HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met on Tuesday with HE Prime Minister of the sisterly Lebanese Republic Dr. Nawaf Salam, who is visiting the country.
During the meeting, they discussed cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and enhance them, especially in fields of energy, transportation and culture, as well as the reconstruction of southern Lebanon, and support for the army. They also discussed the latest developments in the country and ways to resolve disputes through dialogue and diplomatic means to consolidate security and stability regionally and internationally.
HE Lebanese Prime Minister reiterated his country’s strong condemnation of the Iranian missile attack on Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base, which constitutes a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law and the United Nations Charter. He also stressed the necessity of de-escalation in the region in order to achieve regional and international security.
The State of Qatar affirmed its adoption, over the past four decades, of a foreign policy based on strengthening international solidarity with all countries and regional and international organizations, pointing out that it has worked to implement numerous educational and development projects in various regions around the globe to achieve global peace and contribute to development efforts in various fields.
This came in the State of Qatar’s statement, delivered on Tuesday by Third Secretary in the Legal Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Ali Al Baker, during the interactive dialogue with the independent expert on human rights and international solidarity, item No. 3, within the framework of the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Al Baker stressed the importance of international solidarity in promoting and protecting the rights of individuals and peoples, explaining that, despite the fact that the responsibility for promoting and protecting human rights at the national level lies primarily with governments, international solidarity is crucially valuable to strengthen national efforts and assist governments in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities to realize these rights.
The growing challenges facing the world’s countries and societies today require greater attention to international solidarity than ever before, he said, pointing out that this calls for international and regional development partnerships and cooperation that allow for the exchange of expertise and good practices, mitigate inequalities between countries, and preserve the rights of peoples. This enables them to confront their challenges, respond to their needs, and preserve their cultures and identities across generations, so that no one is left behind in the development process, he added.
When an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants (PPR)—also known as sheep and goat plague—threatened to wipe out people’s livelihoods in Kamasasa village, Sierra Leone, quick action from trained Sierra Leone Red Cross Society volunteers and local authorities stopped the spread of disease and minimized its damage on the community.
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting small animals, such as sheep and goats. PPR can be fatal and outbreaks, if left undetected, can have devastating consequences for people’s livelihoods, particularly in pastoral communities.
In Kamasasa, a village in north-west Sierra Leone where people are reliant on goat and sheep farming to make a living, an outbreak of PPR struck in September 2022 and threatened to wreak havoc in the community.
“It was all over the town,” explains Pa Adikali Sesay, Chief of Kamasasa village. “Everywhere you would go, people would say that their goats were sick. Some people would be crying because they were losing hope. If there was an emergency and they or their children got sick or if they need to pay school fees for their children, how would they pay for those things if all the animals died?”
Having never experienced a PPR outbreak before, people were unsure what to do. And misinformation was spreading alongside the disease. Some farmers even fled the village, believing that their animals were under some form of mystical attack.
“Our volunteers started mobilizing the community, sensitizing them, telling them not to eat these animals,” says Osman Justin Conteh, CP3 Manager with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society. “We separated the sick from those that are not sick so that then the disease will not continue to spread. Then specimens were collected and sent to the lab. We supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to treat these animals, vaccinating more than 10,000 goats and sheep against PPR.”
This quick, coordinated action made sure that PPR stopped spreading in the community and that sick animals were able to recover, with volunteers earning thanks and recognition from community members.
Sorie Daba Sesay, a farmer from Kamasasa village, says: “The Red Cross arrived and told us to look for animals that were sick or had died. They helped get medicine to the sick goats so they would get better and not get sick again. We say to the Red Cross, thank you!”
And Kamasasa village chief, Pa Adikali, adds: “The Red Cross did an incredible job. Without their intervention, we could have lost all our animals. The Red Cross arrived right when we needed their help.”
This PPR outbreak response is just one example of many disease outbreaks detected, reported and responded to through the CP3 programme in Kambia. Since the programme began in 2018, Sierra Leone Red Cross Society teams have improved their capacity to prepare for and respond to epidemics and developed close partnerships with human, animal and environmental health authorities to keep communities healthy and safe.
“The coming of CP3 and the Red Cross has helped us greatly in trying to mitigate the death toll of goats and sheep,” says Ibrahim Harri Sesay, District Livestock Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Kambia. “They have trained over 250 volunteers across the districts here. CP3 volunteers are all over in the communities. They are with them, they know their problems. If there are any problems with disease, be it animal or human, they report to us directly and we react appropriately.”
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), CP3 supported communities, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and other partners to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to disease threats.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
This morning in Luanda, on the margins of the US-Africa Business Summit, H.E. President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola received H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission and his delegation, at the State House. The Chairperson briefed the President on the regional developments, including the situations in Eastern DRC, Sudan, South Sudan, the Sahel, and Somalia, as well as ongoing efforts to mobilise sustainable funding for African-led peace support operations.
President Lourenço commended the Chairperson’s leadership in advancing peace, security, and regional integration, and encouraged continued diplomatic engagement in resolving ongoing conflicts, and AU activities in support of Agenda 2063.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org), Africa’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, today announced that the Republic of Angola has become its latest sovereign shareholder. This strategic equity investment further strengthens Angola’s partnership with AFC and underscores the country’s confidence in AFC’s mandate to accelerate sustainable development and regional integration through transformational infrastructure.
As a member of the Africa Finance Corporation since 2022, Angola has deepened its strategic partnership with the institution through a landmark equity investment commitment of US$184.8 million. This bold move reflects Angola’s confidence in the AFC’s institutional strength and its ambition to help shape Africa’s development agenda from within. It builds on nearly US$1 billion in AFC investments across Angola’s priority sectors—power, rail, logistics, and critical minerals—core to the country’s industrialization and economic diversification strategy. The investment also signals growing momentum for African-led capital solutions to drive long-term, transformative growth across the continent.
Earlier this year, the Fundo Soberano de Angola, Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, also made a US$25 million equity investment in AFC. Together, these investments reflect a cohesive national strategy to advance Angola’s infrastructure and industrial development agenda through close collaboration with the Corporation.
With this milestone investment, Angola becomes the second Lusophone African nation, after Cape Verde, to join the growing list of equity investors in AFC. This underscores the Corporation’s expanding pan-African footprint and its commitment to accelerating the continent’s structural transformation through strategic, high-impact partnerships.
“Angola’s capital commitment underscores the impact of sovereign alignment with AFC’s mandate to catalyse Africa’s transformation. It affirms the value of combining national vision with AFC’s model of delivering critical infrastructure, deploying innovative financing solutions, and forging catalytic partnerships across the public and private sectors”, said Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation. “This marks a significant step in AFC’s journey to broaden shareholder representation across Africa”.
Dr. Vera Daves de Sousa, Angola’s Minister of Finance, said: “Angola’s shareholding investment in AFC signals our strong belief in the power of partnerships to deliver lasting economic transformation. The Corporation has been a trusted ally over the last few years, financing strategic sectors including infrastructure, energy, and industrial projects critical to our diversification efforts, and we look forward to a continued, mutually beneficial partnership”.
AFC and Angola have had a strong collaborative history over the years, exemplified by initiatives such as the Lobito Corridor project, where AFC is acting as lead developer alongside other partners. This transformational multi-country transport network connecting Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the potential to unlock new industrial and value-chain opportunities across key sectors, including mining, agriculture, energy, and tourism.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Media Enquiries:
Yewande Thorpe
Communications
Africa Finance Corporation
Mobile: +234 1 279 9654
Email: yewande.thorpe@africafc.org
About AFC:
AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.
Eighteen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 45 member countries and has invested over US$15 billion in 36 African countries since its inception.
Rack Centre, West Africa’s leading Tier III carrier – and cloud -neutral data centre, has signed a strategic collocation agreement with TelCables Nigeria, a subsidiary of Angola Cables (www.AngolaCables.co.ao) and one of Africa’s most connected network operators. Through the partnership, TelCables Nigeria is deploying its high capacity network and cloud infrastructure together with four international subsea cable systems (SACS, MONET, SEBRAS and EllaLink) directly into Rack Centre’s carrier ecosystem in the region. The move delivers the most resilient, low-latency south-bound routes to Europe, the Americas and Latin America, mitigating the risk of future cable-cut outages along West Africa’s coast and powering next-generation cloud services across the continent.
“Our unique Africa – to – Latin America route via SACS, combined with MONET, SEBRAS and EllaLink, gives customers the lowest – latency paths to the Americas and Europe,” said Fernando Fernandes, CEO of TelCables Nigeria. “Businesses in latency sensitive sectors: financial services, content delivery and real-time communications will experience faster transactions, reduced lag and an enhanced user experience. By hosting at Rack Centre we also localise Clouds2Africa resources, price them in naira, and remove expensive ingress/egress charges or FX exposure.”
Partnership highlights
Robust dark-fibre integration: TelCables Nigeria is lighting diverse, redundant dark-fibre rings into Rack Centre, ensuring always-on performance.
Clouds2Africa platform on-net: Customers can consume scalable IaaS, PaaS and CDN services from within the data sovereign walls of Rack Centre, paying in NGN.
Direct on-ramps to AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, supporting hybrid and multi-cloud strategies alongside Dedicated Internet Access, IP Transit and remote Internet Exchange (IX) peering.
Low-latency routes to three continents, including the only direct Africa to Latin America path, plus shortest-hop connections to Europe and the USA.
Supporting Rack Centre’s expansion strategy
Rack Centre’s 13.5MW data centre campus designed with its recently launched LGS2 facility that delivers a design PUE of 1.35 and powered from sustainable energy sources, already hosts 70+ carriers, ISPs and network operators.
Lars Johannisson, CEO of Rack Centre, said:
“Adding a global operator of Angola Cables’ calibre through TelCables Nigeria dramatically deepens our connectivity fabric. We can now offer 99.95 % SLA routes to more destinations, enabling enterprises, governments and cloud providers to meet performance and data-residency requirements while keeping traffic local.”
With features such as N+2 high-efficiency cooling, an integrated Building Management System and AI-ready high-density racks, LGS2 combines capacity, sustainability and innovation reinforcing Rack Centre’s position as a critical digital hub for Nigeria and West Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Angola Cables.
For Media Enquiries:
Ada Ibelegbu
Senior Marketing Associate
Rack Centre
Email: ada.ibelegbu@rack-centre.com
M: +234 80 904 03 473
T: +234 1 700 5515
About Angola Cables:
Angola Cables is an international ICT solutions provider operating a 33,000 km subsea-cable network (WACS, SACS, MONET) and 50,000 km of partner routes, linking the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. The company runs Tier III data centres in Fortaleza (Brazil) and Luanda (Angola), manages the Angonix IXP, and maintains 30+ PoPs worldwide. CAIDA ranks Angola Cables among the top-25 global ISPs (2023). www.AngolaCables.co.ao
About Rack Centre:
Rack Centre is West Africa’s leading Tier III carrier and cloud neutral data-centre operator. Since 2012 it has specialised in colocation and interconnection, offering customers a technically superior, physically secure and cost-efficient environment. The campus hosts 70+ carriers, ISPs and global Tier 1 networks, with direct links to every subsea cable landing on Africa’s Atlantic coast including Equiano and, soon, 2Africa. www.Rack-Centre.com
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured an interim interdict preventing Sanele Dlamini, a former senior manager at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), from withdrawing his pension benefits pending the outcome of ongoing litigation.
The interdict bars Dlamini from accessing his pension benefits until the SIU’s main case – a civil recovery action tied to the misallocation of R6 million in NLC grant funds – is concluded.
The fourth respondent, Liberty’s Corporate Selection Umbrella Retirement Fund, has been directed to assess and disclose the value of Dlamini’s pension within 60 days.
This preservation is intended to ensure that funds remain available for potential recovery should the SIU succeed in its claim.
Dlamini, who held several senior positions at the NLC, including Provincial Manager for KwaZulu-Natal, Senior Manager: Grant Operations, and Acting Chief Operations Officer, was found guilty on four of six disciplinary charges related to misconduct during his tenure.
The charges included approving falsified progress reports, as well as gross negligence and dereliction of duty. His dismissal was finalised on 04 October 2024 following the disciplinary process.
The SIU’s investigation revealed that the NLC-funded project – a sports complex – was never initiated, and supporting documents, including progress reports and financial statements, were falsified.
Dlamini, who facilitated the irregular disbursement of R3 million to the Motheo Sports and Entertainment Foundation, co-signed the fraudulent progress report without verifying the site or documentation, enabling the unlawful payout.
“The SIU pursues a preservation order to limit the risk of a ‘hollow judgment’ if funds were released, noting concerns that Dlamini may lack sufficient assets to satisfy future claims.
“The order of the Special Tribunal implements SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover financial losses suffered by State institutions because of corruption or negligence. The order forms part of a broader investigation into corruption involving NLC grants intended for community development projects,” the SIU said.
The SIU is empowered to institute a civil action in the High Court or a Special Tribunal to correct any wrongdoing uncovered during investigations caused by corruption, fraud, or maladministration.
In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU refers any evidence pointing to criminal conduct it uncovers to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action. – SAnews.gov.za
The Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has welcomed the sentencing of two men convicted in the brutal murder of Nosipho ‘Nomdundu’ Mafani of KwaNokuthula, Western Cape.
The two men, Mboneli Msila and Monde Tshemese, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court of South Africa: Western Cape Division sitting in Knysna, for their role in conspiracy to commit the murder of Mafani, a 23-year-old woman with a mental disability.
Msila, the adoptive father of Mafani, orchestrated the murder in order to claim funeral policy payouts totalling R600 000.
He hired three men, Mbulelo Jack, Monde Tshemese, and Lungisile Lucas, to carry out the hit.
Chikunga said Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) remains a national crisis in South Africa, with disproportionately high rates of violence against women, girls, and vulnerable group, including women in female-headed households, women with disabilities, and Black African women.
“Gender-Based Violence and Femicide is a deeply rooted societal issue. Women with disabilities, in particular, are often subjected to extreme forms of sexual and physical violence. Despite being one of the most vulnerable groups, their experiences continue to be overlooked and under-addressed in society,” Chikunga said.
The Minister highlighted that Pillar 3 of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF, which places strong emphasis on Justice, Safety, and Protection, aims to address systemic shortcomings in the legal and system, and seeks to enhance the overall response to GBVF cases.
It also aims to ensure that survivors have access to justice and are afforded safety and protection through improvements to the legal framework and its implementation.
Although often committed in private settings, the Minister warned that GBVF is not a private matter, but a serious public crime.
She acknowledged that GBVF is an ongoing diabolic act of violation of human rights, particularly “the rights of persons with disabilities should never be justified and must be confronted with all resources available.”
“It deprives women and girls of their fundamental human rights, including the right to live free from violence, discrimination, and violation of bodily integrity. Failure to take meaningful action to prevent, prosecute, and punish such acts, constitutes a violation of human rights.
“All incidents of physical or sexual abuse, intimidation, or threats must be reported to the nearest SAPS station to obtain a case number and/or protection order. Alternatively, victims of sexual offences can seek assistance from the nearest Thuthuzela Care Centre or similar support facilities,” the Minister said.
Government has also established the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre (GBVCC) to provide 24-hour support to victims of abuse and violence.
“We share a strong reminder that our government will continue to stand firm to protect and defend human rights as enshrined by the constitution,” Chikunga said. – SAnews.gov.za
The total capped leave liability in the public sector stood at R16.24 billion as of December 2023, the Public Service Commission (PSC) said on Tuesday.
Standing at R16.24 billion and covering 189,039 employees, the total capped leave liability represents approximately 14% of the total public service workforce.
“It is important to note that this cost continues to increase in line with cost-of-living adjustments and/or appointments into higher positions,” PSC Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya said at a media briefing in Pretoria.
Addressing media on the commission’s Quarterly Bulletin titled: “The Pulse of the Public Service”, Gxoyiya said the majority of employees holding capped leave are concentrated in the education and health sectors. Most of them were also closer to retirement and according to the Commissioner, that raises concern about potential future skills shortages in these critical areas if not proactively addressed.
WATCH | PSC media briefing
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“In relation to study leave, which is a type of special leave, data from national departments indicates that 17 733 – 20 651 employees took study leave from 2020 to 2023,” he said.
At provincial level, 21 004 – 23 265 employees took study leave from 2020 to 2023.
“In some provinces, over 70% of these employees were from the Health and Education Departments. On average, study leave days ranged from five to eight days, with national departments having the highest average at 8.5 days. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces followed with 7.4 and 6.5 days respectively,” he said.
The Commissioner further explained that special leave is a negotiated benefit in terms of the public service employment conditions.
“Prior to the adoption of the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council Resolution 2 of 2024, departments operated under varied special leave policies, leading to a lack of uniformity across the public service.”
Meanwhile, there was also a notable increase in sick leave usage observed in 2022, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the return to full-time workplace operations.
Grievances
With regard to the number of grievances handled by the PSC, Gxoyiya said that as at 31 March 2025, the PSC registered 439 grievances, including 85 cases carried-over from the previous financial year.
“Of the 439 grievances, 338 (77%) have been concluded and 101 (23%) remained pending as at end of 31 March 2025.
“Of the 338 concluded cases, 18 (5%) was substantiated, 84 (25%) were unsubstantiated, nine (3%) were partially substantiated, 43 (13%) were internally resolved within departments following the PSC’s intervention and the remaining 184 (54%) were closed for various reasons, including those that were also pending before different sectoral bargaining councils, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration or courts.”
Of the 439 grievances (including 85 cases carried over from the previous financial year), 403 were for employees on salary levels 2-12 and 36 for members of the Senior Management Service (SMS).
Of the 403 grievances of employees on salaries level 2 to 12, 309 were concluded, of which 282 (91%) were concluded within 150 working days of receipt by the PSC investigator.
Of the 36 grievances of SMS members, 29 were concluded, of which 24 (83%) were concluded within 150 working days of receipt by the PSC investigator.
The Commission also expressed concern with the continued failure by some departments to conclude grievances within the timeframes prescribed in the bargained Resolution 14 of 2002 for grievances of employees on salaries level 2 to 12, and Chapter 10 of the SMS Handbook.
“The PSC will in future investigate the cause of delays in grievance conclusion by departments This will assist in determining whether or not the delays are as a result of the agreed timeframes being unrealistic, or whether it is the human resource capacity issue or whether it is because of any other reason other than these,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, has reiterated that infrastructure development plays a significant role in government’s ongoing efforts to grow the economy, create jobs and deliver services to citizens.
“As the South African government, we have committed significant investments towards infrastructure development. We have ambitious infrastructure development programs that have been undertaken in our country,” Masondo said on Tuesday, at the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI20) Summit.
The SAI20 is an engagement group of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from countries that make up the Group of Twenty (G20). It is chaired by the SAI of the country holding the G20 presidency.
South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2024 and it will run until November 2025 under the theme: Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.
The Deputy Minister said the country’s ambitious infrastructure development is necessitated by government’s desire to grow the economy through increasing the role of the private sector in the supply of electricity, freight logistics, telecommunications and water.
“We are working with other international partners towards revitalising ports and harbours. We are upgrading our electricity and digital infrastructure. We are building roads, hospitals and schools. We do all these to improve the socio-economic conditions of ordinary South Africans,” Masondo said.
In March 2025, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy launched an online Request for Information to develop an enabling environment for private sector participation and enhanced investment in rail and port infrastructure and operations.
Last month Transnet issued a R17 billion concession contract to five private sector partners to fund, construct and operate several liquid bulk terminals at the Port of Richards Bay.
Government has been collaborating with stakeholders to address bottlenecks and inefficiencies to turn around the fortunes of the rail and ports logistics systems.
Through Operation Vulindlela, government is accelerating the implementation of structural reforms to enable economic growth and job creation.
Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative between the Presidency and National Treasury.
In its first phase, the reform programme focused on five area, namely energy, logistics, water, telecommunications, and the visa system, which were identified as the most important constraints on economic growth.
Government has made significant progress in advancing the reform agenda during implementation of Phase I of Operation Vulindlela as almost all of the reforms included in Phase I are either completed or on track.
The initiative is now in its second phase and the focus areas include improving the performance of local government, addressing spatial inequality through housing policy and other reforms, and advancing digital transformation.
It will include a rapid rollout of digital public infrastructure, such as digital identity and payments to enable economic activity and improve access to government services. –SAnews.gov.za
