Presidential Spokesperson media briefing

PUBLIC PROGRAM OF THE PRESIDENT

28 JUNE 2023: INCOMING SOUTH SUDAN WORKING VISIT

President Cyril Ramaphosa will this afternoon, 28 June 2023, host President Salva Kiir Mayardit of the Republic of South Sudan for a working visit in Pretoria.

The two leaders are expected to discuss issues of mutual concern and progress on the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement of the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan(R-ARCSS), and the ongoing conflict in the Republic of Sudan.


29 JUNE 2023: 8th SOUTHERN AFRICA CUSTOMS UNION SUMMIT IN ESWATINI

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 29 June 2023, participate at the 8th Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) Heads of State and Government Summit in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The President‘s working visit at the SACU summit is at the invitation of the current Chair of SACU, His Majesty King Mswati III, and the iNgwenyama of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The 8th SACU Heads of State and Government Summit will be preceded by the meeting of the Council of Ministers taking place on 27 – 28 June 2023. The Council of Ministers meeting will reflect and update on the status of the implementation of the SACU Strategic Plan 2022- 2027, of which the Heads of State and Government will provide political and strategic guidance.

The SACU Strategic Plan 2022- 2027, which will be in its first year of review since being adopted at the 7th SACU Heads of State and Government Summit is centered on six pillars, namely; Industrialisation, Export and Investment Promotion; Trade Facilitation and Logistics; Implementation and Leveraging of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Opportunities; Trade Relations/Unified Engagement with Third Parties; Finance and Resource Mobilisation and Effectiveness of SACU Institutions.

Established in 1910, SACU is the oldest Customs Union in the world and has since it’s agreed new dispensation by its five members states (Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa) in 2002 assumed the status of an international organization which facilitates compliance with the World Trade Organization treaty in pursuit of its goal of regional economic integration.


30 JUNE 2023: DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT MODEL 7TH PRESIDENTIAL IMBIZO 

President Cyril Ramaphosa will this Friday, 30 June 2023, forge ahead in fulfilling his February 2022 State of the Nation Address commitment to engage with communities of all provinces, by leading the 7th installment of the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo to uThukela District in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the spirit and theme of leaving no one behind in the development of our communities, rebuilding of the economy and service delivery, the President and leaders from all spheres of government will interact with members of communities at the Oqungweni Sports Field at the Alfred Duma Municipality, in Ladysmith. 

This 7th Imbizo follows similar engagements that have taken place in the provinces of the Eastern Cape, North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng in Sedibeng, Northern Cape at the ZFM District Municipality and Drakenstein Local Municipality in the Western Cape.

These engagements have been a key and direct platform for communities to voice their concerns and contribute their ideas to lasting solutions.  This has enabled all spheres of government to have a direct appreciation of everyday issues that affect communities and an opportunity to outline and improve plans and programmes that are underway.  


06 July 2023: DRC-SA BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION

At the invitation of President Félix Tshisekedi, President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Co-Chair the 12th session of the DRC-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) scheduled to take place on 06 July 2023.

The BNC provides an opportunity to further strengthen the solid ties of friendship and cooperation that exist between the two countries.  This will further improve and strengthen economic relations and increase investment through cooperation in the areas of politics and governance, defence and security, economy, finance and infrastructure, energy and agriculture.

The working visit will also provide an opportunity for the two Presidents to discuss political and economic bilateral issues, as well as regional, continental, and international matters of mutual concern.
 

President Ramaphosa remains engaged and focused on the task at hand 

The Presidency has noted with concern the ongoing narrative that seeks to suggest that President Ramaphosa is not fully engaged with his job and task of leading South Africa. This false assertion is devoid of any facts or evidence. On the contrary, the President remains deeply motivated with leading reforms aimed at resolving the many challenges facing our country, particularly on the economic front. The Presidency rejects this impression as nothing but cheap political point-scoring and an attempt to distract from the difficult task of reforming our economy.  Over the last six months, the President has focused on resolving multiple challenges and advancing the economic growth agenda and these are:

- Investment: The President convened the 5th SA Investment Conference. Exceeded 5-year investment target

- Employment: Established and champions Youth Employment Service (YES) [placed 100,000 youth in 1-year work experience] and Presidential Employment Stimulus [created 1.2 million public employment opportunities since 2020]

- Electricity: President Ramaphosa has taken a hands-on approach to solving the crisis by chairing the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM). Reforms have led to a pipeline of over 100 private sector projects totaling 10,000MW. Incentives for rooftop solar. Most significantly, driving fundamental reform of the electricity sector to establish a competitive market.

- Economic Reforms: The President is actively involved in Operation Vulindlela, which has driven reforms in water, electricity, ports, rail, telecommunications and visas. e.g. skills visa system is undergoing a major overhaul.

- Public enterprises: The President convenes the Presidential SOE Council, which is undertaking a major overhaul of the SOE landscape.

- Infrastructure: The President has provided visible support to infrastructure projects like Lesotho Highlands Water project Phase 2, N2 Wild Coast, and renewable energy in Northern Cape.

- Just Transition: President Ramaphosa Chairs the Presidential Climate Commission which has been leading the development of the just transition framework and brought on board experts in the Presidency to develop the Just Energy Transition investment plan.

- Leading government: Met with every Minister over the last two months to define their top 3-5 priorities until the end of the term to ensure focused delivery.

- Working with stakeholders: This week (Tuesday) finalised a partnership with organised business on three joint work streams: electricity; logistics; and crime and corruption. Ongoing interactions with business in different sectors, organised labour, disability sector, etc.


Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

PRESIDENT'S FOCUS & ACTIVITIES JAN - JUNE 2023.pdf