Your Excellency President Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda and Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellencies, Ministers and Ambassadors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Government and people of Uganda for the warm reception we have received here in the Pearl of Africa.

We thank our former Chairperson, His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan for steering our Movement for the past three years.

We wish our new Chairperson, His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni, all the best and convey our full support as Uganda takes over the chairship of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 plus China.

This Summit takes place at a time when the world is faced with many challenges exacerbated by geopolitical dynamics and conflicts in various regions of the world. 

The wars taking place in Ukraine and Palestine are causing grave humanitarian and health crises and contributing to international instability. 

The supremacy of multilateralism as embodied by the United Nations Charter and international law is being undermined exactly when it is needed most.

At a time when the world appears to be once again divided between east and west, the Non-Aligned Movement should continue to assert its independence based on our common values.

South Africa remains steadfast in advancing its non-aligned approach in the maintenance of international peace and security and advocating for inclusive dialogue and the peaceful political settlement of disputes. 

The countries of the world are interlinked and interdependent as never before.

They are linked through technology, trade, global value chains and international capital flows. They share common challenges of climate change, pandemics, terrorism and illicit financial flows. 

This requires a globally-agreed set of rules that applies equally to all, and that establishes room for development for the poorest and most disadvantaged.

This interconnected world calls for a collective determination to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to address the economic, social, health and environmental challenges that every country faces. 

We need to give dedicated attention to the reform of global governance institutions, including the United Nations.

We must give meaning to the principle of sovereign equality of nations and ensure that the voice of the African Continent and the Global South is strengthened in the broader multilateral system. 

As the Non-Aligned Movement, we must continue to work together in support of:

-    the right to self-determination of the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara;

-    the lifting of the economic blockade against Cuba and unilateral sanctions against Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe; 

-    reaffirmation of the inalienable right of access to nuclear materials, equipment and technology for peaceful purposes; 

-    upholding the centrality of the UN Charter and international law in the peaceful resolution of conflict; 

-    defeating the scourge of terrorism and its root causes; and, 

-    the alleviation and eradication of poverty and underdevelopment.

South Africa calls for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.

We call for the release of all hostages and the resumption of talks on a just solution that will end the suffering of the Palestinian people. 

We further call for unhindered and expanded humanitarian access to allow for vital aid and basic services to meet the needs of everyone living in Gaza. 

As a consequence of the ever-worsening situation of the people of Gaza, South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice to issue provisional measures ordering Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza. 

This is necessary to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.

South Africa recently made financial contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency and the UNHCR to support their humanitarian operations in Gaza and the broader Palestinian refugees. 

In addition, many ordinary South Africans and NGOs have mobilised resources to assist the people of Gaza.

The conflict has again illustrated the inadequacy of the United Nations, in particular the UN Security Council, in maintaining international peace and security. 

We should establish a system of global governance that is fair and equitable, and has the capacity to respond to the needs of all persons in situations of threat and harm.

As the Non-Aligned Movement, we should not only adhere to the equality of nations, but also to the equality of human beings. 

A world free of domination by the strong and powerful is as important as a world free of sexism. 

We must remain committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls and achieving women’s empowerment and gender equality. 

We must reaffirm our commitment to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control as a necessary contribution towards the achievement of a secure world for all.

Now is the time for the Non-Aligned Movement to strengthen cooperation.

Now is the time to draw fully on our founding principle of solidarity and to enhance our commitment towards development, peace, security and human rights. 

If we do so, if we move forward with unity and purpose, we will emerge from the difficulties that confront us all much stronger than ever before.

I thank you.
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa has this evening, 18 January 2024, arrived in Kampala in the Republic of Uganda to attend the 19^th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, to be held on 19 to 20 January 2024 under the theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence.”

The summit is preceded by a meeting of the NAM Ministers held from 17 to 18 January 2024.

The NAM Summit is the highest decision-making authority of the Movement and holds the Summit every three years. The Summit is also the occasion when the Movement formally rotates its Chair to the Head of State of the host country of the Summit, who then holds office until the next Summit. Azerbaijan has been the Chair since 2019 and will hand over the position to Uganda in 2024 for the next three years (2024-2027).

The Government of Uganda has identified five focus areas and priority goals of its Chairship and they are; regional and international peace and security; the international fight against terrorism; international migration and humanitarian crises; human trafficking and drug smuggling; as well as Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

During the two-day Summit, Azerbaijan as the outgoing Chair of the NAM will report on the activities of the Movement during its three-year chairship. The President of the Republic of Uganda, Mr Yoweri Kagura Museveni, will be elected by acclamation as Chair of the NAM.

It is expected that the Summit will adopt the Kampala Final Outcome Document, the Kampala Declaration, and the NAM Ministerial Declaration on Palestine.

With its 120 Member States, the NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the UN, making it an important role player in global and multilateral affairs. Since its inception in 1961, the Movement has played a crucial and obvious political role in representing the interests of developing countries, particularly in the eradication of colonialism, supporting struggles for liberation and self-determination, the pursuit of world peace and the search for a more equitable and just global order.

Following the 19^th NAM Summit, Uganda will also assume the Group of 77 (G77) Chairship and host the G77 Third South Summit from 21 to 23 January 2024.

With the theme “Leaving No One Behind”, the Third South Summit hopes to bring a new cooperation dynamic among the 134 Member States of the Group of 77 in a more competitive world. The Summit is aimed at boosting South-South cooperation including in the areas of trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication, and digital economy.

The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77 plus China. The Group of 77 plus China is the largest negotiating bloc of developing countries in the United Nations, which provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South cooperation for development.

South-South cooperation remains an important pillar for strengthening the economic independence of countries of the South as a complement and not a replacement to North-South cooperation. South Africa participates in the work of the G77 to ensure its strength, unity and cohesion in pursuit of the vision of a fair and equitable multilateral system.
 
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor will accompany and represent President Ramaphosa at the G77 plus China

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

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Programme Directors,
Premier of the Northern Cape, Dr Zamani Saul,
Minister of Human Settlements, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers and MECs,
Executive Mayor of the Francis Baard District Municipality, Cllr Unondumisa Buda,
Executive Mayor of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Cllr Kagisho Sonyoni,
Representatives of government institutions and state-owned entities,
Lede van ons gemeenskappe, 

Goeie môre, Dumelang, Molweni. Good Morning. 

Dit is ń ware plesier om vandag in Roodepan te wees met die gemeenskappe van die Noord-Kaap. 

I would like to greet you all as the communities of Roodepan, of Kimberley and of the Northern Cape. 

The mega-housing project that we are launching today is the biggest in the history of the Northern Cape.

Over the course of the next 12 to 18 months, in a programme valued at R1 billion, over 4,000 houses will be built in municipalities across the province.

This project is going to help reduce the housing backlog in the Northern Cape, as more people have access to housing in urban and rural areas.

The most vulnerable in our society will be prioritised as beneficiaries of this mega-housing project. 

We will strive to ensure that the elderly, child-headed households, military veterans and persons with disabilities get priority in the allocation of these houses.

What is significant about this project is that it will also address the housing needs of the so-called ‘missing middle’, people who have a form of income but do not qualify for either subsidised housing or home loans with commercial banks. 

The project will also be allocating funds to eradicate informal settlements and unsuitable housing structures like mud homes.

This project is going to create work and business opportunities in the Northern Cape across its lifespan. 

These opportunities will be in the construction itself, in the sourcing and production of building materials, in the laying down of bulk infrastructure, in the supply of professional services and other economic activities associated with the project. 

We will be prioritising women and youth-owned businesses.

We are determined that it will be Northern Cape residents and Northern Cape businesses that will benefit from the opportunities that will be created. 

The province has put measures in place to ensure these housing projects are delivered within the projected timeframes, according to budget and without any wastage or corruption.

We know that right here in Roodepan and in other parts of the municipality there are social housing structures that were not built according to quality standards, or are facing challenges with wastewater drainage and groundwater seepage. 

This will not be allowed to happen again.

We are going to ensure that the contractors appointed to this project observe the highest construction standards. 

This year, we celebrate 30 years since achieving our democracy. 

Although we still face great challenges, the progress we have made as a country in expanding access to housing has been remarkable. 

Last year, Statistics South Africa released the results of Census 2022, which give an indication of the strides we have made in improving the lives of the South African people.

When the census was conducted in 2022, nearly 9 out of every 10 households were living in formal dwellings. 

When the first census in a democratic South Africa was held in 1996, only 6 out of every 10 households lived in a formal dwelling. 

In South Africa today, 8 out of every 10 households have access to piped water either inside their home or in the yard.

These are achievements we must celebrate. 

Just over a century ago, the great son of the soil after whom this municipality is named, Sol Plaatje, published his book, titled Native Life in South Africa.

In the book, he writes about the conditions in the so-called native locations, over-crowded places of despair for a people “driven from their homes, their homes broken up, with no hopes of redress”.

Sol Plaatje writes about the oppressive laws of the day, where the inhabitants of these native locations could not as individuals own land or gain separate title as owners. 

In many cases, lack of space in these locations forced people to go and settle on the farms of white farmers, further entrenching their insecurity of tenure and diminishing their prospects of having a place they could call home.

For decades, this is how most of the people of this country lived.

Black people could not own land or homes in most urban areas. Many had to rent flats and houses from the apartheid state in the locations designated for their race. 

Some became family homes, in which generations were raised, but were never owned by their inhabitants. In other cases, permits were granted to build houses in the townships, but the state still owned the land on which they were built.

Since the advent of democracy, it is these indignities that we have been working to correct.

Over 4.7 million housing opportunities have been provided since the advent of democracy. This includes stand-alone houses, multiple storey and multi-unit buildings and serviced stands.

Security of tenure has been granted to the many households who live in pre-1994 government rental houses. 

We have given subsidies and transferred title deeds to approximately 376,000 qualifying beneficiaries of these homes.

We have been working to eradicate spatial inequality by building socially and economically sustainable human settlements close to places of work, study and recreation. 

The launch of this project today is a further demonstration that we are making good on our commitment to fulfil the human rights of all South Africans.

Providing houses for the poor and vulnerable who are dependent on government support requires innovative funding mechanisms.

We have to mobilise resources in partnership with financial institutions, especially development finance institutions.

By leveraging the Human Settlements Development Grant, the Northern Cape has secured funding through a loan facility of National Treasury and the Development Bank of Southern Africa to build these top structures and housing units. 

This loan will further be augmented by funding from the fiscus and the provincial government to achieve the total project value. 

This will significantly shorten the time it takes to build these houses.

I want to commend Premier Zamani Saul, Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Northern Cape Provincial Government and National Treasury for making this approach possible.

I want to further commend all who have been involved in the preparatory work to ensure that the bulk infrastructure is in place. 

Today is a great day for the people of the Northern Cape. 

We are here to make good on our commitment to improve your lives and to leave no-one behind.

With this project we will be taking another important step towards securing the future of the people of the Northern Cape. 

Through this project, thousands of families will now have a home they can call their own, an asset that can be used to improve their lives and access financing for their needs, and a home that can be passed on to future generations.

In this, the 30th year of our freedom, let us look to the future with hope as we work to build a better South Africa.

Let us continue our work to build a South Africa in which there are houses, security and comfort for all.

I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa today, 17 January 2024, chaired a meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) to discuss current economic developments and measures to support economic growth and job creation.

Members of PEAC commended the progress made in advancing economic reform, including in the energy, transport, and telecommunications sectors, as well as in rebuilding state institutions that were weakened by state capture.

The recently released results of Census 2022 show that the quality of life has improved for millions of South Africans since the previous census, including through expanded access to education, water, electricity, housing, and other basic services.

Despite the progress made in putting in place fiscally, socially and environmentally sound economic policies, PEAC noted that significant challenges remain.

In its assessment of the current economic environment, PEAC highlighted fiscal risks, the poor performance of state-owned enterprises, ongoing load shedding, historical underinvestment in infrastructure, and rising levels of crime as the most urgent obstacles to growth.

PEAC welcomed the actions currently underway to address these challenges, and discussed proposals to strengthen state capacity, professionalise the public service, and improve the governance of state-owned enterprises.

Further proposals included a proactive green industrial strategy to harness South Africa’s significant renewable energy resources, support for small businesses and the informal sector, and measures to accelerate implementation of the Energy Action Plan and end load shedding.

Finally, PEAC discussed South Africa’s role in advocating for the reform of the international financial architecture. PEAC further supported the call for appropriate financing mechanisms to support the climate transition in developing countries.

The analysis and recommendations provided by PEAC continue to play a key role in informing government policymaking.

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

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 18 January 2024, launch a housing project in Kimberley, Northern Cape, that will deliver more than 4 000 housing units during the life of the venture.

The project's goal is to produce 4 168 houses, with 2 500 slated for delivery within the next year.

During the launch, the President will perform a sod-turning ceremony at a site secured by the Department of Human Settlements.

This location will host fully subsidised houses and diverse housing opportunities, including First Home Finance and social housing.

Working with National Treasury, the Northern Cape provincial government has sought a R600 million loan from the Development Bank of South Africa to supplement its baseline grant allocation for housing.

The housing units established in this project will address the pressing need for housing opportunities in the province, where approximately 162 informal settlements and nearly 80 000 households lack adequate housing. 

Presently, 18,000 serviced stands across the province are prepared for the construction of housing structures.

Details of the launch are as follows:

Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Time: 08h00
Venue: Kimberley: Roodepan Land Parcel, opposite the Roodepan Police station

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

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Programme Directors, Mr. Phil Molefe and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr. Zizi Kodwa,
The extended Magubane Family, oNkomose,oMalinga abalinga amatshe abazintaba, ngiyanibingelela.

Former President Mbeki
Premier of Gauteng, Mr. Panyaza Lesufi,
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana,
Members of the local and international media fraternity, 
The many friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Peter Magubane from South Africa and across the world who have come to be with us here today,
Fellow Mourners,

Today we bid farewell to a distinguished lensman, and one of the finest and most fearless journalists our country has produced.

We have just heard the tributes paid to him by veterans in the media industry.

Having read the many written tributes that have been penned over the past week by people who worked alongside him and were mentored by him, it is clear that the description of him as a legend is a fitting one.

We have in our midst today men and women from the great generation of journalists of which Bra Peter, as he was fondly known, formed part. As we salute him, his contribution and his service to the people of South Africa, I salute you all too. 

In doing so I recall the  tribute penned and published last weekend by another of our media greats, Mr. Mathatha Tsedu. He described Bra Peter as a freedom fighter, from a cohort of revolutionary media players, “who were guerrillas with their cameras, notebooks and pens.” 

To confirm the guerrilla status accorded to him by Mathatha Tsedu, Bra Peter is quoted as having told The Guardian newspaper in 2015 that “I did not want to leave the country to find another life. I was going to stay and fight with my camera as my gun. I did not want to kill anyone, though. I wanted to kill apartheid.”

And a freedom fighter he was. 

As The New York Times obituary put it,  Peter Magubane’s images documenting the cruelties and violence of apartheid drew global acclaim but punishment at home, including beatings, imprisonment and 586 consecutive days of solitary confinement.

But despite all attempts to break his spirit and to take him away from his craft, he would not put his camera down. 

We have heard of how he would smuggle his cameras into hollowed-out bread, milk cartons and I am told even the Bible, to take pictures without the notice of the authorities.

We have heard of how despite having his own job to do and his own deadlines to meet, he was always ready to help and support fellow journalists working with him in the trenches, including the many foreign correspondents who were in the country at the time.

Fellow Mourners,

In the gospel of John, chapter 18, is the trial of Christ. 

The Lord is brought before Pilate, who asks him: “So you say you are a king?” 
Jesus answered: “It is you who say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”

At the darkest time in the life of our nation, in a South Africa paralysed by injustice, Peter Magubane’s lens bore witness to the truth. 

And to quote George Orwell’s famous words, in a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
At a time when an unjust regime acted with impunity and callous disregard for human life, Peter Magubane’s images exposed its lies.

The apartheid regime did not care much for the lives it was extinguishing, but it cared a great deal about its image, especially about how it was portrayed to the rest of the world. 

Peter Magubane’s images, and those of his peers, upended Hendrik Verwoerd’s great lie that apartheid was benign benevolence, a system of the separate but equal, and so-called good neighbourliness. 

His archive testifies to an extraordinary range.

For many years he was President Mandela’s official photographer. Some of the most enduring images we have of Madiba were taken by his lens.

He published a number of photography books, including Nelson Mandela: Man of the People, and Nelson Mandela: Life of Destiny.

He was there at the many turning points in the struggle against apartheid, and covered the various states of emergency during the mid 1980’s. 

There are his stark images that documented the aftermath of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and the many other acts of violence unleashed by the regime.

Later in life he would go on to produce photography on heritage and culture. Amongst them is one of my favourite of his works, The Vanishing Cultures of South Africa. It is an extraordinary collection that documents the lives, customs and cultures of our country’s ethnic groups.

But it is his depictions of everyday life for black South Africans living under apartheid for which he was best known. 

These images that he began taking in the 1960’s, appeared in distinguished publications like Drum magazine, Time magazine, the Rand Daily Mail, and others. 

One of his best known images, is of a black domestic worker stroking the hair of a white child seated on a Europeans Only bench.

The photograph got worldwide attention for the power of the disturbing scene that it conveyed. That photograph also painted a vivid scene of the meaning of apartheid. It was able to transport the lived experiences of black people in South Africa to many people in distant lands.

As important as it was to him to document the violence and bloodshed, it was equally important to bring home to readers and viewers the true face of petty apartheid with its convoluted and ridiculous laws and rules. 

In according him this Special Provincial Official Funeral we as the South African people are giving richly deserved recognition to Dr. Magubane for his contribution to the important craft of journalism. 

Above all, we are doing so because bearing witness to injustice everywhere, in all its forms, is, and will forever remain an act of courage that is worthy of the highest acclaim.

When we look at the world today, we see journalists being arrested, persecuted and even killed for doing their job.

As we bid farewell to one of our own legendary journalists, I ask that we remember the more than 100 journalists and media workers who have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the people of Gaza. 

Indeed, bearing witness to the truth is a revolutionary act. 

Standing firm for justice is what must define our humanity. 

As we lay Bra Peter to rest today, the International Court of Justice in The Hague will tomorrow begin hearings in the proceedings brought by South Africa against the State of Israel for its crimes committed against the Palestinian people.

Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ. 

As a people who once tasted the bitter fruits of dispossession, discrimination, racism and state-sponsored violence, we are clear that we will stand on the right side of history.

It is our fervent hope that just as we were able to reconcile and make peace, that the peoples of Israel and Palestine will find a lasting, just peace.

Fellow Mourners,

In this, the 30^th year since achieving our democracy, we can be pleased that media and press freedom in South Africa remains strong. 

The right to a free press is enshrined in our Constitution.

As a country we can hold our heads up high that we have come very far from the days when Peter Magubane and other journalists were censured, arrested and persecuted for practicing their craft.

We can be proud that our intellectual property regime is robust and protects the rights of journalists, artists, cultural workers and all South Africans and enables them to safeguard and profit off their work. 

Above all we can be proud that the South African media continues in the tradition of Dr. Magubane by bearing witness to injustice, to wrongdoing and to malfeasance.  

Just as his generation of journalists held the powerful to account, we continue to count on today’s generation of media workers to fulfil this important role without being hindered, obstructed, or censored. 

At the same time, we know the immense power of the Fourth Estate in shaping public opinion, in giving an impartial and unbiased account of the truth, and in supporting the development of a nation. 

As much as it is critical to point the lens in the direction of wrongdoing, I want to take this opportunity to call on the media to give South Africans an equally balanced view of the progress this country has achieved over the past the 30 years.

Of the progress in terms of educational outcomes, access to healthcare, basic services, constitutional freedoms, and fulfilment of the Bill of Rights.

The South Africa of today is a vastly different place to the South Africa that was the canvas for Dr. Magubane’s lens. 

His work documenting apartheid helped shift global opinion against the regime. 

At a time when we strive to rebuild our country from a period of great hardship, your balanced work as men and women of the media has the potential to lift the nation’s spirits, to inspire and give us courage, and to bring us hope. 

Let us bring too to the people of South Africa the stories of lives transformed, living standards improved, and those areas where there has been positive change. We count on you to be the conscience of a nation, but also the voice of the people, as Dr. Magubane was. 

As journalists you should not only be messengers of doom and gloom, but guardians of our democracy and merchants of hope.

Fellow Mourners,

It was the Palestinian historian, academic, writer and activist Edward Said who once said:
“I do not know whether the photograph can, or does, say things as they really are. Something has been lost. But the representation is all we have.”

What we have, what Dr. Peter Magubane has left behind, opens a window into life in South Africa that will be viewed, analysed, cited and studied for generations to come. 

Our past may not define us, but we look to it and learn from it as we carve a brighter path forward. Without knowledge of our past, without understanding it, we are, as Marcus Garvey said, a tree without roots. 

A great tree has fallen. We mourn Dr. Peter Magubane and pay tribute to his legacy. 

To the Magubane family, the nation shares in your loss. May you be comforted by the knowledge that his work lives on. 

Farewell, Mkhonto, hamba kahle Nkomose, Dibanto, Jiyane, Msengaduna namathokazi. 

Thank you. 
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the eulogy at the Provincial Official Funeral of the late Dr Peter Magubane in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 10 January 2024. 

Dr Magubane, a nationally celebrated and globally renowned photographer who documented critical moments in South Africa’s liberation struggle and emergence as a democracy, passed away on 01 January 2024 at the age of 91.

He was also a distinguished Member of the National Order of Luthuli.

President Ramaphosa has honoured Dr Magubane by declaring a Provincial Official Funeral Category 2. 

A Provincial Official Funeral Category 2 includes elements of police ceremonial honours and is “reserved for distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of South Africa on request by the premier of a province”.

Dr Magubane’s photographic career began in 1955 after he joined Drum magazine as a driver and messenger.

He soon became a darkroom assistant where his major assignment was covering the African National Congress 1955 convention.

He used his camera to record the experiences and struggles of black South Africans during apartheid. These images reached the world’s media and revealed to the international community the injustices that characterised South Africa at that time.

Tomorrow’s funeral proceedings will commence at 09h00am at the Bryanston Methodist Church.

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

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni accompanied by the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Ms Nomasonto Motaung, Members of the Executive Council in Mpumalanga and Media Development and Diversity Agency’s (MDDA) Board Chairperson Professor Hlengani Mathebula will on Tuesday 9 January 2024, lead the official unveiling of state-of-the-art studios at Kanyamazane FM in Mpumalanga. 
 
The unveiling forms part of the MDDA’s ongoing work to support the development and diversity of community and small commercial media. 
 
Community media forms a vital part of any society, as it ensures that communities are represented and reflected as part of a diverse nation. It engages people from different cultures and backgrounds, and through the use of indigenous languages advances dialogue and promotes participatory democracy. 
 
The year 2024 marks 30 years of democracy in South Africa, and it is also an election year where citizens can exercise their democratic right to vote. The media, especially community media therefore plays a crucial role in providing access to relevant, reliable and timely information upon which citizens can make informed choices. 
 
Kanyamazane community radio station was licensed by ICASA in 1998 to provide a community radio service to the community of Kanyamazane near Mbombela in Mpumalanga. The station has been operational for 26 years, and it is the first time it has been funded by the MDDA. The languages of broadcast are 65% siSwati, 15% IsiZulu, 15% English & 5% Township Lingo.
 
The unveiling of the brand-new broadcast studios for Kanyamazane FM signifies the MDDA’s mission to support the development of a vibrant, innovative, and people-centred community media sector. 
 
Media is invited to the unveiling of the broadcast studios is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Time: 08h00-12h00
Venue: Kanyamazane FM, 1214 Chris Hani drive office 3459
 
For more information and media queries: 
Margaret Ndawonde
Tel: 082 785 6071
Email: margaret@mdda.org.za
MDDA Communications Unit 
 
Sipho Mbele
Spokesperson: Minister in The Presidency 
Tel.: 083 625 3446
 
Bongo Nazo
Head: Deputy Minister in The Presidency 
Tel.: 082 185 6888
 
Facebook: MDDA 
Twitter: @MDDA_Media 
Instagram: @MDDA_Media 
WhatsApp: 063 509 4934
 
For media releases, speeches and news visit the MDDA portal at www.mdda.org.za
 
 
Media enquiries: Sipho Mbele - Spokesperson: Minister in The Presidency - 083 625 3446
 
Issued by: The Presidency and the Media Development and Diversity Agency
Pretoria

The Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will tomorrow, 9 January 2024, brief the media on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan. 

Members of the media are invited to attend the briefing as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Time: 09:00 for 10:00
Venue: GCIS Auditorium, Tshedimosetso House, 1035 Francis Baard Street, Hatfield, Pretoria

Live Streaming details:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/GovernmentZA   
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GovernmentZA   
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GovernmentZA  

Media enquires: Tsakane Khambane, Spokesperson in the Ministry of Electricity - 082 084 5566 /tsakane@presidency.gov.za
 
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved a Memorandum of Understanding entered into by Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to better clarify their respective responsibilities with respect to Eskom and the resolution of the electricity crisis. The MoU establishes a firm basis for a collaborative approach between the Ministers in exercising their assigned powers and functions.

The MoU outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Minister of Electricity as follows:
- Focus full-time on all aspects of the electricity crisis and the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee.
- Exercise authority over the Eskom Board and management on ending load shedding and ensure that the Energy Action Plan is implemented without delay. 
- Improve generation capacity and the purchase of additional capacity.
- Oversee implementation of the Eskom Generation Recovery Plan.
- Ensure that the generation fleet performs optimally and results in security of supply and low level of loadshedding.
- Ensure that matters dealing with transmission are dealt with, including the issuing of the Requests for Proposals and/or Requests for Information for financing of new transmission lines.
- Developing and agreeing on financing models and options for transmission together with National Treasury and the Presidency.

The MoU takes into account the Eskom Memorandum of Incorporation, which makes it obligatory to inform the Minister of Public Enterprises of critical decisions in this respect.

The MoU stipulates that the Minister of Public Enterprises will:     
- Remain the shareholder representative of Eskom.
- Support and assist the Minister of Electricity in his interactions with the Board by incorporating the responsibilities of the Minister of Electricity listed in the MoU in the execution of his role as shareholder, in line with the Eskom Shareholder Compact, and inserting the obligations of the Board in this regard into the Board Performance Evaluation Framework.
- Steer the restructuring of Eskom in line with the Eskom Roadmap.
- Ensure the establishment and operationalisation of the transmission company.
- Lay the basis for the restructuring of Eskom arising from the Electricity Regulation Act Amendment Bill.
- Oversee the implementation of the just energy transition strategy as provided for in the Shareholder Compact.

 The MoU makes provision for regular review meetings between the Ministers to address any impediments to the implementation of the MOU. The Ministers will also have regular review meetings with the President. 

Commenting on the MoU, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “While significant progress has been made in reducing the severity of load shedding, much work still needs to be done to guarantee a secure supply of electricity. The collaborative approach outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding will further strengthen Eskom’s efforts to resolve the electricity crisis.”

“The Ministers will work together more closely and with their respective responsibilities clearly outline to ensure the effective implementation of the Energy Action Plan,” he said.

The arrangement outlined in the MoU will be operational until the end of the current administration.

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

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria