Category: Africa

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Cape Town Energy Conference to Highlight Somali Energy Opportunities with High-Level Delegation

Source: APO


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Somalia’s energy opportunities are expected to be a key feature of this year’s African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference, with Dahir Shire Mohamed, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Abdulkadir Aden Mohamud, CEO of Chairman of the Somali Petroleum Authority, speaking. Their participation comes as Somalia targets new exploration and production frontiers, striving to identify, develop and unlock value from its underexplored hydrocarbon basins.

AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 presents a strategic platform for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Somali Petroleum Authority to engage with potential investors. As the premier meeting place for the African energy sector, the event unites leading exploration and production firms with African governments and policymakers, with a view to driving investment across the entire energy sector and its value chain. The participation of the Somali delegation not only reflects the country’s commitment to attracting investment in its untapped energy prospects, but its drive to engage with regional and global counterparts.

AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

As a largely underexplored oil and gas market, Somalia offers lucrative prospects for explorers seeking play-opening discoveries in frontier markets in Africa. While initial exploration efforts halted in the 1980s, a renewed drive by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to attract investment and innovation across oil and gas basins is creating promising avenues for global companies and regional neighbors. Notably, in March 2024, Somalia signed an agreement with Turkey granting it exclusive rights to explore and produce hydrocarbons in three offshore blocks. Under the terms of the agreement, Turkish vessel Oruç Reis will be deployed to identify exploration and drilling opportunities over an area covering 5,000 km². The first phase of exploration comprises the acquisition of 3D seismic data to identify potential oil deposits. As of October 2024, the seismic research vessel was dispatched to Somalia.

The development is just one of many agreements signed by companies seeking forays into Somalia’s oil and gas frontier. Turkey’s state-owned energy company TPAO also signed a deal with the Somali government for joint onshore exploration in Somalia. The agreement will see TPAO carry out oiland gas research operations inland Somalia. Additionally, an agreement was signed between the Somali government and Liberty Petroleum in 2024, granting the company exploration rights for three offshore blocks within the country’s deepwater zone.

These agreements follow a deal signed between the Somali government and Coastline Exploration in 2022 for seven blocks. Coastline Exploration committed to conducting a 3D seismic campaign, targeting new drilling prospects. A 2D seismic acquisition program led by TGS in 2014 showcased the potential for up to 30 billion barrels of crude across 15 blocks in the country, underscoring the level of potential across the offshore margin. To unlock this potential, more investment in needed in both seismic acquisition and frontier drilling. AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 will be a strategic platform for advancing expenditure across Somali’s market, with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources set to outline commercial prospects.

Meanwhile, as the country’s petroleum regulator, the Somali Petroleum Authority is at the helm of attracting investment across Somalia’s exploration plays. The organization has been engaging with potential operators in recent years, revising existing regulation and promoting acreage with a view to entice new players to the market. Notable developments include the revision of the country’s Production Sharing Contract model and Tender Protocol, both of which were designed in parallel with the country’s launch of its 2020 licensing round. Fiscal terms associated with these documents reflect the government’s intention to attracting new capital to the market. During AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025, the Somali Petroleum Authority is expected to shed light on these policies.

“As one of Africa’s final frontiers for oil and gas exploration, Somalia offers significant opportunities for exploration and production companies. Recent agreements signal a renewed push by international stakeholders to unlock the potential of Somalia’s oil and gas market, while regulatory developments led by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Somali Petroleum Authority reflect the commitment of the government to working with investors,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Week.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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Justice Minister saddened by the passing of Judge Tlhapi

Source: Government of South Africa

Friday, August 29, 2025

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has sent condolences on the passing of Judge Vuyelwa Vivienne Tlhapi.

Tlhapi, who served at the Gauteng North High Court in Pretoria, passed away last week Thursday. She was widely respected for her analytical jurisprudence, integrity and commitment to strengthening the rule of law.  

Throughout her distinguished career, Tlhapi advanced justice, accountability and good governance through landmark rulings, including the restoration of the AmaRharhabe kingship, the order compelling the release of records relating to the Nkandla project, and judgments reinforcing principles of fair process. 

Tlhapi devoted her life to public service, beginning as a Magistrate, progressing through private practice where she co-founded her own firms, and serving as an Independent Electoral Commission commissioner during South Africa’s first democratic elections.

She was selected for the pioneering Bridget Mabandla Aspirant Judges Programme and appointed a judge in 2010, earning a reputation for fairness, integrity, and dedication to constitutional and administrative justice.

Kubayi has extended her heartfelt condolences to Tlhapi’s family, colleagues and the broader legal fraternity.

“The justice family is poorer with the passing of Judge Tlhapi. Her unwavering commitment to justice, transparency, and fairness has left an enduring legacy in our courts,” said Kubayi – SAnews.gov.za 

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President Ramaphosa arrives in Zimbabwe for working visit

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe, at the invitation of His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, for a working visit.

The President will also participate, as a Guest of Honour, in the Official Opening of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Show is an annual event organised by the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society to facilitate and promote agricultural development in the country.

This year, the show will be celebrating its 130th Anniversary since its founding in 1895 and will run under the theme “Building Bridging: Connecting Agriculture, Industry and Commerce”.

In 2024, the show attracted 570 exhibitors, including 13 international exhibitors. About 230 000 visitors visited the show last year.
The visit will also provide the President with an opportunity to solidify the cordial relations that exist between South Africa and Zimbabwe, particularly in the economic sector.

“The Zimbabwe Agricultural Show will also help promote intra-regional trade and economic integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“Zimbabwe is one of South Africa’s main trading partners in the SADC region. In 2024, South Africa exported R 69,21 billion worth of goods and merchandise to Zimbabwe compared to R 57,5 billion in 2023. Vegetables were the main exports and contributed R11,9 billion to the total exports to Zimbabwe,” the Presidency said on Friday.

In terms of imports, in 2024, South Africa imported R5.4 billion worth of goods and merchandise from Zimbabwe compared to R R4.4billion in 2023.

Over 120 South African companies are doing business in Zimbabwe in various sectors including, among others, mining, aviation, tourism, banking, property, retail, construction and fast food.

Former President Nelson Mandela had graced this event as a Guest of Honour on 26 August 1994.

During the working visit, President Ramaphosa will be supported by the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes, and senior government officials. –SAnews.gov.za

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Operation Vala Umgodi nets 215 suspects

Source: Government of South Africa

Friday, August 29, 2025

The South African Police Service’s nationwide Operation Vala Umgodi has led to the arrest of 215 suspects of different nationalities.

“These suspects were arrested for illegal mining related offences and various other serious crimes such as unlawful possession of explosives, unlawful possession of unlicensed firearms, illegal possession of gold bearing material, illegal possession of precious metals, possession of gold processing equipment and contravention of the Immigration Act,” the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

The arrests were effected between 18 and 24 August.

Meanwhile, members deployed under Operation Vala Umgodi have secured yet another effective jail sentence for two Mozambican nationals. On 20 August, the Polokwane Regional Court sentenced 28-year-old Adam Sithole and 22-year-old Musa Mlambo to 10 years direct imprisonment each after they were convicted of charges relating to unlawful mining and contravention of the Immigration Act.

“Operation Vala Umgodi is a testament to the government’s commitment to combating these criminal networks and protecting the country’s mineral resources,” the police said. – SAnews.gov.za

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SA appoints economic experts to produce G20 report on global wealth inequality

Source: Government of South Africa

With the state of global inequality set to worsen, South Africa’s Group of Twenty (G20) Presidency has launched a historic initiative that will deliver a report on global inequality.

“South Africa’s G20 Presidency is proud to launch an initiative that will target this issue of global wealth inequality – a first for the G20 – and offer a practical way forward. 

“We are honored to host a group of the world’s most respected economic experts, led by Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, to produce a report that will be presented to G20 Leaders,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

The President commissioned an Extraordinary Committee to produce a report on global inequality amid macroeconomic fears that global wealth and income inequality, which was already very high, is set to sharply accelerate.

Recent analysis shows that the world’s richest 1% have increased their wealth by more than US$33.9 trillion in real terms, since 2015 – more than enough to eliminate annual global poverty 22 times over.

New shocks to global trade patterns, international financing and critical minerals flows, along with the intensification of problems created by sovereign debt overhang and imbalanced tax regimes, are creating uncertainties for policymakers, consumers and firms, and look likely to deepen the divide.

According to The Presidency, inequality of this scale poses a serious systemic risk to global economic, social and political progress.

The six independent experts are Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz (Nobel Economics Prize Laureate, USA); Dr Adriana E. Abdenur (Brazil); Ms Winnie Byanyima (Uganda); Professor Jayati Ghosh (India); Professor Imraan Valodia (South Africa), and Dr Wanga Zembe-Mkabile (South Africa). 

The experts will report on the state of wealth and income inequality, their impacts on growth, poverty and multilateralism, and present a menu of effective solutions for leaders.

“People across the world know how extreme inequality undermines their dignity and chance for a better future. They saw the brutal unfairness of vaccine apartheid, where millions in the Global South were denied the vaccines to save them. 

“They see the impacts of rising food and energy prices, debt and trade wars, all driving this growing gap between the rich and the rest of the world, undermining progress and economic dynamism. A new oligarchy in our global economy is becoming apparent,” the President said.

Stiglitz said inequality has widened to extremes that threaten democracy itself and should be a concern of all.

“…The profound rise in the discontents of mismanaged globalisation, which in many places has contributed to this growth of inequality, is also evident. 

“Inequality was always a choice – and G20 nations have the power to choose a different path on a range of economic and social policies. I am grateful to President Ramaphosa for placing inequality as central to the G20 agenda.

“The burgeoning body of scholarship on the causes of, and ways of reducing inequality, can help us to redress the great divide that has grown enormously in recent years. Our task must now be to translate the evidence and public’s palpable anger at the great divide into sound, practical and transformative policy proposals for G20 leaders,” he said.

Professor Ghosh, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said policymakers the world over are asking for evidence-based, practicable strategies to reduce inequality – and a new playbook to deal with the fractured and financialised 21st century political economy.

“It is a great privilege to have an opportunity to address this, provided by South Africa’s G20 Presidency. We must move away from depending on economic orthodoxies that generate business-as-usual strategies rather than grappling with complex and inconvenient truths.

“The longer-term trend of worsening inequality reflects ongoing processes accentuated by shocks, from the 2008 financial crisis to the 2020 pandemic. We now see a “perfect storm” of shocks, from tariffs being weaponised to push for deregulation, to the slashing of life-saving aid, to uncertainty affecting private investment and employment — all in the context of worsening climate change,” Ghosh said.

These further increase the wealth of the rich and aggravate poverty and insecurity among the majority. 

“This makes our work all the more urgent,” she emphasised.

Further details of experts are as follows:

  • Professor Joseph Stiglitz (USA): a Nobel Laureate in Economics; university professor at Columbia University and chief economist of the Roosevelt Institute.
  • Dr Adriana E. Abdenur (Brazil): a Brazilian social scientist, former Special Advisor in International Affairs in the office of President Lula of Brazil; co-founder of the Brazilian think tank, Plataforma CIPÓ, and current co-President of the Global Fund for a New Economy (GFNE).
  • Ms Winnie Byanyima (Uganda): Executive Director of UNAIDS and an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations; Convenor of the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, and co-founder and co-chair of the People’s Medicines Alliance.
  • Professor Jayati Ghosh (India): Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Co-Chair: International Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation.
  • Professor Imraan Valodia (South Africa): Professor of Economics; Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, and Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand.
  • Dr Wanga Zembe-Mkabile (South Africa): Senior Specialist Scientist in the Health Systems Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council, and an Extraordinary Professor at the UWC School of Public Health.

The G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Wealth Inequality is a special project located in the G20 Sherpa’s Office in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za

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Gauteng government condemns intimidation of private vehicle owners

Source: Government of South Africa

Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela has strongly condemned reports of alleged intimidation, and coercion of commuters and private vehicle owners by some public transport operators. 

“Any form of bullying or coercion on our roads is unacceptable. Our officers are actively intervening to protect the public and uphold peace. 

“Commuters’ constitutional right to choose their preferred mode of transport is fully protected,” the MEC said on Thursday.

In January 2025, the Department of Roads and Transport established the Public Transport Crisis Committee, chaired by the MEC, and sits on Fridays, to coordinate with all stakeholders in the taxi, bus, e-hailing and scholar transport sectors.

“We are bringing all industry stakeholders under one roof to ensure that operations comply with the law and that commuters are treated fairly,” the MEC said.

She has also cautioned public transport users against making use of unregistered e-hailing operations and encouraged commuters to utilise recognised, legal and known platforms. 

“Law enforcement has been deployed in areas where illegal practices have been reported. Gauteng residents deserve a safe, reliable, and lawful transport system. We are committed to ensuring that every commuter can travel without any form of fear or intimidation,” Diale-Tlabela said.

The department’s Gauteng Transport Inspectorate (GTI) continues to work in restoring law and order on the province’s public roads. 

This week, the GTI was able to impound over 16 vehicles for various offences, including for illegal operations and vehicle unroadworthiness.

Enforcement operations, including vehicle impoundment, are conducted in line with the National Land Transport Act.

READ | Maponya Mall shooting a threat to public transport system stability

“We will not allow lawlessness, illegal operations and unroadworthy vehicles to put commuters’ lives at risk.

“Our law enforcement teams are on the ground to ensure peace, enforce compliance and lawful operations at all times. The safety and rights of our commuters are non-negotiable,” Diale-Tlabela said. – SAnews.gov.za

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Na República Democrática do Congo (RD Congo), Nações Unidas (ONU) analisa chance de retorno à casa para refugiados após processos de paz

Source: Africa Press Organisation – Portuguese –

Baixar .tipo

Alto comissário Filippo Grandi visitou também Ruanda, o país vizinho, para tratar da crise de deslocados; expectativa é que volta ao lar seja gradual; mais de 1,3 milhão congoleses entram em Burundi, Ruanda e Uganda após onda de violência.

O alto comissário das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados, Filippo Grandi, está visitando a República Democrática do Congo, RD Congo*, e Ruanda, a nação vizinha, em busca de soluções para a crise de refugiados.

Na RD Congo, ele se reuniu com o presidente, Félix Tshisekedi, e com diversos ministros de Estado. . depois, ele embarca para Ruanda onde também pretende se encontrar com integrantes do governo.

Retorno gradual
Após os processos de paz entre RD Congo e Ruanda, é hora de aproveitar a oportunidade de tratar do tema dos deslocados e como os dois países podem cooperar.

Nesta entrevista à Rádio Okapi, a emissora gerida pela Missão de Paz da ONU na RD Congo, Monusco, Filippo Grandi disse que o processo de volta ao lar não deve ser feito da noite para o dia.

Grandi enfatizou que não espera que o resultado seja um grande movimento de retorno, mas sim algo gradual, “a depender da evolução do processo político”.

Dados da Agência da ONU para Refugiados, Acnur, indicam que, nos últimos três anos, mais de 1,3 milhão refugiados congoleses foram registrados em Ruanda, Burundi e Uganda. No entanto, apenas 13,4 mil foram repatriadas pela agência até o momento.

Condições precárias de vida
O alto comissário sublinha que as condições precárias de vida dos refugiados e deslocados não podem passar despercebidas.

Ele pediu por ações coordenadas para responder a esta crise humanitária, incluindo meios materiais, garantia de que os regressos serão voluntários e proteção para que os refugiados, que decidem voltar à casa, não sofram injustiças ou abusos.

O Acnur desempenha um papel facilitador nesse processo, com ênfase em garantias jurídicas e na vontade de cada refugiado.

*Com informação de Joyce de Pina e Ronely Ntibonera da Rádio Okapi, em Kinshasa.

Distribuído pelo Grupo APO para UN News.

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Senegal’s rating downgrade: credit agencies are punishing countries that don’t check their numbers

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Daniel Cash, Reader in Law, Aston University

Senegal’s dramatic two-notch credit rating downgrade in February 2025 by the credit rating agency Moody’s was followed by a Standard & Poor’s downgrade in July.

Moody’s decision marked a three-notch deterioration in Senegal’s rating in four months. The scale of the revisions was rare, especially for countries not already in default or active restructuring.

The ratings collapse triggered a selloff in Senegal’s Eurobonds. It also cast a shadow over the country’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

More broadly, it sent a signal about how the credit rating agencies are now responding to governance failures, not just macroeconomic trends. For others watching closely, this was not just a market correction, it was a warning.

So why did it happen?

A report released by Moody’s in July 2025 on “large, unaccounted for debt increases” provides context. The report looked at how fiscal transparency failures – situations where governments provide incomplete, outdated or inaccurate information about their debts and budgets – undermine sovereign creditworthiness. This applies globally, not just to African countries.

Moody’s research centres on stock-flow adjustments. This is the gap between how much a government’s total debt rises in a year, and what that increase should be, based on the officially reported budget deficit. In other words, if a country runs a US$5 billion deficit, you would expect its debt to rise by about US$5 billion. When that debt increases by much more (or less), it suggests that something is missing or misreported in the official data.

The research demonstrates a clear correlation between large stock-flow adjustments and weaker governance scores.

Moody’s downgrade of Senegal’s sovereign rating, and its research report, underscore how transparency and governance issues are increasingly influencing sovereign credit assessments. Rating agencies have improved their methodologies to capture these risks. Governance factors now represent about 25% of sovereign ratings across major agency frameworks.

In addition, transparency issues are showing up as a stumbling block in debt restructuring negotiations. Zambia’s restructuring process took 3.5 years (2021-2024), partly due to transparency complications. Ethiopia’s ongoing restructuring (since 2021) demonstrates similar challenges. For its part, Ghana’s relatively faster process benefited from greater initial debt transparency.

As a researcher who has looked closely at the working of rating agencies, I suggest that Moody’s comprehensive analysis provides governments with a diagnostic tool as well as an early warning system for potential transparency issues.

The message for sovereign debt managers is clear: in an era of enhanced transparency requirements and sophisticated rating methodologies, the quality of fiscal data has become inseparable from creditworthiness.

Early warning signs

Moody’s research found that large and persistent stock-flow adjustments often signal weak fiscal transparency. And that, over time, they reflect incomplete reporting and weak expenditure controls.

Critically, Moody’s noted that

frontier markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have experienced the biggest stock-flow adjustments over the past decade.

There are many technical drivers behind stock-flow adjustments. Many are often legitimate. These can include debt management operations, asset acquisitions, arrears clearance and statistical revisions.

But Moody’s research pointed out that these technical reasons accounted for only half of the stock-flow adjustments. The other half remained unexplained – an indicator Moody’s treats as a serious red flag for fiscal credibility.

Senegal’s transparency failures

Senegal’s situation exemplifies how transparency gaps can rapidly destabilise sovereign credit profiles.

Following the March 2024 election audit findings by Senegal’s Inspectorate of Public Finances, its Court of Auditors report revealed “substantially weaker fiscal metrics” with “central government debt at close to 100% of GDP in 2023, around 25 percentage points higher than previously published”.

The scale of the revisions was unprecedented: debt-to-GDP ratios jumped from a reported 74.4% to 99.7% for end-2023. The fiscal deficit was revised upward from 4.9% to 12.3% of GDP.

Moody’s assessment was unambiguous:

The scale and nature of the discrepancies portray a much more limited fiscal space and higher funding needs than previously thought, while also indicating material past governance deficiencies.

The rating impact was swift and severe. Moody’s downgraded Senegal’s rating to B3 from B1 in February 2025, changing the outlook to negative, following an earlier downgrade from Ba3 in October 2024.

Senegal’s debt metrics reflect the severity of the fiscal challenge. The International Monetary Fund estimates Senegal’s debt reached 105.7% of GDP by end-2024, with gross financing requirements – the total amount the government needs to repay and borrow again to keep functioning – projected at around 20% of GDP in 2025 by the Senegalese budget.

The International Monetary Fund suspended its US$1.8 billion Extended Credit Facility in June 2024 following the misreporting discovery. However, the fund, in a note on negotiations during an August 2025 staff visit that was focused on working with Senegal in light of the post-election audits, wrote:

The IMF staff team commended the Senegalese authorities on their commitment to fiscal transparency and accountability, following their disclosure of the large misreporting that occurred over the past few years.

Troubling patterns

Moody’s emphasises that stock-flow adjustments occur across all regions and income levels. But the persistence and magnitude differ significantly by region. Recent African cases demonstrate particularly troubling patterns.

Some examples include:

Why this matters

The economic logic of the correlation between large stock-flow adjustments and weaker governance scores is straightforward. Persistent positive stock-flow adjustments indicate that fiscal deficits may not accurately represent government financing needs. As Moody’s explains:

when stock-flow adjustments are positive, a higher primary balance is required to stabilise debt over the long term.

This creates both fiscal and credibility challenges that rating agencies must incorporate into their assessments.

For countries with histories of significant adjustments, Moody’s notes it may

make a more negative assessment of fiscal policy effectiveness.

Transparency matters too because a lack of it can complicate debt restructuring efforts. An example is negotiations under the G20 Common Framework, which aims to coordinate debt relief among official and private creditors.

The process depends on clear and comprehensive debt data to determine how much relief is needed, and who should provide it. When key debts are hidden, disputed, or poorly recorded, the entire negotiation slows down, or stalls entirely.

The way forward

The convergence of rating methodology enhancements and transparency requirements creates both challenges and opportunities for sovereign borrowers.

Improving fiscal data systems is no longer merely a technical accounting exercise. It’s a strategy for maintaining market access and creditworthiness.

The rating agency response suggests this trend will intensify.

For emerging and frontier market sovereigns, there are clear incentives for transparency improvements. Research shows governance improvements lead to decreased “spreads” in the market, while poor governance adds 50-200 basis points to sovereign spreads.

In other words, for sovereign borrowers, it pays to demonstrate better governance; investors clearly respond positively to the prospect of investing in borrowers who have clearly defined and transparent governance structures.

From warning to opportunity

Senegal’s case illustrates how transparency failures can trigger rapid and severe credit deterioration. But it also demonstrates the rating agencies’ increasing sophistication in detecting and penalising such weaknesses.

Sovereign borrowers shouldn’t view enhanced transparency requirements as burdensome oversight. They are opportunities to reduce borrowing costs.

– Senegal’s rating downgrade: credit agencies are punishing countries that don’t check their numbers
– https://theconversation.com/senegals-rating-downgrade-credit-agencies-are-punishing-countries-that-dont-check-their-numbers-261583

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President Ramaphosa receives National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) Report as term of Council draws to a close

Source: APO


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President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the close-out report of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC). 

The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council was set up in September 2022 to guide the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and, among other things, to advise on strengthening the state’s anti-corruption architecture. 

The Council has therefore remained a vital element in the fight against corruption. 

In reflecting on the end of the three-year term of the Council, President Ramaphosa said: “While much of our attention is paid to efforts to detect and act against corruption, the success of our efforts relies on our ability to prevent corruption in the first place.

We need to build transparent, accountable and ethical institutions – both public and private – in which corruption is unable to take root. We need to build a society characterised by responsibility and integrity.”

The NACAC close-out report, which will be released publicly, consists of a set of recommendations which amongst others include the establishment of a permanent, independent, overarching anti-corruption body. Strengthening and coordination of law enforcement agencies, the use of Artificial Intelligence to prevent corruption and the establishment of an anti-corruption data sharing framework.

President Ramaphosa appreciated the report and the recommendations, affirming that they will need to be thoroughly reviewed and, where appropriate, be acted upon without any undue delay. 

The President said, “The report, observations and recommendations clearly demonstrate the extensive work and significant thought that NACAC has applied to these challenges. 

NACAC has given full effect to its mandate and has provided a firm, evidence-based foundation to take forward a comprehensive response to corruption.

The observations and recommendations will, as a matter of priority, receive the attention of the National Executive and the relevant institutions.”

The National Executive will process the recommendations of NACAC for tabling and deliberation in Cabinet. 

The final set of recommendations that will be adopted will then be implemented in accordance with the relevant and established statutory provisions and processes. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.

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Seychelles: President Chairs Follow-up Meeting on Airport Redevelopment Project

Source: APO


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President Wavel Ramkalawan this afternoon chaired a follow-up meeting to review progress on the Airport Redevelopment Project. 

The meeting follows an initial site visit and working session chaired by the President at the Seychelles International Airport on 31st July, during which the committee committed to reconvening one month later to assess developments and further expand on the proposals put forward.

Also in attendance were Vice-President Ahmed Afif, the Minister for Transport, the Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, the Chief Executive Officers of the Seychelles Airport Authority (SAA), the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), and the Seychelles International Airport (SIA), as well as representatives from key government departments and agencies. The meeting also engaged technical experts, the finance team, project planners, and airport management.

During the deliberations, members noted that the concept and proposals for the redevelopment have progressed considerably, with a shared vision of an airport that will meet Seychelles’ needs not only in the immediate years ahead but over a longer-term horizon of up to 30 years. Central to the discussions were ICAO standards, the current use of space, future passenger growth, safety, and practical considerations to ensure the redevelopment delivers an effective and modern facility that serves the country well.

Immediate solutions were also explored, including the possibility of installing a second luggage carousel to alleviate baggage collection delays, particularly during periods of multiple flight arrivals.

President Ramkalawan expressed satisfaction with the consultative approach being undertaken, noting that inclusive discussions with all relevant authorities and technicians enable Government to make well-informed decisions. He emphasized that the ultimate goal is to deliver an airport concept that meets international standards, responds to the nation’s ever-growing demands, and provides a facility that the people of Seychelles can take pride in.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.