President Jacob Zuma has defended China’s surging investment in Africa, telling an audience at Beijing’s Renmin University that China was making an important contribution to the development of the continent.
“We are still at an early stage of what will be an exciting journey, a journey out of poverty, a journey to sustainable improvements in the lives of our people, here in China, and on the African continent,” President Zuma said on Wednesday, the second day of his state visit to the country.
Zuma’s comments come as the debate over China’s role in Africa continues to rage. Critics have raised concerns about China’s support for countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, as well as its questionable worker safety rules.
“Chinese assistance in infrastructure development in some of the less developed parts of Africa is certainly making an important contribution to future African development,” Zuma said.
African countries remain an attractive destination for Chinese investment funds, though Africa is looking for China to expand its investments beyond mining and resources.
South Africa, for its part, is looking to the world’s second-largest economy to increase its investment in the country. South Africa is strategic for China in that it is Africa’s largest and most advanced economy.
South African President Jacob Zuma and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed the Beijing Declaration, outlining 38 cooperation agreements, following their one-hour talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
And on the same day, Chinese and South African companies signed more than a dozen agreements covering investments in railways, power transmission, construction, mining, insurance, telecoms and nuclear power.
Zuma is being accompanied on his trip by over 370 representatives from the business community, the largest ever contingent from South Africa to visit China.
The effects of South Africa’s MultiChoice’s (MIH) decision to change their satellite server will be fully felt in Hong Kong this weekend when the Springboks play Wales in the first of the June international rugby tests. Supersport, a channel on the MultiChoice digital satellite bouquet has been unavailable since June 1, 2010. (read why here)
A quick search on the Australia Network channel does not bade well for this rugby junkie (for this weekend) as the channel will not show the Wales/SA test. The Aussies will carry the AUS/Fiji test while they will show the SA/France test next weekend.
Here’s the good news though: RugbyZone will show all the June Rugby Internationals LIVE, including the SA/France game on June 12, as well as the 2 SA/Italy tests (June 19 & 26).
Eish! It’s not going to be such a bad month after all.
From (a relieved) Mike Jansen
Here are some images from last weekend’s Super14 Final at WoolooMooloo:
And just because the Stormers lost, here’s one of their cheerleaders:
Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). On this day, leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community (AEC), and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union (AU or UA). However, the name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity.
With the excitement back home building around the 2010 World Cup, this is indeed Africa’s YEAR!
As a young boy I grew up virtually on the beach. My home was 5 minutes walk from the white sands of Strand (near Cape Town) and I used every opportunity to be in the water.
Unfortunately, because of South Africa’s apartheid laws, I was restricted to the “non-white side” of the beach.
The bad old days…
The Strand municipality had erected a series of red and white concrete poles that stretched from the sandy beach, onto a rocky outcrop about 100 meters into the waters of False Bay. Fortunately for us the red and white pole that jutted out from the rock was also where our favourite swimming spot was and during high tide indicated it clearly. We called this spot “ENO” named after the bubbles that formed when we dived into the water.
On 2 February 1990, in a groundbreaking speech to Parliament, President FW De Klerk announced the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the imminent release of Nelson Mandela. With this he formally ended the State’s apartheid laws.
Nine days later, on Sunday 11 February 1990 Nelson Mandela walked through the gates of the Victor Verster Prison… a free man after 27 years. I was amongst the masses who gathered in Cape Town when he uttered his first words from the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall.
South Africans celebrated our first democratic elections on 27 April 1994.
Today my children can swim anywhere they like.
However, the reality in South Africa today is far from the simplistic scenario I sketched above and, even after 16 years, a lot needs to be done to make South Africa a truely ‘free’ country. I nevertheless wish you:
Happy Freedom Day.
Aluta Continua *
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Rural South Africans wait to cast their vote in the first-ever democratic elections
Freedom Day commemorates the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994.
It is celebrated annually as a reminder of the struggle for a free and just South Africa culminating in the first democratic elections held in 1994 where South Africans of every walk of life participated in the making of our new country.
* Aluta Continua or “the struggle continues” is the name of a song we sang at university during apartheid.
After typing up the story above, I found this video posted by our friends over at Zoopy.com:
With the Hong Kong Sevens 2010 and Hugh Bladen’s appearance at the SAAHK’s Sevens Dinner fast approaching, I was planning to introduce all our readers to a blog called “Over to Hugh.” Run by two very enterprising young blokes called “Blades” and “Chowgaps,” Over to Hugh parodies the famous South African commentator using everything from the real Blades’ love for a good Scotch to his trademark words and phrases.
Catch Hugh Bladen at the SAAHK’s Sevens Dinner in March 2010.
However, in the light of the sad passing of “the voice of rugby” Mr Bill MCLaren last month, a video on their website made me decide to use this opportunity to give you a sneak preview of “Over to Hugh” while paying tribute to the great Scotsman.
William Pollock “Bill” McLaren CBE (16 October 1923 – 19 January 2010) was a Scottish rugby union commentator. Until his retirement in 2002, he was known as ‘the voice of rugby’. Renowned throughout the sport, his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many rugby lovers the world over.
I don’t know if it’s my fast-approaching (much-needed) trip home or my current nationalistic pride with the Sevens Springboks recent success, but I really enjoyed Clem Sunter’s recent column on News24.
The Missus with Clem Sunter @ Sevens Dinner 2008
I first met Clem Suntera few years ago at a Rotary Club dinner in Somerset West. The second time was during the SAAHK’s Sevens Dinner last year. I own a couple of the well-published author and scenario-planner’s books and naturally this article tickled my fancy.
Yebo Yes. You expats out there on this side of the noodle-gordyn, unless you are one of the 673 people abroad who voted for the African National Congress… then the ruling party considers you a “right-winger” !
Yes… I’m talking to YOU!
According to News24, ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte made this statement soon after the IEC released to final tallies from the votes cast abroad about a week before the rest of the country.
“It shows you who leaves the country: all the right-wingers,” ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte said after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Thursday announced the results of South Africans who voted abroad.
The opposition parties got the most of the 9 857 votes. A total of 7 581 voted for the DA, 918 voted for Cope, 270 voted for the FF+, 184 voted for the ACDP and 136 voted for the ID.
The ANC received 673 votes from South Africans overseas.
Duarte’s views came after government this week praised South Africans overseas for their patriotism and interest.
Themba Maseko, the chief government spokesperson, said the optimism with which people voted in especially London, heartened government and showed that South Africans gained knowledge overseas, which they later would apply back home.
Meanwhile, it also came to light that between 500 and 600 overseas votes had gone missing as the relevant embassy(ies) did not follow the necessary procedures.
A spokesperson for the IEC on Thursday evening confirmed that there had been problems with some of the overseas votes, but said that they would only be able to release more details on Friday.
Following on my earlier post about the expat vote, the IEC has just released the results of the expat vote about a week ago. As were expected, opposition parties overwhelmingly drew the majority of the expatriate vote with the Democratic Alliance topping the list with 7 581.
The newly-established ANC breakaway party Congress of the People (Cope) came in second on 918 votes with the South African ruling party the African National Congress (ANC) coming in third with 673 votes.
The IEC also confirmed that around 17 000 South Africans had registered to vote and while only 9 857 votes in total were counted.
Ek sit en luister aandagtig na die doen-en-late by die huis aangaande die 2009 verkiesing. CapeTalk (www.567.co.za) doesn nou al die hele dag allerhande stories oor die gebeure omdat die uitslae heelwat traag deurkom.
Terwyl ek hierdie pos tik, begin dinge egter vinniger gaan, en alles gesê sal die oorgrootste meerderheid van die uitslae teen middernag (Hong Kong tyd) beskikbaar wees.
Ek het die volgende storie op Die Burger se web-werf opgetel, aldus my “fout-lose” Afrikaans! (Nes die Kaapse komediant Marc Lottering kan ek ook getuig dat ek “Afrikaans oppie hoër graad geslaag het!”) Donkie- jare t’rug, maar steeds!
Opposisiepartye ‘wen’ buite SA
SAREL VAN DER WALT
23/04/2009 07:38:02 AM – (SA)
Pretoria. – Van die sowat 16 000 Suid-Afrikaners wat in die buiteland geregistreer het om aan die verkiesing deel te neem, het net 10 495 gestem. “Van dié stemme het 90% aan die opposisiepartye gegaan,” het mnr. Willie Spies van die VF+ Donderdag gesê.
Die meeste Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland het hul kruisies agter die DA se naam getrek, gevolg deur die ANC, Cope en die VF+.
Spies sê die feit dat die oorgrote meerderheid stemme aan oppisisiepartye gegaan het, verklaar waarom die ANC so traag was om stemreg vir Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland te erken.
Die stemme van die Suid-Afrikaners wat in die buiteland gestem het, is by die OVK se hoofkantoor in Walkerstraat, Sunnyside, Pretoria, getel en omstreeks 05:00 bekend gemaak.
Spies het erken die VF+ sou graag ‘n “groter hap van die oorsese koek” wou hê, maar aanvaar dat daar baie min tyd vir stemwerwing onder Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland was.
