conflict in Libya last year, in which the 1973 Resolution of the UN Security Council was largely abused in some specific respects.

Zuma further warned that Africa should never again be a playground for furthering the interests of other regions, as had happened during the Cold War.

"Conflicts in Africa will be manageable if they are not promoted or aided from outside the continent," he said.

Call for Security Council reform

He also repeated his call for the fundamental reform of the UN Security Council to become more representative and legitimate.

Earlier, Zuma co-chaired the 6th Session of the Global Sustainability Panel with President Tarja Halonen of Finland.

The panel dealt with issues of sustainable development, a sustainable economy and strengthening institutional governance, as well as strengthening the panel as a means of accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Outcomes adopted by the Panel will be released to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and also feed into preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio in June.

Zuma also held bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on the margins of these high-level meetings.

Source: BuaNews

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has urged potential students to contact the department's call centre to verify the existence of private educational institutions before enrolling.

The minister said there were bogus institutions which were not registered with the Department of Education and were therefore not legitimate.

Some institutions also offered certain subjects in order to get students to register but ended up teaching other subjects. This was in a bid to get more money from students.

He said potential students should call 0800 87 22 22 to check if the institution was in fact registered with the department and what subjects they were registered to offer.

The minister was speaking in Pretoria on Thursday at the launch of the Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training, which is aimed at aligning the post-school education and training system with South Africa's overall development agenda.

Earlier this week, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the police would be clamping down on bogus institutions.

Operations will be carried out across the country targeting unregistered schools, colleges and universities, and the special investigative team which probes such institutions is to be beefed up.

Source: BuaNews

Amid calls for a more coordinated, flexible and differentiated education system capable of accommodating more of South Africa's school-leavers, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has reminded the country's post-matrics of opportunities available outside universities.

Higher Education South Africa called on Wednesday for the development of a coordinated, flexible and differentiated post-school education and training system that pulls in the country's universities, FET institutions, and agricultural, nursing and teacher training colleges.

Higher Education SA also pledged its support to any initiative aimed at providing a greater set of study opportunities for school leavers, following an incident on Tuesday where a parent was killed during a stampede by late first-year applicants at the University of Johannesburg.

Opportunities 'beyond universities'

Last week, Nzimande reminded school-leavers of the various options available to them, saying they should consider state Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, where a wide range of in-demand skills were on offer.

Nzimande said there were opportunities beyond universities - in learnerships, artisan training and internships, as well as in FET colleges, nursing and agricultural colleges.

"Public FET colleges, in particular, offer skills that are in line with the country's growth and development imperatives," Nzimande said.

"Even as we speak, our economy has a higher and more urgent demand for artisans, technicians, engineers and other scarce skills that can be sourced outside of universities."

Financial assistance at state insitutions

Nzimande added that there was financial assistance available for deserving students from poor families through the National Financial Student Aid Scheme.

He noted that students attending private higher education institutions did not qualify for government student financial aid.

Following Tuesday's incident at the University of Johannesburg, Nzimande said the government was considering halting the late application practice, and planned to roll out a centralised applications system of the kind already being used in KwaZulu-Natal.

Higher Education SA said that, in order to learn from the UJ incident, it would "examine the experiences of its 23 member institutions relating to admissions in 2012 with a view to analysing trends, distilling lessons and facilitating mechanisms through which promising practices could be shared across the university system".

Source: BuaNews