La Ministre des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises et de la promotion de l’Emploi, en charge de la Formation professionnelle, Madame Awaou BACO, a procédé, le vendredi 21 août 2026 à Nikki, au lancement officiel de la 3ᵉ édition de la Foire Régionale de l’Artisanat du Bénin, Zone Nord.
Organisée par le Ministère, à travers le Fonds de Développement de l’Artisanat (FDA), en collaboration avec la CMA-Benin, cette foire régionale se veut une vitrine pour le savoir-faire des artisanes et artisans de la région septentrionale du Bénin, tout en favorisant la promotion et la commercialisation des produits artisanaux.
Cette édition qui prend son envol dans le sillon de la fête de la Gaani n’est pas fortuite. Pour Monsieur Cletus Nestor GUEZO, en arrimant la tenue de la Foire à la période de la GAANI, le Fonds de Développement de l’Artisanat qu’il dirige, a fait le pari judicieux d’offrir aux artisanes et artisans une belle vitrine, celle d’une ville en fête drainant un monde considérable venu de tout le pays et au delà des frontières béninoises.
« Depuis trois ans maintenant, beaucoup de talents ont été dénichés grâce à la tenue des Foires régionales. Ensemble, nous allons poursuivre dans cette dynamique », a laissé entendre Madame Lucie KATAGNAN, représentant le Président de la CMA-BENIN, à la suite des mots de gratitude du Maire de Nikki, Monsieur Roland Joseph Lafia GOUNOU.
Ainsi, du 21 au 30 Août 2026, les visiteurs auront l’opportunité de découvrir et d’acquérir diverses productions issues du génie créateur de 75 valeureux exposants. Au-delà de l’exposition, cette manifestation constitue un véritable cadre de rencontres, d’échanges et de promotion des métiers de l’artisanat.
« Cette Foire est une belle occasion de mettre en lumière le talent, le savoir-faire et le génie créateur de nos artisanes et artisans », a indiqué la Ministre Awaou BACO avant d’adresser un appel aux exposants : « Saisissez cette opportunité. Montrez ce que vous savez faire. Osez innover et osez allez plus loin ».
À l’endroit des visiteurs et acheteurs, la Ministre déclare : « En venant à cette Foire, vous ne faites pas qu’acheter un produit, vous encouragez une femme ou un homme. Vous contribuez à préserver le savoir-faire et vous participez à la création de richesses dans nos territoires ».
La cérémonie officielle de lancement a connu son épilogue avec la coupure du ruban symbolique, suivie d’une visite guidée des différents stands d’exposition. Une séquence qui a permis à l’autorité ministérielle d’aller à la rencontre des exposants et de découvrir la richesse des produits présentés. C’est ainsi parti pour 10 jours de découverte des merveilles uniques, qui racontent les histoires de nos terroirs.
Distribué par APO Group pour Gouvernement de la République du Bénin.
The City of Johannesburg has settled its outstanding R5.25 billion electricity debt to Eskom.
The Department of Electricity and Energy and the City of Johannesburg announced on Friday that Eskom had received the final payment, settling accumulated overdue debt of R5 255 421 994.16 owed by the city and City Power.
The settlement follows an intervention and mediation process established by Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, which brought together the city, City Power and Eskom to resolve long-running billing disputes.
The dispute had previously raised concerns over the potential impact on electricity supply in Johannesburg.
Following confirmation of the payment, Eskom withdrew a Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) process initiated on 17 May 2026 to address the outstanding arrears.
Ramokgopa said the resolution demonstrated the effectiveness of the inter-governmental relations model used to resolve the dispute.
“We are pleased to see this matter reach a definitive conclusion,” Ramokgopa said, adding that the process had helped ensure residents and businesses continued to receive an uninterrupted power supply while protecting Eskom’s financial sustainability.
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero described the settlement as a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to improve financial sustainability and responsible governance.
Morero said settling the debt demonstrated the city’s commitment to meeting its obligations while protecting residents and businesses from electricity disruptions.
The city has also committed to keeping future electricity accounts up to date, reducing electricity losses caused by theft and vandalism, and investing in critical infrastructure.
Eskom and City Power will continue working together on infrastructure maintenance, reducing electricity losses and implementing data-sharing protocols aimed at supporting long-term security of electricity supply.
The two entities said their continued cooperation was intended to support reliable electricity supply in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic and financial hub. – SAnews.gov.za
President to answer questions in Parliament this week
President Cyril Ramaphosa will answer questions in the National Assembly this week as Parliament turns its attention to municipal governance, South Africa’s international standing and the work of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
President Ramaphosa is scheduled to answer questions for oral reply at 2pm on Tuesday.
Among the issues expected to come under scrutiny are measures to restore South Africa’s credibility as a Pan-African voice amid protests against foreign nationals, as well as structural reforms aimed at improving municipal capacity, accountability and the delivery of basic services.
The Mkhwanazi committee will also be a key focus. It is due to meet on Monday evening and again on Thursday to consider its draft report. The committee’s reporting deadline was extended by the Speaker of the National Assembly to 11 September.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will hold several question-and-answer sessions during the week.
Ministers in the Peace and Security Cluster will face questions on issues including Truth and Reconciliation Commission reparations, the justice department’s case-management system, correctional-centre overcrowding, cellphone smuggling and the deployment of the army to assist police in combating illegal mining.
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola will also face questions on international developments affecting South Africa, including the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, anti-immigration protests and illegal immigration.
Parliament has 37 committee meetings scheduled from Monday to Friday. Among the issues on committee agendas are foot-and-mouth disease control, immigration backlogs, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, state property recovery, municipal audit outcomes, military deployments and the funding of Parliament.
Both Houses will enter constituency periods from 31 August. The NCOP constituency period will run until 5 October, while the National Assembly’s will end on 21 September. – SAnews.gov.za
Chikunga seeks stronger SA-UAE cooperation on youth empowerment
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has called for stronger cooperation between South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to advance youth empowerment, skills development, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Chikunga held a bilateral meeting with UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Dr Sultan bin Saif Al Neyadi, on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Youth Ministers’ Meeting in Visakhapatnam, India, on Saturday.
The meeting focused on strengthening South Africa – UAE cooperation on youth empowerment, skills development, entrepreneurship, innovation and meaningful youth participation in development.
Chikunga said South Africa is looking forward to expanding bilateral collaboration in areas affecting young people, including young persons with disabilities.
“We are hoping that we can have more collaboration in the areas of exchange programmes, skills development and transfers, including entrepreneurship and innovation between the youth from both our countries,” the Minister said.
The Minister outlined South Africa’s policy framework for youth development, including the National Development Plan 2030, which aims to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty and inequality.
She also highlighted the National Youth Policy, which prioritises the development and empowerment of young people by enhancing their capabilities so that they can become responsible and contributing members of their communities and society.
The policy focuses on education and skills development, economic participation, job creation, entrepreneurship, social cohesion, nation-building and strengthening national youth development institutions.
Chikunga highlighted South Africa’s experience in implementing youth and women empowerment initiatives through partnerships with international stakeholders.
Among these was the Solar Technology Training Programme, also known as the Solar Mamas programme, which was implemented in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organisation (FICCI FLO) and Barefoot College.
The programme aims to empower women through comprehensive training in solar technology, while promoting self-reliance and socio-economic development in communities.
It was supported by several South African stakeholders, including the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the National Youth Development Agency.
The initiative emerged from discussions on women’s empowerment during South Africa’s BRICS Chairship in 2023, with a focus on supporting women to address basic community challenges and contribute to development.
Chikunga reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to strengthening international partnerships that create opportunities for young people and promote their meaningful participation in the economy and society.
She said greater cooperation between countries will help expand opportunities for youth in areas such as skills development, entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology transfer.
The engagement reinforces the importance of international partnerships in creating opportunities for young people and advancing youth-led solutions for sustainable development.
‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ plantation drive
Meanwhile, as part of the BRICS Youth Ministers’ Meeting programme, Chikunga joined delegates in an ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ plantation drive, planting saplings in honour of their mothers.
The delegates also visited the historic Thotlakonda Buddhist heritage site, providing an opportunity to learn about the region’s Buddhist heritage and traditions of cultural exchange.
The BRICS Youth Ministers’ Meeting concluded with the adoption of a joint statement outlining areas for greater cooperation in youth development, education, skills, entrepreneurship, innovation, sports and social participation among member countries. – SAnews.gov.za
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) says it is continuing to investigate the recent sardine mortality event, although no new mass-mortality incidents have been reported since Sunday, 16 August 2026.
The department said the absence of further large-scale incidents suggests that the acute phase of the event may have eased, but monitoring and testing are continuing.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the department reported that approximately 75 sardines have been included in the pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) testing programme to date.
Initial testing by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Rhodes University detected PHV genetic material in 15 fish examined.
“Of these, 10 fish collected from the mortality event showed consistently high viral levels. Viral levels varied among the five fish that were caught alive and appeared healthy at the time of collection,” the department said.
The viral sequence showed a 99.7% match to an Australian PHV gene.
DFFE has also processed approximately 60 additional samples for PHV screening, with preliminary results available for about half of these samples indicate high PHV levels.
The department said confirmatory testing is continuing, while pathological examinations of a further 40 samples are under way to determine whether the fish show the characteristic gill inflammation and damage associated with active PHV disease.
Investigations into other possible causes have not found evidence that harmful algae were the primary cause.
“Paralytic shellfish toxins were not detected, while domoic acid and yessotoxin occurred only at low levels, with the highest concentrations in an apparently healthy comparison sample. Examination of stomach contents and material rinsed from the gills also found no harmful algae at densities likely to have caused the mortality,” the department said.
Unusually cold water and low-oxygen conditions were observed along parts of the West Coast. However, the department said these conditions were broadly similar to those recorded during the recent pelagic recruitment survey prior to the event, when no dead or dying sardines were observed.
The department noted that low oxygen also occurs periodically on the West Coast without previously causing sardine mortality on this scale.
“The apparent restriction of the mortality to sardines makes a general environmental cause less likely, although environmental conditions cannot yet be excluded as contributing stressors.
“Taken together, the evidence increasingly points to PHV as the leading explanation, but its causal role will only be confirmed once the pathological and wider surveillance results are available,” the department said.
The department reiterated that PHV is a fish virus and poses no known risk to human health.
“There is no evidence that it can infect or cause disease in people. Its detection does not, by itself, mean that healthy sardines caught commercially or canned sardine products are unsafe to eat.”
Coordinated response plan
Meanwhile, a high-level task team comprising DFFE, affected municipalities, management authorities, the fishing industry and other relevant stakeholders has held its first meeting and agreed on a coordinated response plan.
The plan includes expanded surveillance and testing, clearer guidance on the disposal of dead fish, public-health communication, and an assessment of the possible impact on the sardine resource.
The public has been urged not to collect, consume or feed dead or dying sardines to pets.
The department will provide further updates as confirmed results become available. – SAnews.gov.za
Stronger BRICS cooperation needed to tackle youth challenges
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has called for stronger cooperation among BRICS countries to equip young people with the skills, opportunities and support needed to thrive in a rapidly changing global economy.
Addressing the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Youth Ministerial Meeting in Visakhapatnam, India, on Saturday, Chikunga said young people across the world continue to face unemployment, poverty, inequality, skills mismatches, and uneven effects of technological and economic change.
She said these challenges require deeper cooperation among BRICS nations in areas such as skills development, entrepreneurship, innovation, digital transformation, education, and youth leadership.
“By investing in youth today, we invest in the resilience, prosperity and sustainability of our nations tomorrow,” Chikunga said.
The Minister held a bilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Dr Sultan bin Saif Al Neyadi, aimed at strengthening South Africa–UAE cooperation in youth empowerment, and skills development.
Chikunga said the meeting reflected the shared commitment of BRICS nations to place young people at the centre of global development.
Prevailing global context
Turning to the global context, Chikunga noted that young people continue to face the challenges of unemployment, poverty, inequality, skills mismatches, and uneven impacts of technological and economic change.
She said these realities demand stronger cooperation among countries to ensure that youth are equipped with the skills, opportunities and support.
“With only 12% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets on track to be met by 2030, the current global reality is untenable, undesirable and unsustainable. All of this makes our meeting particularly significant,” Chikunga said.
Chikunga highlighted South Africa’s investments in youth development through the National Youth Development Agency and the National Youth Service Programme, which have expanded opportunities for volunteerism, civic participation, entrepreneurship and employment support.
She said volunteerism remains an important instrument for promoting social cohesion, active citizenship and people-to-people cooperation among BRICS countries.
The Minister also noted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the implementation of paid voluntary work targeting 100 000 young people in 2026.
Investment in basic and higher education
On education, the Minister highlighted government investment over the past three decades, with expanded access to basic and higher education, and improved opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“At basic education level, in 1994, the matric pass rate stood at around 58%. Three decades later, the Class of 2025 achieved a record breaking National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate of 88%. This is the result of three decades of making education an apex priority of government.
“In higher education and training, we have also honoured the call for the doors of learning and culture to be opened, through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
“From its humble beginnings in the early 1990s, NSFAS has grown from a budget of R33 million in 1991, serving only 7 240 students, to a budget well over R50 billion in 2026, funding over 1.1 million students at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges,” Chikunga said.
The Minister also highlighted the role of South Africa’s social protection programmes, saying they continue to cushion vulnerable young people and their families against poverty and support access to education and economic participation.
Chikunga said the inclusion of young persons with disabilities should also remain a key priority within the BRICS Youth Track.
“We must ensure that young persons with disabilities have equal access to education, skills development, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship support, digital technologies and leadership platforms,” the Minister said.
The Minister emphasised that an inclusive BRICS youth agenda should recognise the contributions of all young people, including women, rural youth, and persons with disabilities.
She reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to peace, stability, and development as essential conditions for young people to realise their full potential.
The Minister welcomed the adoption of the Joint Statement of the BRICS Youth Ministers’ Meeting and the BRICS Youth Cooperation Framework.
“These instruments provide an important basis for continuity, structured cooperation and practical initiatives that will strengthen the BRICS Youth Track and enhance opportunities for our young people. As BRICS continues to evolve, let us ensure that the voices, aspirations, and innovations of young people remain at the heart of our collective agenda,” Chikunga said. – SAnews.gov.za
SA, Zimbabwe businesses urged to build together, create jobs
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South African and Zimbabwean businesses to move beyond trading across borders and instead build joint industries, invest in infrastructure and unlock value from the two countries’ natural resources.
Addressing the South Africa–Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission Business Forum in Midrand on Friday, President Ramaphosa said stronger economic integration between the neighbouring countries should translate into investment, industrial development and jobs, particularly for women and young people.
“Today, solidarity means jobs, investment and a trading relationship that benefits both our peoples,” the President said.
He said bilateral trade had grown significantly, reaching R81 billion in 2025, nearly double its 2021 level.
Zimbabwe is South Africa’s second-largest export destination on the African continent, while South Africa is Zimbabwe’s largest single source of imports from the rest of the world.
However, President Ramaphosa said the trade relationship remained heavily imbalanced, with the value of South African exports to Zimbabwe roughly eight times higher than 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,” he said.
President Ramaphosa said the two countries needed to change this pattern by using the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to strengthen industrialisation, expand intra-African trade and create employment.
“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,” he said.
Business key to turning agreements into jobs
The President stressed that while governments create the policy environment and sign agreements, businesses are responsible for turning those commitments into investment and economic activity.
“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,” the President said.
He said South Africa viewed Zimbabwe as a key regional market and remained optimistic about the Zimbabwean economy, citing strong growth in 2025 driven by mining and agriculture.
President Ramaphosa said greater economic stability would also provide the predictability needed by South African exporters and investors to commit capital at scale.
Beitbridge and regional corridors
Infrastructure development was another key focus of the President’s address, particularly efforts to improve the movement of goods between the two countries.
He highlighted progress at the Beitbridge Border Post, the main commercial border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, where modernisation through public-private partnerships and dedicated traffic lanes has helped reduce average truck crossing times to roughly 14 hours.
“The One-Stop Border Post is under development. Customs processes are being aligned,” he said.
President Ramaphosa said these improvements formed part of a much broader vision for regional trade corridors linking the Port of Durban with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“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,” he said.
He said the region should develop corridors that serve not only as routes for traded goods, but as platforms for industrialisation, commerce and employment. – SAnews.gov.za
Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) will be hosting the 5th iteration of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) from today, bringing together a broad spectrum of stakeholders including investors, financial institutions, policymakers, thought leaders and other critical partners, to drive South Africa’s infrastructure investment mandate.
This year the Symposium themed: “Shaping the future of municipal infrastructure”, will focus on strengthening government’s capacity to build future-ready, resilient and sustainable municipal infrastructure.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is the convener of the event, which will see Ministers, large asset owners, leading private investors, fund managers, developers, technology innovators, key advisors and others gathering under one roof.
SIDSSA is the annual flagship event organised by the Investment and Infrastructure Office (IIO) within The Presidency.
The symposium is expected to commence with a site visit this morning to the Cape Flats Recharge Project conducted by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson joined by Ministers and Mayors from the continent.
The Cape Flats Aquifer Recharge Project is an award-winning municipal water project.
Following the site visit, Macpherson and Head of Infrastructure South Africa Mameetse Masemola are expected to brief the media on the progress of Strategic Integrated Projects, Status of the Project Preparation Pipeline and important milestones of the Adopt-A-Municipality Pilot Programme.
Since its inception in 2020, the symposium has played a pivotal role in strengthening the national infrastructure pipeline, mobilising funding and addressing systemic delivery challenges.
SIDSSA 2026 will showcase progress across Strategic Integrated Projects, Project Preparation Funding initiatives and the Infrastructure Fund pipeline, while advancing international partnerships and expanding investment opportunities across key sectors including energy, water and sanitation, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, agriculture and human settlements.
The 2026 edition will further emphasise ISA’s continued support to provinces and municipalities, reinforcing infrastructure as a driver of sustainable economic growth. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Cindy Hendrikse, PhD in aviation law, University of Cape Town
The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a specialised UN agency responsible for developing standards, oversight and monitoring, is leading the advancement of the global air traffic management system through the Global Air Navigation Plan. The introduction of automated air traffic control systems aims to improve the operational safety and efficiency of air traffic controllers. But these automated systems could introduce new risks.
Around the world, air navigation service providers offer a range of services, including air traffic control. The majority of these service providers are modernising their communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems in line with the global plan. This is to accommodate the growing number of flights while improving efficiency, reducing costs and lowering aviation’s environmental impact.
South Africa has been part of this global trend. The South African Air Traffic and Navigation Service has employed numerous automated systems to enhance operational efficiencies in line with global standards.
During my career as an air traffic services officer in Johannesburg, I provided flight information services to aircraft, coordinated international flights with neighbouring countries, conducted high frequency radio communications with aircraft over South African oceanic airspace, assisted with search and rescue missions and participated in the replacement of various outdated air traffic control systems. Much of the work involved implementing automated technologies designed to improve air traffic controllers’ performance and ultimately increase airspace capacity and efficiency.
But a noticeable increase in South African aviation incidents was reported over four years. During 2021-2022, a 69% increase in general aviation accidents and a 77% increase in incidents were reported over the previous year. Also, air traffic controllers’ incident and confidential hazard reports increased significantly in 2023-2024.
These increases raised the question: if the technology was intended to improve safety, why were there more incidents?
My doctoral research examined this question by exploring the effects of automation on air traffic controllers and analysing the international, regional and national regulatory frameworks governing these technologies. The findings suggest that the answer lies not in the technology alone, but in the complex interaction between air traffic controllers, automated systems and regulations.
Key findings from a survey included air traffic controllers’ complacency, overreliance and the diminishing of manual skills, while automation failures increased their workload. While participants indicated that they did not trust artificial intelligence (AI) to do their work, no participant knew how AI was already employed in their operations. The legislative analyses unveiled various shortcomings at international, national and operational levels.
Technology changes jobs
Automation is often presented as a way of reducing human error and workload. In air traffic management, automated systems can process large amounts of information, monitor aircraft movements and assist air traffic controllers. But introducing automation does not eliminate the human role. Instead, it changes it.
Air traffic controllers are moving from actively separating traffic to monitoring systems and intervening when necessary. While this can reduce workload in some situations, it can also create new cognitive challenges.
The study of human factors examines human strengths and limitations to explain why incidents occur. It has identified several risks associated with highly automated environments. Air traffic controllers may become over-trusting of automated systems, a phenomenon known as automation bias. An air traffic controller’s mental picture of what is happening on the radar and around them, termed situational awareness, can decline, resulting in increased complacency. This happens when an air traffic controller spends more time monitoring automated systems than actively controlling traffic. Skills that are rarely used may deteriorate over time.
These challenges do not necessarily indicate poor performance. Instead, they reflect predictable human responses to changes in how work is organised and performed.
New technology can create new risks
As part of my research, I surveyed air traffic controllers from the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
One of the identified risks was that training programmes did not fully prepare air traffic controllers for the practical realities of operating the automated system. Procedures developed for older systems did not align with the capabilities and limitations of the automated systems. Civil aviation authorities may lack the skills to detect the slow, invisible shift in daily work away from safety procedures, known as operational drift, that occurs after implementation.
Another risk is that the failure of automated systems can result in a significant increase in air traffic controllers’ workload. The timing of the increased workload matters. If it happens when air traffic controllers have developed an overreliance on these systems, they may no longer have the necessary experience to control air traffic procedurally.
In some cases, the automated system performs exactly as designed, but air traffic controllers interact with it in ways that system developers did not anticipate. Electronic flight strips exemplify how air traffic controllers still favour writing on paper to record flight information, as typing could hinder their efficiency during busy times.
The majority of air traffic controllers surveyed confirmed that most automated systems were not inter-operable and that they used temporary nonstandard procedures or manual interventions to bypass system limitations. In other words, they used “workarounds”. As a result, incidents occurred, such as reduced separation between aircraft, which could cause a collision.
These new risks raises a further important question: who would be liable for an accident if an air traffic controller had to rely on these “workarounds” to control air traffic?
Regulation has struggled to keep pace
The challenges are not limited to operational environments. They extend to international, regional and national legislators too.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation recognises the rapidly growing role of automation and AI. However, it is unable to keep pace with it. Making standards is a lengthy process.
Another shortcoming is that no explicit international standard requires automated air traffic control systems and AI to be certified by national regulators. Only as recently as 2023 did the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, for example, propose establishing a new regulatory framework for certifying automated systems.
In South Africa, the South African Civil Aviation Authority complies with the international standards and therefore also does not require automated air traffic control systems to be certified. The authority reported a shortage of skilled technical inspectors and therefore would need automation and AI-skilled inspectors to certify systems in the future.
As automation becomes more sophisticated, responsibility for safety is becoming a shared responsibility among system designers, regulators, service providers and air traffic controllers.
A lesson for the age of AI
Technology does not operate in isolation. Its success depends on the people who use it, the organisations that implement it and the regulatory systems that govern it. When incidents occur, the explanation is rarely as simple as blaming automation or the human operator. Interactions across the entire system shape safety outcomes.
As governments and industries turn to automation and AI to solve complex problems, the aviation sector demonstrates that introducing AI is not simply a technical challenge. It is also a human, organisational and regulatory one.
Aviation regulators will have to revise current legislation to determine how they will certify and oversee it, regulate AI and air traffic controller liability, and consider their role in this complex system.
– Air traffic control is becoming more automated. Is regulation keeping up? – https://theconversation.com/air-traffic-control-is-becoming-more-automated-is-regulation-keeping-up-288444
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Peter Lambertz, Research associate, Centre d’anthropologie culturelle, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Road transportation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has received much scholarly attention. Some studies have examined the urban landscape (p.142). Others have studied transportation in the context of armed conflict in the east of the country, where roadblocks are a pronounced feature.
The Congo Basin’s inland waterways, of which 25,000km are classified as navigable, have been studied with regard to the taxation regime of larger pushboat-barge convoys. The less far-reaching scale of small- and medium-scale river transportation, however, so far has been less studied. This is despite the overwhelming reliance of cities such as Kinshasa, Mbandaka and Kisangani on these smaller craft.
A significant part of the traffic on these waterways is handled today by wooden cargo ships called baleinières (literally “whaleboats” in English). Measuring between 20 and 40 metres in length, these locally developed, handcrafted vessels connect the ever-growing cities with crop-producing communities in the rainforest hinterlands along distant fertile riverbanks.
Baleinières have been the focus of my ongoing research, centred mainly on the city of Kisangani in DR Congo’s Tshopo province. I have been interested in the emergence, transformation, materials and socio-technical realities of these handmade watercraft, their propulsion system and their crews. I have also paid attention to the systemic character of their artisanal infrastructure and its reliance on traditional environmental knowledge.
Wooden baleinières date back to the early 1960s. But since the 1990s they have been crucial to the reinvention of a transport system across the Congo Basin. These wooden ships ensure the food security of central Africa’s riverine cities, including the continent’s third-largest city, Kinshasa. They also connect the national capital to many of the country’s provinces.
Owing to a lack of statistics and limited research to date, reliable figures are available only for Kisangani, a city of two million at the upper end of the navigable Congo river. Here, about 80 baleinières arrive in the private secondary ports of the city every month, each carrying an average of 150 tons of goods and around 150 passengers.
Kinshasa, a city of 17 million, is estimated to welcome several hundred baleinières every month.
Map showing the Congo River drainage basin.Kmusser/Wikimedia Commons
There is still a lack of detailed research into the complex socio-technical factors underlying these accidents, as well as into how hundreds of people cope with them every year. Key factors include structural weaknesses of the ships and lack of professional training and safe operation in a context of economic urgency.
Entirely the product of local, frugal innovation, these ships have been developed out of necessity. This accounts for their affordability, their uncompromising efficiency, and their capacity to operate without infrastructure like fortified harbours, cranes and docks, within a dynamic environment.
The Congo’s wooden ships encapsulate the realities and the paradoxes of Congolese life today. A grassroots technical and economic ingenuity secures the food supply of millions, yet enjoys no encouragement or protection against divisive, unregulated capitalism. This capitalism wears on the bodies of people and ships alike. Owners, crews, and the traders they carry shield themselves by working alone on the basis of interpersonal ties.
Origins, materials and propulsion
The colonial ancestors that gave the baleinières their name were nine-metre, deckless, engineless vessels riveted from prefabricated Belgian steel and towed behind steamers to carry building materials. Today only the name survives. The prototypes of wooden baleinières were built in the early 1960s by André “Bibeyi”, a Congolese craftsman who fused colonial carpentry skills with local traditional knowledge.
Bibeyi crafted the frame with local hardwoods and sealed it with bitumen, n’kasa ya kwanga leaves and strips of recycled aluminium sheet. The hull he made of the soft tola wood, the preferred timber for dugouts. In the 1980s and 1990s Bibeyi’s colleagues and their offspring opened shipyards on nearly all major waterways. In 2007, boat builders from Lake Kivu, in eastern DRC, introduced the Indian Ocean ship building tradition to Tshopo province. The presence of both these two building and caulking styles at the upper end of the navigable Congo spurred creativity among younger Congolese builders.
In the late 2000s, baleinières were further improved by converting low-cost Chinese-made diesel engines into a new propulsion system. Local mechanics soon modified the cooling system and started adding more engines as the ships could now grow in size.
Video: river transport in the Congo river.
Beyond cost and simple spare parts, the advantage of this new propulsion system was that when one engine needed repair, the others kept running. So there were no more real breakdowns. What had been a makeshift solution for occasional travel gradually became a regular and reliable transport system.
Baleinières are indeed one of the DR Congo’s very few locally developed and exported technologies. Congolese shipbuilders have opened mobile shipyards in the neighbouring countries of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), the Central African Republic and Cameroon.
Baleinières are floating microcosms of life in the DR Congo today. They embody, in short, what French anthropologist Marcel Mauss (1966) called a total social fact: their material constitution incorporates different layers of the DR Congo’s history, while their operation reveals the country’s geographic, economic, political, infrastructural and cultural realities.
Enabling an economy of survival
Across the DR Congo, decades of demographic growth and disintegrating long-distance connectivity have shifted the centralised colonial system — once funnelling towards Kinshasa — into a patchwork of disconnected territorial islands. Baleinières developed to meet the need for medium-range transport around them.
The craft carry food (rice, cassava, palm oil, poultry, caterpillars, local spirits, livestock, bushmeat, fish) to the city. They haul back to the villages manufactured goods (roofing sheets, furniture, motorbikes, mattresses, medical drugs, mosquito nets, phones, flipflops, clothes).
They also carry the traders themselves, as the economy they serve allows small-scale traders to earn a modest living with little or no starting capital. They are a window into the economic reality of most Congolese, who live day to day in a popular economy of survival. Because the thin margin of a trade is too easily lost if entrusted to anyone else, one travels with one’s goods. Officials who cite nocturnal navigation as a main cause of accidents often forget that, if one cannot travel at night, only half the trade journeys can be made, leaving little chance to make ends meet.
Artisanal infrastructure
The system’s secret lies in how it meets the infrastructural challenges of river transport. Top of these challenges is loading and unloading under ever-changing water levels, without fortified harbours, cranes and the like. A baleinière’s operability rests on the skilled integration of engineered, muscular and natural forces, through kinetic solidarity and learned technique.
One such artisanal infrastructure is “kotindika”: when the loaded ship settles onto the riverbed, porters wade in and push it into deeper water. Since a ship’s stewards are always porters too, a baleinière with two dugouts serving as mobile gangways effectively carries its own port, loading or unloading wherever it wants.
The system is more inclusive than “hard” transport infrastructure: hundreds of porters, stewards and their families depend on it. It is also cheaper and more adaptable.
Local river markets rise and fade at shifting stopover locations, in tune with the rainforest’s yearly production cycle and the volatile purchasing power of travelling traders.
However, driven by a weekly rhythm their passengers dictate, few crew members can spare the time or money for training, maintenance, or rest. Baleinières are a solution, but a double-edged one.
At the same time, state services tap into this economy through taxation and hassles in the ports of river towns.
A few development initiatives have tried to fix the accident problem by regulating the design and construction of vessels in accordance with foreign standards. Their impact has been limited because these initiatives do not account for local operational realities. This is a phenomenon known as a “revenge of contexts”.
However, the baleinière phenomenon has grown so vast, and the need for transport too pressing, to leave the system as it is. Any future initiative hinges on its embeddedness in local communities of practitioners and their existing ways of doing, speaking and operating.
– DR Congo’s riverboat economy – how a floating transport system tells the country’s story – https://theconversation.com/dr-congos-riverboat-economy-how-a-floating-transport-system-tells-the-countrys-story-288941
