International Cooperation, Trade and Security (ICTS) Cluster response to 2011 State of the Nation Address

Q: Is the South African government going to condemn the use of lethal force in Libya? Is it true that South Africa sold Libya a large number of sniper-rifles and ammunition? Finally when will Parliament be informed about the deployment of the Drakensberg off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire?

A: Deputy Minister E Ebrahim stated that South Africa condemned the use of force; indeed it always condemned the use of force against civilian populations and peaceful demonstrations no matter where they took place. The demonstrations in the Middle East should be resolved peacefully.

A: The Minister of Defence was not aware of any sale of sniper-rifles to Libya. There was a committee that oversaw the sale of weapons to any country outside of South Africa. It provided a list of sales and the Minister did not believe Libya was on that list. If the question had implied that it had happened after the recent activities in Libya then the answer was an emphatic no. The Drakensberg was on a training exercise as most of the nation’s naval vessels were, providing practice for junior officers in international waters off the West Coast. The only time that the ship had left international waters was to refuel in Ghana in early February. The ship was available to be deployed should it become necessary to evacuate South African embassy staff or assist the President in any way. At which point the ship would become deployed and Parliament would be informed. The Drakensberg would return when its exercise was over and it was believed that there would be no need for its assistance.

Q: What are the details of the progress made by the SAPS along the borders? Could the Ministers also provide an update about the negotiations in Côte d'Ivoire?

A: It had been reported, the Minister of Defence said, by the SAPS National Commissioner that the deployment to the border had resulted in a reduction in crime. Border communities were reported to be very happy with the deployment, inroads had been made into cutting down crime, including halting car thieves from crossing the border into neighbouring states. The syndicates operating between South Africa and Mozambique had been arrested and that particular crime type was being brought under control. Cigarette smuggling between South Africa and Zimbabwe had gone down and there had been successes against poachers along the KZN border. 

A: As for the negotiations in Côte d'Ivoire, Deputy Minister Ebrahim stated that as the President was currently meeting with both parties to the conflict, it would not be correct for him to comment on it. The President would surely have a statement on the situation, when he returned. 

Q: When is the Drakensberg likely to be out of West Coast waters? Further, how many South Africans are there currently in Libya? What is the latest on the President of Madagascar? Will he be allowed to leave South Africa and go back to Madagascar?

A: Deputy Minister Ebrahim did not have any information on how many South Africans where in Libya at this time. As for the President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, a statement had been issued which declared that the President had not been expelled from South Africa. He was free to return to Madagascar if he chose to do so. 

Q: Can you mention a little more on the efforts being made to combat piracy, especially by the SS Mendi? And could they say a little about Project Biro?

A: The Secretary of Defence stated that Project Biro dealt with the acquisition of equipment to upgrade land-forces to ensure that the Defence Force had the necessary modern equipment.

Q: Can the Minister elaborate on the process involved in the battling of pirates? If they are encountered by the Navy can they then be engaged in combat?

Q: Could the Minister explain what is going on with the ground based air defence system Phase Two, when will this programme be concluded and what are the final costs? As there is little information to the public, could the Minister please disclose everything she knows about it?

A: The Secretary of Defence explained that the Ground to Air Missile system referred to would have an initial payment cost of R150 million. 

Q: With regards to the statements made by Cabinet, what kinds of initiative are being discussed with regards to assisting Somalia? At what point will we see the strategy aimed at addressing the piracy problem unveiled? And will South Africa be buying more vessels?

A: The Minister of Trade and Industry said the Government had been forced to note that the Somalia based pirates had been moving south into SADC waters. South Africa had taken into account the fact that in terms of naval capacity, its neighbours had very little and South Africa had most of the naval capacity that was there. What the Cabinet had stated was that they would have to take into account the new development and the resources that are available in the region.

A: The Minister of Defence added that an intrusion into SADC waters had been detected on 28 December with the hijacking of a Mozambiquan vessel that contained 28 Mozambiquans and two Spanish sailors. The Mozambiquen government, who lacked naval capacity to deal with this situation, requested aid from the South African government. Due to the memorandum of understanding between the two countries, South Africa responded to this. Cabinet had then gone back and decided that they needed a permanent strategy to deal with the growing pirate problem.  Through the AU there was an understanding that to deal with the problem, one had to support the transitional government of Somalia so that they could establish lasting institutions that could impose law and order. On the other hand, South Africa could not sit back when they had incursions in waters for which they were responsible. To that effect, the SS Mendi had been deployed in the Mozambique Channel to bring in more information on the situation and to indicate to anyone out there that South African waters were protected. The government expressed concern about the presence of the pirates. However the SS Mendi had not been formally deployed, but if it was, Parliament and the public would be informed. 

Q: Could the Deputy Minister of Energy please explain if the Ministry holds any views on gas exploration in the Karoo especially on the use of the “Fracking” method.

A: The Deputy Minister, Ms B Thompson, said that she was not aware of any initiative concerning gas exploration of the Karoo, though she admitted that she had come unprepared, without her staff. The relevant answers could perhaps be given at a later meeting.

Q: Could the Ministers elaborate on any discussions or solutions to the funding problems with South African officials taking part in AU missions, for whom South Africa must pay as the AU is always cash strapped, what are the solutions to this? And has the South African government been in contact with the Libyan ruling family over the last few days?

A: Deputy Minister Ebrahim said that to his knowledge the government had not been in touch with the Libyan ruling administration. They had been in touch with the South African embassy in the country though to get a comprehensive report of what was taking place there. Communication was not good, but the government was hoping to get information about how many nationals were in Libya. He went on to say that the AU is generally always cash strapped, and that the salaries for personnel taking part in these organisations were quite low. He speculated that the salary could perhaps be increased to get people to stay on in their positions so that South Africa would be able to fill its quota of personnel for its international obligations. He stated that there was always a cash problem with regards to the AU. Not only did officials have to pay their own way and accommodation when travelling to AU summits, but South Africa was usually the only country able to pay its full due to the AU.    

Q: Is military action against the pirates being considered, by the SS Mendi or other forces?

A: Minister Sisulu replied that the SS Mendi was in the Mozambique Channel purely for patrol purposes. The ship was in a state of readiness and, when information was gathered and the Cabinet had decided on a strategy, they would be able to indicate whether or not they would be opting for a military solution. The Minister of Defence went on to clarify an answer from earlier regarding Project Biro. The project was being considered to be re-energised, especially since some of the frigates were too big to manoeuvre around the coast. It had been considered earlier but shelved. However with the outcome of the strategy being presented to Cabinet, it could become relevant again.

Q: Could the Minister of Trade and Industry comment on the current international trade flows?

A: The Minister, Dr Rob Davies, stated that the currency was moving in the right direction, though it was still volatile and not fully competitive as an exchange rate. These movements he attributed to instabilities in the world economy. He claimed that the world was moving towards recovery, with the so called developed countries being the dynamic forces driving recovery ahead whereas in the developed world there were still enormous problems as of yet unresolved. He went on to say that when one breaks up that pack you would see that leading these countries was China followed by India and Brazil, who grow their own domestic markets. However there was a growing body of opinion and literature that suggested that the next growth story was Africa, mainly due to the mineral boom and growth of domestic markets. Minister Davies emphasised the importance of growing a domestic market. One must look at domestic markets differently, on a larger scale. South Africa with its 49 million citizens was a small domestic market. It would not even be a sizable town in China. However, when you looked at the continent as a whole or even when looking at sizable parts of the continent, one would start to crack the numbers. So when one spoke about things like SADC, COMES and the East African Community with figures ranging up to 26 countries, 700 million people, $624 billion combined GDP - now that started to become a sizable domestic market. Further, within weeks South Africa would be hosting the next summit of the Tripartite Group which was a very exciting development for the SADC region. The other one was BRICS with the first meeting in April, which among other things would try and set targets for intra-BRICS trade and cooperative arrangements to facilitate that. So he felt they were working on building the African market, a broad cooperative agenda around infrastructure construction and development, cooperation around industrial development and things of that sort. This would bring development and job creation to South Africa and the wider continent. He added that they were engaging on the multilateral level with the World Trade Organisation, with ongoing intense negotiations. Unfortunately, the nature of the demands put forth by the developed world with regards to lowering industrial tariffs without being willing to follow this through with commensurate payments in agriculture or services, did not bode well for a successful conclusion to the round. However he reiterated the benefits seen from increased trade flow, especially with the BRICS countries.  

Q: Has South Africa been repaid the costs from Airbus A440M and has the Minister of Defence’s pleas that the money be returned to her department been successful?

A: The Minister of Defence replied that the investment into the Airbus venture had not yet been recovered. The government had asked Treasury to assist in getting the money back. They hoped to hear from them soon and had given them a deadline of 12 to18 months to live up to the contract. If they had not paid within 18 months, they would see what options were available to them to get the funds back.  

Q: What is the Minister of Defence’s wish list for the budget?

A: Minister Sisulu confirmed that the budget was indeed woeful and that they had saved on everything they could possibly save on, to ensure they could get a bigger slice of the budget. They had requested R5 billion extra, taking them from R34 to R39 billion. This was the bare minimum due to more onerous requirements.  

Q: Following on the question of AU finances, seeing as South Africa might soon be aiding Somalia, if in a hypothetical situation, former President Mbeki was sent to Mogadishu, who would foot the bill: South Africa, AU or Somalia?

A: Deputy Minister Ebrahim said that in such a hypothetical situation South Africa, or more specifically the Ministry of Defence, would pay as neither Somalia nor the AU could really afford to pay for it.

Q: How active is the South African private sector in Africa? Are we being left behind with regards to Chinese saturation of Africa?

A: Minister Davis said he believed that the South African private sector was highly active on the African continent. During state visits, summits and the like, there was always an effort to expose the private sector to opportunities that existed in these places. He admitted though that the landscape of Africa now saw a greater multiplicity of players involved, and South Africa welcomed that. He went on to mention the upcoming Council of Ministers of Industry that was due to meet in Algeria. If recent events allowed it, ministers from all over Africa would come together and work out a shared way of dealing in precious minerals with outside parties.  

Q: How is the situation on UN reimbursement, and further what is the serviceability state of South African equipment on UN missions and finally how is the readiness of border security?    

A: Minister Sisulu replied that they were still concerned with the serviceability of their forces in the field. However South Africa had signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN which ensured that they assist in servicing equipmens and units wherever possible. She would like perhaps to see the Portfolio Committee go into the areas where they are deployed and even bring along DefenceWeb to see if they are getting value for their money when it comes to peace-keeping deployment as well as serviceability of equipment. 

The media briefing was concluded.

International Cooperation, Trade and Security clsuter (ICTS) media briefing after 2011 State of the Nation Address final speaking notes - Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu

22 Feb 2011

Ministers
Deputy Ministers
Directors-General
Members of the media

We welcome you to this first Ministerial Cluster briefing for 2011. This briefing serves to expand on the announcements made by President Jacob Zuma during his State of the Nation Address on 10 February 2011, as well as to keep all South Africans informed, through you, on progress that has been made as well as plans for the forthcoming year 2011/12.

The mandate of the International Cooperation, Trade and Security (ICTS) cluster is to improve the lives of all South Africans through enhanced trade and investment, regional economic integration, improved technical and scientific cooperation for the creation on much-needed jobs at all times ensuring peace and stability.

Our international agenda is anchored on the goal of creating a better South Africa, and contributing to a better and safer Africa in a better world. This is informed by our history and by our values outlined in the Constitution. These include human dignity, the achievement of equity and the advancement of human rights and freedoms; and that of building a non-sexist, non-racial and prosperous society.

We seek to assert ourselves on the global stage with a more widely shared African Agenda. An agenda is based on the need for economic growth and development; economic integration at the regional and sub-regional levels; trade and investment; and democratisation and good governance. In this regard, the development and strengthening of the African Union (AU) as a continental body and its structures is of great importance to us. We will continue our active role at continental through the African Union and at regional level as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Our various activities as government in the past year were aimed at achieving these objectives.  The FIFA Soccer World Cup helped us to market ourselves and the continent as a region of progress, sustainability, peace and development.  The hosting this year of COP17 is consistent with this objective.

We also celebrate the successes we have been part of, such as the Sudan.  We have taken our place as our part of contributing to the resolution of problems on the continent, as we did in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), etc and today the President meets with four other heads of state to work out a solution for Cote d'Ivoire.  We continue to deploy our Defence Force to participate in United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) sanctioned peace missions.

We give this briefing as North Africa is reeling from discontent spreading from one country to another.  We want to emphasise right from the outset that we had time to analyse the first protests and we were re-assured that our policies and government are on track and that the President’s call to make this year a year of job creation clearly shows we have had our fingers on the pulse of the nation.

We firmly believe that peace and security are the prerequisites for economic growth and sustainable development. We thus place strong emphasis on building African multilateral institutions and the African peace and security architecture.

We are, all of us here, required and committed to refocusing our efforts at the urgent priority of creating jobs.  This, as the President indicated, will be the central issue at all our budget votes.  For now we wish to restate the President’s statement on our cluster responsibilities, plans and successes.

Thus, the work of this cluster in the promotion of peace and stability, co-operation on a range of matters such as scientific and technological advancement and political and economic integration are the fundamental building blocks for economic growth and sustainable development. The work of this cluster therefore remains central in the creation of conditions for enhanced trade, investment and capital flows.

To further promote South Africa as a tourism and investment destination we participated at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo from 1 May to 31 October 2010, increasing awareness about South Africa as a vibrant, modern country, with a sound economy, diverse cultures and languages and majestic scenic beauty. The uniquely designed South African Pavilion and professional exhibitions attracted over 4 million visitors.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup can be defined as the biggest marketing opportunity South Africa and Africa ever received in our history of existence. Our tourism sector will remain the biggest beneficiary and our greatest export to the world.

Tourism's direct and indirect contribution to the country’s 2009 gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.7% to R198.4 billion compared to 2008. This represents 7.4% of GDP. Tourism is a significant source of foreign earnings for the country and can therefore be effectively positioned as one of the ‘export sectors’ of our economy.  Figures for 2010 reflect continued growth as well. Tourist arrivals from January to November 2010 was approx 7.3 million arrivals.

Our immigration policy has contributed significantly in creating an environment where visas are not an honorary burden.

South Africa has already secured 95 significant meetings and conferences between 2010 and 2016. In addition to this, we have already also put in bids for an additional 45 conferences for 2011 to 2020. In July, we will host a high level sports gathering in Durban, the 123^rd International Olympic Committee General Assembly Session.

We have positioned South Africa as a country of choice for business, investment and tourism. In order to facilitate much-needed economic growth, we must promote foreign direct investment with targeted countries.

Since 1994 when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force, Parties to the Convention have met annually at the Conference of Parties (COP). Later this year we will again hosts the world at the 17^th Conference of Parties (COP 17/CMP 7) on climate change. As the President indicated, we are humbled by the confidence shown by the UNFCCC in Africa’s ability to host this meeting.

We have hosted many similar international conferences, ie World Conference Against Racism, the launch of the African Union, etc and we are now becoming quite specialised in these matters.

Once again, as was the case with Kenya, this presents us (and Africa) with another opportunity to rise to the occasion, just like we did when the world gave us an opportunity to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup last year. As an African developing country we will use the opportunity afforded by COP17/CMP7 to showcase the way in which climate change impacts on our country and continent, as well as the responses we are implementing.

If climate change is not addressed, its impact will undermine the developmental gains we have made since 1994 as a country and the progress made by SADC and the African continent to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs). Climate change is a sustainable development challenge that affects all countries and is not solely an environmental issue. It demands an urgent global agreement that takes into account different historical responsibilities in forging a shared common responsibility for the future.

We are committed to further develop unity of the African Group and a common African position in the multilateral climate change negotiations. In view of the fact that Africa is the continent most affected by Climate Change, it is important that Africa continues to speak with one voice. To this end, South Africa will be hosting a preparatory meeting of the African Group in March this year.

South Africa and its key allies in Africa, the G77 and China and the BRIC countries  – South Africa, India, China and Brazil – call for an inclusive, fair, effective, ambitious and binding climate change deal, which is favourable to both developed and developing countries.

Enhanced African agenda and sustainable development

We firmly believe that peace and security are the prerequisites for economic growth and sustainable development. We thus place strong emphasis on building African multilateral institutions and the African peace and security architecture. The promotion of political and economic integration of the continent also continues to drive the African Agenda. 

We remain committed to the advancement of the African Agenda as the President stated in the State of the Nation Address.  The development and strengthening of the African Union (AU) as a continental body and its structures is of great importance to South Africa.

The remarkable contribution we are making to peace and stability on the continent paves the way for economic growth and sustainable development in those areas. Not only does our contribution improve the lives of our fellow Africans, but also facilitates South African access to develop new markets on the continent in the wake of the new possibilities created.

We firmly believe that the deployment of the members of our Defence Force on the continent as part of the UN or the AU, directly provides the opportunity for our entrepreneurs to diversify our trade profile on the continent and our investment in African economies.  We call on South African entrepreneurs to take advantage of prevailing opportunities.

Regional integration and SADC

We are committed to the regional integration of SADC and will support efforts to deepen both political and economic integration.

Our economic development can be entrenched by deepening regional economic integration in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the wider African continent. This can also promote industrial development and employment creation.

Deeper regional integration in Africa and Southern Africa are prerequisites for engaging more competitively with the world economy. South Africa’s continental trade agenda is focused on supporting Africa’s economic integration in line with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the AU and the Abuja Treaty to establish the African Economic Community. The formation of the SADC-EAC (East African Community)-COMESA (Common Market for East African States) Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will assist in rationalising the different regional economic communities on the continent. This will create a market of 26 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$624 billion and a population of approximately 700 million people.

South Africa will continue to support infrastructure development and trade facilitation in the continent (as raised in the SoNA), largely through the spatial development initiative (SDI) methodology.

Our five priority spatial development initiatives (SDIs) have been identified to be pursued over the medium term strategic framework (MTSF) period, namely: Mozambique SDI Programme Phase (Ph) 2; Tanzania SDI Ph2; DR Congo SDI Ph2; ANSA SDI Ph1; Zimbabwe SDI Ph 1 and the Mtwara corridor in Tanzania which now has investors for implementation. All these infrastructure programmes are important for regional integration and trade. When completed Africa will never be the same.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

We are leading Africa’s bid to host the world's most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The International SKA Steering Committee shortlisted Africa and Australia in 2006 as the bidders for the project. The selected site for the SKA will be announced in 2012.

Hosting the SKA in Africa would mean an investment of about $2 billion in the continent during construction and $200 million per annum over a 20-30 year period.

The SKA will ensure that both South Africa and the continent are strategically repositioned as the continental hub of choice for science and technology initiatives.  The SKA will drive the development of internet connectivity in both rural and urban areas in Africa.

Securing our borders and SADC security

To facilitate the flow of goods and people and effective management of our borders with our neighbouring countries, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has returned to the borders of South Africa with Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and, from 1 April 2011, to the border with Lesotho. We seek to cover the over 4 800 km of land border by end of 2013. South Africa is also strengthening its sea and air border management with additional deployments being made. The SS Mendi, a South African Navy MEKO Class Frigate, has resumed patrol along the Mozambique Channel where we are cooperating with the Mozambican authorities to ensure maritime security in Southern African waters.

Concerns over Somali piracy are also being attended to by the security institutions of our country. South Africa’s main priority is the continuity of trade and the smooth movements of cargo within the SADC Maritime Zone. We are working with other defence forces and security agencies of the region to protect our maritime areas for the purpose of smooth trade and movement of goods.

The SANDF has made noticeable achievements since its deployment to the borders. Farmers and business people along the borders have reported a drop in cross border crime, and a number of arrests have been made which have impacted heavily on syndicates trading in illegal goods and vehicle thefts.

The SANDF, in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS), are working with law enforcement agencies of the region to investigate and stop cross border crimes.

To ensure safe and secure tourism we have now started deploying on our border along the Kruger National Park. We will also deploy inside the Park to support the internal security of the Kruger Park and to assist the SAPS with combating rhino poaching. We seek to create a crime free environment that guarantees safe tourism. We also seek to stop the illegal movements of people and goods and related criminal activities.

Enhancing regional integration and peace

We have committed ourselves to enhancing our contribution to the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Early Warning Centre (REWC). Acceleration of the full operationalisation of the SADC REWC will form an integral part of efforts to prevent and manage conflict situations in the region and the continent.

South Africa has made a significant contribution to the establishment of the SADC Standby Force and the SADC Brigade in particular, as was witnessed in September 2009 by the hosting of Exercise GOLFINHO which tested the readiness of the SADC Standby Force.

In the next year we will seek to maintain the readiness of our pledged defence, police and civilian components of the SADC Standby Force as determined in agreements. Renewed focus will be on strengthening our contribution to the civilian component of the SADC Standby Force that is necessary to provide the core support to the civilian Head of Mission.

Not only will we be seeking to enhance our capacity to make this contribution, but we will also strengthen our understanding of the civilian component concept and the development of a strategy in this regard.

The President said that during the coming 2011/12 financial year, we will be deploying a total of 2 240 military personnel in operations across the African continent, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo (1271 personnel), Darfur (850 personnel) and Central African Republic (100 personnel). These deployments are tasked with restoring peace, training, and formalising and developing the security structures of those countries to stabilise and facilitate economic growth and a better life for the citizens.

In addition to these enduring missions, we will continue to provide humanitarian support, disaster relief, election assistance and general military assistance to our continental partners.  In the DRC we have also deployed to support the elections. We assist with elections logistics, protection of observers and officials.

AU/NEPAD/UN

2011 marks ten years since the adoption of NEPAD as the AU flagship socio-economic programme in Lusaka in July 2001. South Africa ranks amongst fourteen AU Member States of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) which was established in 2003 as a voluntary instrument to ensure efficient delivery of services to the peoples of the continent, and promoting good democratic governance and economic and corporate governance. 

Reform of global governance institutions

We remain committed to the reform of institutions of global governance, including the comprehensive reform of the UN which includes the expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Our membership of the Security Council presents an opportunity to contribute to reforming the working methods of the Council and to work towards the achievement of a representative, legitimate and more effective Council.

We are greatly honoured to join the BRICS forum. It is an important bloc of emerging economies.

We look forward to the inaugural meeting of BRICS on 14 - 15 April in China through BRICS we will continue with existing collaboration in various international organisations and formations such as the UN, the Group of 20 (G20) and IBSA. 

In the coming years we are committed to deploying/seconding South Africans into strategic positions in strategic regional, continental and global governance institutions according to determined modalities. Over the next years we will be striving to meet the geographical quota available in the UN system and meet the assessed quota available in SADC and the AU. To do this, we will in the medium-term develop a national secondment strategy to operationalise the implementation of the National Secondment Policy, revise the National Secondment Policy and develop a database of possible posts and candidates that South Africa can deploy into or put forward as candidates.

Diplomacy in the continent

The President already said that we welcome the successfully concluded referendum and support the activities of the AU in the post-conflict reconstruction and development of Sudan.  Despite the successful conclusion of the referendum, remaining challenges must be addressed to ensure smooth transition. Our troops remain committed to their current operations as part of our efforts to maintain peace and stability on the African continent.

The strong political relations that exist between South Africa and the people of Southern Sudan have cultivated a positive environment for the greater involvement of the South African private sector in the region’s economic development. There is a growing presence of South African businesses in Southern Sudan, namely:

SABMiller has built a US$ 30 million brewery in Southern Sudan which has been functional for over a year. The brewery is one of the biggest investments in that region by an outside country. South African consulting engineers (KV3) are managing the refurbishment of government buildings, such as the Juba Hospital. Arelco has been appointed on a project basis to lead livestock development in Southern Sudan and MTN also has investments in the region.

Given that Southern Sudan is given independence on 11 July 2011, it is important to identify commercial opportunities and establish an early footprint in Southern Sudan, ahead of our competitors. 

Key sectors to be pursued in Sudan include agriculture, minerals and energy, infrastructure development and management, information and communications technology (ICT) and telecoms, water purification and supply, forestry and banking. South African business must take advantage of these opportunities.

We must emphasize that the ICTS cluster’s responsibility is to facilitate peace and stability on the continent and by so doing stimulate growth, jobs; fight poverty and under-development. A peaceful and stable Africa is central for growth, job creation and economic development.

Enquiries:
Neo Momodu
Cell: 079 462 5081

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
22 Feb 2011