President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the release to the public of the report of the Nkabinde Panel of Enquiry that probed the fitness to hold office of Gauteng South Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Andrew Chauke.

Before the public release of this report, President Ramaphosa communicated to Adv Chauke that he had been exonerated by the Panel of Enquiry.

President Ramaphosa established the Enquiry on 29 September 2025 in terms of section 12(6)(a) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998.

The mandate of the Enquiry was to investigate and determine whether Adv Chauke was fit and proper to continue to hold office in the context of certain serious allegations regarding his fitness and propriety to hold such office.

President Ramaphosa placed Adv Chauke on suspension with effect from 20 July 2025, pending finalised of the Enquiry.

The Panel chaired by Justice Baaitse Elizabeth Nkabinde found that there was no credible evidence upon which it could conclude that Adv Chauke had taken prosecutorial decisions as alleged in respect of the Cato Manor matter, or that he had acted unlawfully in the performance of his coordination functions.

Based on the Panel’s conclusions, President Ramaphosa indicated to Adv Chauke that the President was satisfied that there was  no basis upon which to conclude that Adv Chauke was unfit to hold office as Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Panel’s report can be accessed at www.thepresidency.gov.za through the following links:

The Report: https://tinyurl.com/4aak7y6v.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 3 September 2026, deliver the inaugural Nokuthula Simelane Memorial Lecture at the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province.

The Nokuthula Simelane Memorial Lecture is being established as a national platform to promote dialogue on democracy, social justice, ethical leadership, gender equality, human rights and nation-building, while preserving and advancing the legacy of Nokuthula Simelane and other heroes and heroines of South Africa's liberation struggle.

The Memorial Lecture seeks to create a national conversation on justice, accountability, truth, reconciliation and the unfinished business of South Africa's democratic transition.

Hosted by the Nokuthula Simelane Foundation, the inaugural lecture will position Mpumalanga as a custodian of Nokuthula Simelane's legacy while inspiring future generations.

Nokuthula Simelane dedicated her life to the struggle for freedom and democracy and paid the ultimate price in service of the people of South Africa. In 2024, she was posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli in Gold for her "incredible bravery". President Cyril Ramaphosa described her disappearance as “a wound that will never heal for her family”.

The President will deliver the Memorial Lecture as follows:

Date: Thursday, 3 September 2026
Time: 13h00
Venue: University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province

 

MEDIA ACCREDITATION: Members of the media wishing to cover the  Memorial Lecture are invited to apply for accreditation by completing the accreditation link below before Friday, 28 August 2026.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kHjCyfeX-EXlb3XvFlzvmfDC2AshPM6Ia3jRKnOPHnU/edit?usp=drivesdk&pli=1&authuser=0

Media accreditation enquiries: Ms Thembisa Mdoda on 071 238 0715 or Ms Patience Mtshali on 083 376 9468 

 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Programme Director,
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers from South Africa and the Continent,
Premiers,
Mayors from South Africa and the Continent,
Head of Infrastructure South Africa,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Leaders of business and labour,
Representatives of development finance institutions and multilateral organisations,
Infrastructure professionals and practitioners,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to join you at the sixth Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa.

We meet just a week after the leaders of the Southern African Development Community held the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in eThekwini.

At the centre of discussion at the Summit was the work we must collectively undertake to further integrate the economies of our region.

Infrastructure is fundamental to the integration of our Southern African region and the African continent.

We need roads, bridges, rail lines, ports, power lines, data cables and gas pipelines that cross our region and continent.

We must link mines to factories and farms to markets. We must link gas fields to industrial plants and wind farms to homes and businesses.

We must link mobile phones to data centres. We must link businesses to customers.

It is for this reason that South Africa has placed infrastructure investment at the centre of our drive for inclusive growth and job creation.

We know that our ability to grow the economy depends on whether we can secure reliable energy, sufficient water, efficient ports and railways, functioning roads, digital connectivity and cities and towns that work.

Infrastructure affects the daily lives of South Africans.

It determines whether a household has clean water, whether a community has functioning sanitation, whether a learner has a safe and suitable school, whether a commuter can travel safely and affordably, and whether a business can rely on the basic services it needs to operate.

When we embarked on the infrastructure investment drive, we were clear that South Africa needed to fundamentally change the way in which infrastructure is planned, prepared, financed and delivered.

We recognised that our infrastructure system was too fragmented.

The result was delay, escalating costs and, in too many instances, projects that did not proceed at all.

We have strengthened coordination through the Infrastructure Development Act and the work of Infrastructure South Africa in preparing and advancing the country's strategic infrastructure pipeline.

We expect Infrastructure South Africa to ensure that our infrastructure pipeline is progressing, that projects are properly prepared, that funding is secured, and that procurement takes place when it is supposed to.

The economic imperative for doing so is clear.

South Africa's level of investment remains far below what is required to achieve faster and more sustained economic growth.

Gross fixed capital formation – which measures investment in productive assets such as infrastructure, machinery, equipment and productive capacity – stood at around 14 percent of GDP in 2025.

This is less than half of the 30 percent investment level envisaged in the National Development Plan for 2030.

These figures should concern us.

And they should motivate us to work with greater urgency and diligence to build the infrastructure our country needs.

As we meet at this sixth Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium, we can say with confidence that we are moving ahead at a greater pace.

The estimated capital value of the portfolio of our Strategic Integrated Projects has grown from approximately R340 billion in 2020 to more than R1.67 trillion today.

There are 195 public and private led infrastructure projects across priority sectors in the current portfolio.

Over the last several years, 32 projects with an estimated value of approximately R48 billion have been completed.

At present, 55 projects with an estimated value of more than R407 billion are in construction.

This tells us that the pipeline is becoming more mature.

But it also tells us where our attention must now be concentrated.

We must focus on conversion.

We need to convert plans into prepared projects, convert prepared projects into investment, and convert investment into construction.

Most importantly, we need to convert construction into infrastructure that supports economic activity and improves the lives of our people.

The role of Infrastructure South Africa is vital to this.

Drawing its mandate from the Infrastructure Development Act, Infrastructure SA plays a critical role in coordinating and facilitating Strategic Integrated Projects across Government.

It identifies blockages and brings the relevant institutions together to resolve them.

One of the most important lessons we have learned is that South Africa does not suffer from a shortage of infrastructure proposals.

Our constraint is that too many of these projects are not adequately prepared.

There is an important difference between a project that is needed and a project that is ready.

Through Infrastructure South Africa’s R600 million project preparation facility, 26 projects have received and are receiving project development support.

This kind of support is particularly important as we shift our focus towards municipal infrastructure delivery.

Municipal infrastructure is not only where the effectiveness of the state is most directly tested. It is the foundation of inclusive economic growth.

Businesses cannot function without reliable municipal infrastructure. Children cannot be schooled. Workers cannot get to work. Communities cannot be developed.

That is why we have to address municipal infrastructure differently.

Providing another grant without addressing the underlying capability of the institution is not sufficient.

Building a new asset without making provision for its operation and maintenance is not sustainable.

Developing long lists of projects without preparing them properly does not constitute an infrastructure pipeline.

The approach we are developing places project preparation, institutional capability, financing and asset management together.

This work is beginning to bear fruit.

For example, Infrastructure South Africa just spent R1.8 million to prepare and package a project for the Matjhabeng Local Municipality to replace over 1,700 kilometres of water pipes.

That relatively modest investment in preparation helped to unlock an R800 million debt financing facility from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Through the Adopt-a-Municipality pilot programme, Infrastructure South Africa is preparing and packaging projects to unlock R7 billion of investment.

The programme is focusing on municipal trading services such as water and sanitation, electricity and energy, and waste management.

One of the important reforms we have pursued in recent years is to provide greater certainty and visibility around the country’s infrastructure pipeline.

Today we are releasing the 3rd Edition of the Construction Book.

This showcases projects worth more than R350 billion, spanning sectors such as water and sanitation, transport and logistics, energy and electricity, and municipal infrastructure.

The Construction Book provides the market with a clear view of funded and investment-ready infrastructure projects that are expected to enter procurement over the next 12 to 18 months.

This Edition contains over 170 projects with an estimated value of R264 billion.

To ensure that these projects move from the page onto the ground, we will now publish quarterly performance reports of the Construction Book.

As South Africa, we have situated our infrastructure ambitions within the wider context of regional and continental integration.

I understand that the third Leaders Forum, held yesterday, gave particular attention to the infrastructure required to better connect our economies and markets.

This aligns with the discussions we held last week at the SADC Summit.

We know that physical infrastructure alone will not deliver integration.

We must continue the work of harmonising the policies, regulations, standards and institutional arrangements that enable infrastructure systems to operate effectively across national boundaries.

That is why we are particularly encouraged by the participation of leaders, investors, financiers and technical experts from across the African continent.

None of this work can be undertaken by Government acting alone.

The scale and complexity of infrastructure development demand partnership across the State, with the private sector, with development finance institutions and commercial lenders.

It requires strong cooperation between national, provincial and local Government.

It requires capable state-owned entities and implementing agencies.

It requires engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, construction companies and other infrastructure professionals.

It also requires universities and training institutions that develop the skills our country needs, as well as international and development partners who bring experience, expertise and capital.

This Symposium is important because it brings these different partners together around a common purpose: to improve the way we plan, finance and deliver infrastructure.

The task before us is substantial, but so too is the opportunity.

If we continue to improve the quality of project preparation and strengthen the institutions responsible for delivery, we can significantly increase the pace and scale of infrastructure investment.

If we create greater certainty for investors and build enduring partnerships across Government, business and society, we can create opportunity for all our people.

Let us ensure that what we build will serve our nation, our region and continent not only today, not only tomorrow, but for many generations to come.

I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, present to the National Assembly in Parliament, Cape Town, updates on Government’s management of migration and related protest action, and interventions under the National Water Crisis Action Plan.

President Ramaphosa will set out Government’s efforts to stop migration-related issues and actions from harming South Africa’s image or standing.

President Ramaphosa will share with Members of Parliament who have submitted questions for oral reply, South Africa’s contribution to efforts to ensure that the Republic of Madagascar returns to a constitutional and democratic order.

The President will provide an update on the National Water Crisis Action Plan and plans Government has put in place to restore the capacity of municipalities and strengthen accountability to ensure that communities receive reliable basic services which will enable job creation.

The President will set out progress Government has made to combat illegal mining in South Africa.

Questions for Oral and Written Reply by the President and the Deputy President are one of the mechanisms through which Parliament holds the Executive to account.

Details of the engagement are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Time: 14h00
Venue: National Assembly, Cape Town

 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, deliver the keynote address at the 5th Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA).

The Symposium will be held from 23-25 August 2026 at the Century City Convention Centre, Cape Town, under the theme: “Shaping the Future of Municipal Infrastructure”.

The event aims to facilitate alignment with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP), and to ensure access to greater and economical sources of sustainable funding.

The symposium also aims to highlight the digital sectors, agriculture and housing sectors which align with the SDGs related to infrastructure.

The event will enable interaction among people and institutions working together towards the delivery of the projects presented in the SIDS.

The symposium brings together State Owned Entities, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), DFIs, Private Sector and Academia in this maiden African consultation session.

The gathering includes Ministers from across the African continent, mayors, development partners, leaders from the private sector, and technical experts to advance infrastructure-led growth and sustainable development.

The focus on municipal infrastructure reflects the central role of local government in service delivery and in strengthening the foundations for inclusive economic participation.

The President will address the Symposium as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Time: 12h00
Venue: Century City Convention Centre, Cape Town

 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa has in terms of section 98 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, appointed Minister Stella Ndabeni as Acting Minister of Health with effect from 24 August to 30 September 2026. 

Minister Ndabeni will undertake all functions of the Minister of Health for the said period while Minister Motsoaledi remains on sick leave.  

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya Spokesperson to the President on media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Your Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa,
Honourable Ministers,
High Commissioners,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Premiers and MECs,
Business leaders and investors,
Distinguished guests,

Good afternoon,

President Mnangagwa, I welcome you and your delegation to Midrand.

It has been a demanding week for both our governments. 

The fourth session of our Bi-National Commission, which met this morning, was preceded by extensive preparations, including committee meetings and yesterday’s ministerial session.

On Monday, we participated in the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, where Zimbabwe handed the chairship of SADC over to South Africa.

It is fitting that these two events – the SADC Summit and our Bi-National Commission – took place in the same week, because both meetings were focused on building inclusive, growing economies that transcend the borders between our countries.

We seek an integrated regional market where we not only trade with each other, but where we work together to produce the goods and services that we need – using the abundant resources, skills and capabilities that we collectively possess.

Relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe have their roots deep in our history, long before our countries had borders, long before the arrival of colonial settlers, even before the founding of the civilisations of Great Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe.

In recent times, we were bound together by a common struggle against colonialism, white minority rule and apartheid.

At great cost to themselves, the people of a free Zimbabwe provided shelter, passage and support to South African freedom fighters and exiles.

This is a debt of gratitude that we can never forget.

In the times of struggle, solidarity meant refuge and resistance. 

Today, solidarity means jobs, investment and a trading relationship that benefits both our peoples.

Trade between our countries is both well-established and growing.

Bilateral trade between South Africa and Zimbabwe reached R81 billion in 2025.

This was nearly double what it was in 2021.

Zimbabwe is South Africa’s second-largest export destination on this continent.

And South Africa is Zimbabwe’s largest single source of imports from the rest of the world.

Yet there is still great potential for the volume of bilateral trade to grow further.

We therefore welcome the decision of the Zimbabwean Government to eliminate trade restrictions in accordance with SADC trade protocols so that we can further boost trade between our countries.

However, we do need to address the reality that our trade relationship is not balanced.

The value of South African exports to Zimbabwe is roughly eight times the value of its imports from Zimbabwe.

Much of what South Africa sends over the Limpopo are finished goods: vehicles, earthmoving equipment, industrial cleaning and mining products.

Zimbabwe sends raw and semi-processed material south: coal and coke products, chromium ore, gold, semi-finished steel and raw tobacco.

This pattern – of finished goods flowing one way and raw commodities flowing the other – has been an impediment to the economic development of our continent for centuries.

This pattern has defined Africa’s trade relations with the rest of the world since colonial times.

The African Continental Free Trade Area was introduced to address these imbalances, both within our continent and beyond our shores.

Through the African Continental Free Trade Area we can expand trade between African countries.

We can put our natural resources to better use.

We can develop our industries and create more jobs for our people.

That is why we welcome the strong presence of South African and Zimbabwean business at this forum. 

Governments can determine policy, sign agreements and ratify protocols, but it is business that turns a signed agreement into a shipment, a factory or a job.

Governments can align customs procedures and standardise regulations, but it is business that produces the goods and carries them across borders.

As South Africa we see Zimbabwe as a key regional market for our goods, products and services, and we remain optimistic about the prospects of the Zimbabwean economy.

According to the African Development Bank, real GDP growth in Zimbabwe rose to an estimated 7.5 percent in 2025, driven by expansion in a number of key sectors including mining and agriculture. Inflation is down on the back of the new Zimbabwe Gold currency.

South African exporters and investors need predictability to commit capital at scale, and a steadier Zimbabwean economy gives them that.

We are committed to developing the infrastructure needed to facilitate the movement of goods across our borders.

The Beitbridge Border Post is the main commercial border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

For years, it has experienced many challenges: inadequate infrastructure, inefficient processes, limited staffing. 

It has not been unusual for trucks to wait up to several days at a time to cross. 

This is all changing thanks to the modernisation of the border post through public-private partnerships, and innovations like dedicated lanes for commercial, bus and private traffic.

Average truck crossing time has fallen to roughly 14 hours.

We are moving ahead with other initiatives. 

The One-Stop Border Post is under development.

Customs processes are being aligned.

These advances are not confined to the bridge that crosses the Limpopo River.

They are part of a far broader vision of a corridor that links the Port of Durban in the south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the north.

They are part of a broader regional undertaking to build corridors that are not merely conduits for traded goods, but are arteries of industry, commerce and employment.

The Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, located next to the Beitbridge Border Post, is a good example of how these corridors can work.

This Special Economic Zone has the potential to be an industrial corridor supporting beneficiation in mining, agriculture, agro-processing, milling, packaging and a host of other industries.

We know that Zimbabwe exports gold, chromium ore and semi-finished steel to South Africa in significant volumes, yet very little of the refining and finishing that follows happens in our region.

We need to explore potential joint ventures between South African and Zimbabwean firms to realise the full value of these resources here. 

We need to establish cross-border industrial zones that link South African capital, technology and market access with Zimbabwean minerals and labour.

Our governments have already agreed on the architecture to make this work.

We have established a Joint Technical Committee on Trade and Industry to facilitate cooperation in industrial value chains and infrastructure development, special economic zones and industrial development parks, trade, tourism, transport and logistics. 

We are taking forward work on a draft Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation.

Our development finance institutions have already committed significant resources to building and improving the infrastructure that underpins our economic cooperation.

They now need to invest in the industrial capacity to produce the goods that will travel along this infrastructure.

The expectations of this Business Forum are great.

It needs to deliver partnerships that create decent jobs, deliberately targeting opportunities for women and youth in particular.

It needs to transform value chains, using the natural resources mined in one country to manufacture products in the other.

Using the skills and capabilities in one country to complement the technology in the other.

Using capital from one country to finance factories, mines and data centres in the other.

Our companies need to find these opportunities and they need to invest in them.

Economic relations between our countries have survived currency shocks, policy shifts and difficult conditions on both sides of the border.

And yet trade between our countries keeps growing.

This says much about the potential we still have to realise.

It says much about what we can achieve once we start building together instead of merely trading across a river.

The relationship between South Africa and Zimbabwe was founded in a shared struggle for freedom. 

It continues today in a shared struggle for inclusive growth, employment and prosperity for all.

Today, the instruments of struggle are different: financial markets, factories and mines, roads and ports.

But the principle of solidarity remains.

Your growth is our growth. Our development is your development.

When you rise, we rise. When we prosper, you prosper.

Together, South Africa and Zimbabwe have abundant resources, means and advantages.

Together, let us harness our shared capabilities to achieve progress and prosperity for both our nations and for all our people.

Now is the time for cooperation. Now is the time to get to work.

I thank you.
 

Your Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Honourable Ministers,
High Commissioners,
Senior officials,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the media,

As we conclude this Fourth Session of the Bi-National Commission, I once again express my deep appreciation for the presence of President Mnangagwa and his esteemed delegation.

Today, we have reaffirmed the bonds of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that exist between our two countries and peoples. 

We have received and deliberated on the comprehensive report from the Ministerial segment, which illustrates the depth and scope of our bilateral relations. 

While recognising the impressive collaboration between our two countries, our deliberations show that much more must be done to realise the vast potential of our relationship for mutual benefit.

The agreements and Memoranda of Understanding signed in our presence today, together with the decisions reached, reflect our concrete plans to deepen cooperation. 

These instruments must now be implemented so that our countries and peoples benefit.

For South Africa, Zimbabwe remains a strategic partner.

It remains one of our largest trading partners. 

We have undertaken here to redouble efforts to expand investment and trade.

Inclusive economic growth will give us the means to widen access to food, shelter, health, education, water and sanitation.

It will give us the means to create employment and economic opportunities, especially for women and for the young.

As infrastructure and industrialisation initiatives are pursued, the political will we have shown today should encourage companies from both countries to invest with enthusiasm. 

We see great opportunities in agriculture and agro-processing, energy, mining, transport, medicines and vaccines, water, tourism, finance and digital technology. 

We are committed to moving people and goods seamlessly and securely across our border in a well-managed and coordinated manner.

Our Ministers, supported by Senior Officials, will follow up on the implementation of the identified priority projects. 

In celebrating our shared heritage, we will work to further build people-to-people relations and enable more cultural engagement. 

We will build safer communities by working together to remove the threat of cross-border and transnational organised crime.

Working in concert with our fellow SADC neighbours, we will continue to pursue the integration and industrialisation of our region. 

We are gathered here inspired by the vision of our forebears, who knew that current and future generations would benefit from our partnership. 

Our common history and geography are the foundations of our shared future.

The realisation of that shared future depends on effective and sustained collaboration. 

As we prepare for the Fifth Session of our Bi-National Commission, let us turn our decisions into actions. Let us turn our people’s expectations into reality. 

Your Excellency, My Brother,

On behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, let me once again thank you and your delegation for joining us for this historic meeting of two great neighbours.

I thank you.

Your Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Honourable Ministers,
High Commissioners,
Senior officials,
Distinguished guests,
Good morning,

My Brother, I welcome you and your delegation to the Fourth Session of our Bi-National Commission.

This meeting testifies to the deep and historic relations between our peoples.

We meet, Dear Brother, in the aftermath of the tragedy on Lake Kariba, where the capsizing of a ferry claimed close to a hundred lives.

Our heartfelt condolences go to you, the people of Zimbabwe and to the bereaved families.

May we all rise to observe a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in that tragedy.

Your Excellency,

We are one people. Our spirits are inseparable.

Our past has been shaped by shared culture, history and language.

Our future will be shaped by shared aspirations.

We stood together in the fight against colonialism, white minority rule and apartheid.

As South Africa, we will forever remember that the people of Zimbabwe gave us shelter, protection and support in the darkest times of our struggle.

Since then our countries have held high the values of cooperation over division, peace over conflict, and partnership over competition.

Zimbabwe is one of our largest trading partners.

Over the last four years, the value of our bilateral trade has almost doubled.

However, there is a significant imbalance in trade between our two countries.

South Africa exports much more to Zimbabwe than it imports.

Through instruments like the Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation, we need to work together to narrow this deficit.

We must use the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area to increase the volume and balance the composition of trade between our two countries.

We must enable both Zimbabwe and South Africa to expand the production and export of goods that we manufacture from our abundant natural resources.

We therefore look forward to the presentation of the Ministerial report to this meeting, which will assess progress and identify opportunities in areas such as mining, energy, agriculture, transport, logistics and water management.

The growth of our economies and the expansion of trade rely on increased investment in infrastructure.

We should be working together to build the bridges, roads, dams, airports, health facilities and schools that will drive our economies into the future.

Institutions like the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation stand ready to invest in high-impact projects in Zimbabwe.

These are projects that connect factories and farms to markets.

Projects that connect power stations to businesses and homes. That connect dams to taps. That connect countries to their neighbours.

Working together, we must convert our abundant mineral resources into jobs, opportunity and prosperity for our people.

Zimbabwe’s mining revenue continues to rise as the country increases investment in technology and efficiency.

With growing production of gold, platinum and critical minerals such as lithium, Zimbabwe is fast emerging as a global participant.

South Africa is increasing its investment in exploration and beneficiation.

We have said for many years that our minerals should be processed at home, that we should export finished products.

Together, we need to put that aspiration into practice.

Together, we need to deepen cooperation in energy.

We have seen the value of the Southern African Power Pool.

Now we must embrace its potential to establish Southern Africa as a leader in the generation of clean, affordable and reliable energy.

There is great potential for cooperation on water.

The agreement to supply water from Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge Water Works to Musina is one example of how we can work together to meet our people’s basic needs and make our countries more resilient in the face of climate change.

We must work together to ensure that all our people have enough food.

Let us use our vast arable land for intensified production and support our communal and commercial farmers.

I was deeply impressed by the 115th Zimbabwe Agricultural Show last year, where I saw some of the capacities, technologies, tools and services available to industrialise farming – to make it more productive, resilient and sustainable.

This is particularly important as we strive to expand our agricultural base amid accelerating climate change and the El Niño droughts that erode our water sources and grazing land.

As neighbours that have so much to offer each other, it is critical that we continue our cooperation on migration and border management.

To ease the movement of people and goods, we must modernise our facilities and systems.

We must strengthen our combined efforts to counter trans-border crime.

The development we seek depends on the maintenance of peace and stability, in our countries, in our region and on our continent.

We remain concerned about the ongoing conflict and instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique, and Madagascar.

We must also be concerned about civil strife and armed conflict beyond our region.

Sudan is of utmost concern, given the grave loss of life, displacement and suffering, and the challenges it poses for the Horn of Africa.

We are also worried about the enduring impasse in South Sudan and the continued armed insurgency in the Sahel region.

In a geopolitical environment that has become unpredictable and fractured, there is now even a greater need for the peaceful resolution of conflict, mediation and dialogue.

We congratulate Zimbabwe on its election to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2027-2028 term.

We know that Zimbabwe will focus the world’s attention on conflicts that are impeding Africa’s development and mobilise global support for Africa’s home-grown efforts to resolve them.

South Africa and Zimbabwe stand together.

We are two countries with a common history and a common destiny.

This Bi-National Commission affirms our determination to deepen the bonds between our peoples.

To build inclusive economies that create work and sustainable livelihoods.

To build societies in which every person may equally enjoy the fruits of freedom.

Our people expect that this Bi-National Commission will deliver concrete results.

As we prepare to receive the report from the Ministers, I am proud to oversee these proceedings with you, my Brother.

It is my great privilege to declare this Fourth Session of our Bi-National Commission open.

I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, will on Friday, 21 August 2026, address the South Africa–Zimbabwe Business Forum at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

The Business Forum forms part of the programme of the Fourth Session of the South Africa–Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission (BNC), which will be hosted by President Ramaphosa in Pretoria.

The Forum will bring together government representatives, business leaders and other stakeholders from South Africa and Zimbabwe to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and identify opportunities to expand trade and investment between the two countries.

The Business Forum provides a platform for the private sector to engage directly with government on opportunities and challenges affecting trade and investment between South Africa and Zimbabwe. It will also seek to translate the political commitments made by the two Heads of State into practical economic partnerships and opportunities for businesses in both countries.

The Forum forms part of the broader efforts by South Africa and Zimbabwe to advance regional integration, industrialisation and inclusive economic growth, while supporting the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional integration agenda.

MEDIA PROGRAMME: SOUTH AFRICA–ZIMBABWE BUSINESS FORUM
Date: Friday, 21 August 2026
Time: 14h00 (Accredited media are requested to arrive no later than 13h00 for security purposes and to allow sufficient time for setup)
Venue: Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand (Further details regarding the media programme, access arrangements and timings will be communicated to accredited media.)

MEDIA ACCREDITATION:
Note that accreditation is closed.  Access to the Business Forum will be limited to media already accredited for the Ministerial meeting, Heads of State Meeting, as well as those accredited specifically for the Business Forum.

Media enquiries: 
The Presidency:
Vincent Magwenya, 
Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa - media@presidency.gov.za

Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic):
Kaamil Alli
Ministerial Spokesperson
Mobile/WhatsApp: +27 82 520 6813
E-mail: KAlli@thedtic.gov.za

Bongani Lukhele
Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria