Category: MIL-OSI

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The price of going home: Christmas boxes and the final return from South Africa to Zimbabwe

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Saana Hansen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki

Each December, long-distance buses, minibus taxis and private cars stream northwards from South Africa as Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second biggest city, prepares for its annual ritual: the seasonal homecoming of “injiva” – migrants returning for Christmas.

The old industrial city, where businesses have declined and shops and restaurants struggle to survive, fills temporarily with cars with South African number plates and people dressed in trendy clothes signalling urban South African lifestyles. Trailers are loaded with remittances known as “Christmas boxes” containing cooking oil, soap and other groceries. A jumping castle is erected in the park, and popular music merges with laughter in the restaurants.

These are historically rooted signs of achievement and success earned abroad. They are a refashioned form of the festive season of colonial-era injivas: men from the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe who worked in South African mines and farms, returning home typically once a year with gifts.

Yet, it is common knowledge that this performance is often hard-earned, and injivas – both women and men – struggle to meet these expectations. The real-life migration experiences include economic and legal uncertainties and discrimination in the labour market, low wages and difficulty in sending remittances home.

Amid the festive return lies a quieter and more solemn south-north movement – that of Zimbabwean migrants who have passed away and are taking their final journey home. Contrasting with the festivities surrounding Christmas visits, the coffin-shaped trailers along the A6 highway from the Beitbridge border post to Bulawayo are a reminder that migration’s promise of prosperity comes with risk and loss.

This homecoming, which I studied for my PhD in anthropology and have described in a recent paper, is shaped by bureaucracy, cost and intergenerational care.

The study reveals how a life-sustaining web of care is maintained. It contributes to anthropological discussions on migration, kinship, the state, documentary practices, law and development.

The moral duty and economic headache of return

The migration pattern between Zimbabwe and South Africa has its roots in colonial-era labour migration and has intensified since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. In the early 2000s, Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, marked by hyperinflation, political violence and mass unemployment, drove millions to seek economic opportunities and protection in South Africa.

Estimating the number of Zimbabweans in South Africa is difficult due to the largely unregulated nature of this mobility, but figures generally range between one million and three million.

Although deceased migrants, documented or not, can be buried in South African soil, bringing a body home is a vital act in Zimbabwe, as in many other African contexts. It is to restore the deceased to the lineage and to enable the spirit to be mourned and settled so it will protect younger generations. Failing to do so risks spiritual and social disorder. The respectful return in death, like the festive Christmas return of the able-bodied injivas, reinforces ties between generations.

Despite the religious and cultural importance of burial at home, repatriating a body from South Africa poses economic challenges to a family. It’s not only a moral duty but also a financial burden. So, in principle, only those whose death has been unforeseen return in coffins. Those who can will return home before they die to save the cost of repatriation.

Families make extraordinary efforts to make repatriation possible. Relatives collect and borrow money, and reach out to kin across borders. Burial societies mobilise payments from their members to collect the funds for embalming, transportation, paperwork and funerals. These obligations reveal the importance of the ancestral continuity being an economic matter, and sustenance of family welfare continuing after death.

Formal and informal burial societies

Since the 1990s, Bulawayo’s once-thriving industries have largely collapsed, leaving its old mills and factories deserted or refunctioning as spaces for religious congregations, education and garages. Amid these modest ventures, funeral services stand out in the city’s otherwise melancholic landscape.

As Zimbabwe’s economic and political instability pushes many to seek livelihoods in South Africa, the funeral industry has expanded. The Beitbridge border, crossing the Limpopo River between Zimbabwe and South Africa, has long organised the movement of labour and remittances, governing also the return of bodies.

Indeed, funeral parlours and burial societies date back to the colonial era when injured and dead migrants had to be sent home. Today, carrying prosperous names such as Doves, Kings & Queens and African Pride, funeral parlours function as key institutions in managing transnational death.

Besides these licensed funeral services, people belong to informal money pooling societies that mobilise money collectively to cover the cost of death. While some collect steady monthly deposits, others gather money ad hoc during emergencies.

These societies blur boundaries between formal and informal systems. Many “undocumented” migrants, who cannot have bank accounts, participate through friends or relatives with legal status, contributing to pooled funds tracked via mobile communication apps and bank transfer receipts. Societies sustain solidarity networks, and transparent contributions signal both moral and financial responsibility, shaping participants’ social standing.

Bureaucracies of transnational death

Between the death and the burial, numerous legal and bureaucratic steps must be completed, from obtaining death certificates and health clearances to coordinating with South African and Zimbabwean authorities.

Often, identity documents from Zimbabwe need to be collected to prove that the deceased is a Zimbabwean national. When the deceased has not revealed their identity to the South African authorities and remains “undocumented”, or has two legal identities, the disparity needs to be explained in affidavits.

Read more: Migrants in South Africa have access to healthcare: why it’s kicking up a storm

These administrative steps are not simply procedural; they are part of the politics of death. The paperwork that allows a body to move, such as a stamp, a signature, or an affidavit, is both a form of recognition and a reminder of inequality. While some deaths can move across borders with relative ease, others become delayed or trapped in institutional procedures.

Bureaucracy is a space where care, legality and belonging intertwine. State officials may draw not only on formal guidelines but also their cultural logics of care. They are central in navigating the legal and bureaucratic challenges. Immigration officers might be sympathetic and share the cultural understanding of the importance of returning home respectably.

The homecoming of the dead mirrors, in reverse, the December journeys of the living. Both are seasonal movements that bind families across generations, space and time. The same routes that carried migrants south in search of work now carry their bodies northward, accompanied by papers, payments and prayers.

In the end, the bureaucracies that regulate transnational death are not merely state procedures, but central to how families remake connection, dignity and belonging under precarious conditions.

– The price of going home: Christmas boxes and the final return from South Africa to Zimbabwe
– https://theconversation.com/the-price-of-going-home-christmas-boxes-and-the-final-return-from-south-africa-to-zimbabwe-268046

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A próxima década de inclusão: do acesso à aceleração (Por Andris Kan̄eps)

Source: Africa Press Organisation – Portuguese –

Por Andris Kan̄eps, Diretor Executivo – Watu (https://WatuAfrica.com).

Há dez anos, em Mombaça, o nosso trabalho começou com uma pergunta simples mas ambiciosa: O que aconteceria se mais pessoas na economia informal tivessem acesso às ferramentas necessárias para obter um rendimento estável? A resposta, como aprendemos na última década, não é apenas um benefício individual. Trata-se de uma transformação económica.

Atualmente, milhões de pessoas dependem de motociclos, tuk-tuks e smartphones para participarem nas economias digitais e de serviços em rápido crescimento. Estes ativos permitem o transporte de pessoas e bens, facilitam os pagamentos e a logística e ligam os empresários a clientes, fornecedores e oportunidades. No entanto, durante muito tempo, o acesso a esses ativos esteve limitado àqueles que podiam cumprir requisitos rigorosos e formais em matéria de crédito. Estes critérios excluíam a maioria dos trabalhadores.

Durante a última década, a Watu expandiu-se para oito países africanos e dois na América Latina, apoiando mais de 5 milhões de clientes cujos meios de subsistência sustentam o movimento urbano e a circulação económica. O que aprendemos ao trabalhar tão de perto com este setor é que o empreendedorismo nestes mercados raramente é opcional. É assim que as famílias pagam as propinas escolares, constroem casas e apoiam as comunidades. É um trabalho que se baseia não no risco, mas na resiliência.

O percurso não foi simples. A nossa evolução do microfinanciamento para o financiamento da mobilidade e, mais tarde, para a conetividade digital, não foi o resultado de uma estratégia fixa, mas sim de observação e adaptação. Os clientes demonstraram que a posse de um bem gerador de rendimentos, em particular um motociclo, proporcionava um aumento mais forte e imediato dos rendimentos do que um pequeno empréstimo. Mais tarde, quando os smartphones se tornaram infraestruturas essenciais em vez de artigos de luxo, expandimo-nos para o financiamento de dispositivos. Tanto na mobilidade como na conetividade, o princípio continua a ser o mesmo: o acesso às ferramentas certas permite ganhar dinheiro, planear e progredir.

Mas a escala também trouxe lições. A inclusão financeira só tem sentido quando os resultados são positivos e duradouros. Assistimos a choques económicos, volatilidade de rendimentos e transições regulamentares que testaram tanto os nossos clientes como o nosso modelo. Estes momentos obrigaram-nos a reforçar a forma como avaliamos a acessibilidade económica, comunicamos as obrigações e os riscos e apoiamos os clientes durante períodos de dificuldades inesperadas. O crescimento responsável exige rigor e que aprendamos tão rapidamente quanto nos expandimos.

O panorama económico geral também está a mudar. Em África e nos mercados emergentes a nível mundial, três transições estão a redefinir a forma como as pessoas trabalham e se deslocam.

Em primeiro lugar, o setor dos transportes está a ser gradualmente eletrificado. Os veículos elétricos de duas e três rodas oferecem custos de exploração mais baixos, margens mais previsíveis e benefícios ambientais, desde que sejam apoiados por infraestruturas e modelos de financiamento adequados.

Em segundo lugar, os pagamentos estão a tornar-se cada vez mais digitais. Os ecossistemas de dinheiro móvel não se limitam a facilitar as transações. Estão a gerar uma visibilidade económica valiosa e a criar vias de crédito onde antes não existiam.

Em terceiro lugar, o trabalho informal está a ganhar estrutura. Através da tecnologia, das plataformas GIG e da identidade digital, os trabalhadores que antes eram invisíveis para os sistemas financeiros estão a tornar-se legíveis e, por conseguinte, financiáveis.

Estas transições representam uma mudança fundamental na forma como a participação económica funciona. A sua utilização implica um desafio claro: os sistemas têm de acompanhar a velocidade das pessoas que deles dependem.

Olhando para a nossa próxima década, a tónica deve, portanto, passar do alargamento do acesso à aceleração da mobilidade ascendente. Uma mota ou um smartphone já não são o ponto final da inclusão. É o ponto de partida. As questões que agora colocamos a nós próprios são as seguintes: Como é que ajudamos os clientes a passar do seu primeiro ativo para o segundo e, eventualmente, para a expansão do negócio? Como é que utilizamos os dados para os ajudar a antecipar os choques de rendimento antes que eles ocorram? Como colaboramos com os reguladores, fabricantes e parceiros de desenvolvimento para garantir que as novas tecnologias, como a mobilidade elétrica, se traduzem em benefícios económicos reais?

Não se trata de preocupações abstratas. Representam a próxima fronteira da inclusão financeira, onde o acesso é acompanhado de capacidades a longo prazo e onde as oportunidades a curto prazo evoluem para um progresso sustentável.

Em todos os mercados que servimos, vemos indivíduos que são engenhosos e determinados, trabalhando arduamente para melhorar as suas vidas e as dos que os rodeiam. Os seus esforços geram emprego, capacitam os serviços e mantêm as cidades em movimento. A questão agora não é saber se conseguem construir o futuro. A questão é saber se as infraestruturas financeiras, regulamentares e tecnológicas que as rodeiam estarão preparadas para acompanhar o ritmo.

O papel da Watu é ajudar a garantir que a resposta seja afirmativa. À medida que entramos na nossa segunda década, o nosso compromisso é escalar de forma responsável, inovar com ousadia e mantermo-nos intimamente ligados às realidades dos empresários que impulsionam as nossas economias. O seu sucesso não é apenas uma prova de inclusão. É uma prova de aceleração.

Se há uma lição que se destaca das restantes, é a seguinte: quando se dão às pessoas trabalhadoras as ferramentas para criar oportunidades, elas não ficam paradas. Nós também não devemos ficar.

Distribuído pelo Grupo APO para Watu.

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The Next Decade of Inclusion: From Access to Acceleration (By Andris Kan̄eps)

Source: APO – Report:

By Andris Kan̄eps, CEO – Watu (https://WatuAfrica.com).

Ten years ago in Mombasa, our work began with a simple but ambitious question: What would happen if more people in the informal economy had access to the tools they needed to earn a stable income? The answer, as we have learned over the past decade, is not merely individual benefit. It is an economic transformation.

Today, millions of people rely on motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and smartphones to participate in the fast-growing digital and service economies. These assets enable transportation of people and goods, facilitate payments and logistics, and connect entrepreneurs to customers, suppliers, and opportunities. Yet for a very long time, access to such assets was limited to those who could meet strict, formal credit requirements. These criteria excluded the majority of working people.

Over the past decade, Watu has expanded to eight African countries and two in Latin America, supporting more than 5 million customers whose livelihoods underpin urban movement and economic circulation. What we have learned from working so closely with this sector is that entrepreneurship in these markets is rarely optional. It is how families pay school fees, build houses, and support communities. It is work rooted not in risk, but in resilience.

The journey has not been straightforward. Our evolution from table banking to mobility financing, and later to digital connectivity, was not the result of a fixed strategy but of observation and adaptation. Customers demonstrated that owning an income-generating asset, particularly a motorcycle, provided a more powerful and immediate uplift in earnings compared to receiving a small loan. Later, as smartphones became essential infrastructure rather than luxury items, we expanded into device financing. In both mobility and connectivity, the principle remains the same: access to the right tools unlocks the ability to earn, to plan, and to progress.

But scale has also brought lessons. Financial inclusion is only meaningful when the outcomes are positive and enduring. We have witnessed economic shocks, income volatility, and regulatory transitions that tested both our customers and our model. These moments forced us to strengthen how we assess affordability, communicate obligations and risk, and support customers during periods of unexpected hardship. Responsible growth demands rigour and that we learn as fast as we expand.

The broader economic landscape is shifting, too. Across Africa and emerging markets globally, three transitions are redefining how people work and move.

First, the transportation sector is gradually electrifying. Electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers offer lower operating costs, more predictable margins, and environmental benefits, provided they are supported with the right infrastructure and financing models.

Second, payments are becoming increasingly digital. Mobile money ecosystems are not only facilitating transactions. They are generating valuable economic visibility and creating credit pathways where none existed before.

Third, informal work is gaining structure. Through technology, gig platforms, and digital identity, workers who were once invisible to financial systems are becoming legible and therefore financeable.

These transitions represent a fundamental shift in how economic participation operates. They come with a clear challenge: systems must keep pace with the speed of the people who rely on them.

Looking ahead to our next decade, the focus must therefore move from broadening access to accelerating upward mobility. A motorcycle or smartphone is no longer the endpoint of inclusion. It is the starting point. The questions we now ask ourselves include: How do we help customers advance from their first asset to their second, and eventually toward business expansion? How do we use data to help them anticipate income shocks before they occur? How do we collaborate with regulators, manufacturers, and development partners to ensure that new technologies, such as electric mobility, translate into real economic benefits?

These are not abstract concerns. They represent the next frontier of financial inclusion, where access is paired with long-term capability and where short-term opportunity evolves into sustainable progress.

Across every market we serve, we see individuals who are resourceful and determined, working hard to improve their lives and those around them. Their efforts generate employment, enable services, and keep cities moving. The question now is not whether they can build the future. It is whether the financial, regulatory, and technological infrastructure around them will be ready to keep pace.

Watu’s role is to help ensure that the answer is yes. As we step into our second decade, our commitment is to scale responsibly, to innovate boldly, and to stay closely connected to the realities of the entrepreneurs who power our economies. Their success is not simply evidence of inclusion. It is evidence of acceleration.

If there is one lesson that stands above the rest, it is this: when you give hardworking people the tools to build opportunity, they do not stand still. Neither should we.

– on behalf of Watu.

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Majodina in Lesotho

Source: Government of South Africa

Majodina in Lesotho

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has expressed satisfaction with progress made on Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), with 48% of construction completed on the Polihali Transfer Tunnel.

This, whilst also stressing the urgency of meeting the 2028/2029 completion deadline for Phase II of the project and warning that no further extensions will be granted. 

Accompanied by Deputy Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Seiso Mohai, Majodina led a South African delegation on an oversight visit to Lesotho on Sunday. The delegation met Lesotho’s Minister of Natural Resources, Mohlomi Moleko, to assess progress on the multibillion-rand project.

The visit follows Majodina’s undertaking in August 2025, to return to Lesotho to monitor and review implementation of the project.

The Minister’s programme on Sunday started with a briefing on project progress, including the resettlement of 24 households which were moved to make way for the dam construction. About 300 households were relocated, with construction of 105 replacement houses currently under way.

Social and environmental impacts

Majodina also received reports on the project’s social and environmental impacts, which include improved road access, better access to health and education facilities, and the provision of electricity.

The project has so far created about 16 000 job opportunities, including business development and skills transfer initiatives. Its broader objectives include strengthening climate resilience, improving food and nutrition security, promoting economic diversification, enhancing integration of farm-based initiatives, and building trust and collaboration among stakeholders.

On women’s empowerment, 77 women from four local councils within the project area have benefited from training programmes, including detergent and cosmetics manufacturing.

During the visit, the delegation toured several construction sites, including the 165m high Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam at Polihali, located downstream of the confluence of the Khubelu and Senqu-Orange rivers.

Chief Resident Engineer Ivaho Vanzaghi reported that concrete placement has reached over 60 metres from the riverbed, with about 100 metres remaining.

Majodina also visited the approximately 38km long concrete-lined gravity tunnel linking the Polihali and Katse reservoirs, where she inspected construction progress underground.

Addressing the media at the Sengqu Bridge construction site, an 825-metre-long structure, Majodina said she was encouraged by the pace of development and confirmed that South Africa is preparing to receive water once the project is completed.

“I am very satisfied with the progress. While relocation has taken longer than expected, there is a plan in place. We are also pleased that 92 professionals have been developed through this project, including women, and that 16 000 jobs have been created. That is quite significant.

“We cannot allow further delays. We are here to ensure accountability because South Africans want to know what is happening, and Basotho also want to know what is happening,” the Minister said.

She urged that the communities living near the dam should also be considered for access to water provision.

Lesotho’s Minister of Natural Resources, Mohlomi Moleko, commended Majodina for honouring her commitment to return for an oversight visit.

“She is a woman of her word. Each time she visits, there is visible progress because stakeholders understand that at the highest level of government, we want this project to succeed efficiently,” Moleko said.

He described the LHWP as one of Africa’s largest infrastructure projects, noting its potential to support hydropower development and boost tourism in Lesotho.

Long-standing cooperation between SA and Lesotho

Mohai commended the Ministers from both countries for providing strong leadership on the project, noting that its scale requires close cooperation between the two countries and high-level engineering expertise.

Mohai said the project demonstrates long-standing cooperation between South Africa and Lesotho, particularly in the democratic era, to advance sustainability and economic growth.

He said the project ensures that communities can enjoy access to water, which is a fundamental right, sustains life, and improves health outcomes.

“It is fascinating to be here in the Kingdom of Lesotho and witness that Lesotho will continue to provide this important resource to many nations in the continent for many centuries. We really appreciate their generosity and are committed to ensure that we share economic spinoffs as countries, as water is an important ingredient to stimulate economic activity,” Mohai said.

Majodina is on Monday expected to visit the Katse Dam. – SAnews.gov.za
 

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La prochaine décennie d’inclusion : de l’accès à l’accélération (Par Andris Kan̄eps)

Source: Africa Press Organisation – French

Par Andris Kan̄eps, CEO – Watu (https://WatuAfrica.com).

Il y a dix ans de cela, à Mombasa, notre travail a commencé par une question simple, mais ambitieuse : que se passerait-il si davantage de personnes de l’économie informelle avaient accès aux outils dont elles ont besoin pour gagner un revenu stable? La réponse, comme nous l’avons appris au cours de la décennie écoulée, n’est pas seulement un avantage individuel, mais aussi une véritable transformation économique.

Aujourd’hui, des millions de personnes comptent sur les motos, les tuk-tuks et les smartphones pour participer aux économies numériques et de services en pleine croissance. Ces actifs permettent le transport de personnes et de marchandises, facilitent les paiements et la logistique, et relient les entrepreneurs aux clients, aux fournisseurs et aux opportunités. Pourtant, pendant très longtemps, l’accès à ces actifs a été limité à ceux qui pouvaient satisfaire à des exigences de crédit strictes et formelles, des critères qui excluaient la majorité des travailleurs.

Au cours de la dernière décennie, Watu s’est étendu à huit pays africains et deux en Amérique latine, soutenant plus de cinq millions de clients dont les moyens de subsistance sous-tendent les mouvements urbains et la circulation économique. Ce que nous avons appris en travaillant si étroitement avec ce secteur est que l’entrepreneuriat sur ces marchés est rarement facultatif : c’est comme cela que les familles paient les frais de scolarité, construisent des maisons et soutiennent les communautés. Il s’agit d’un travail ancré non pas dans le risque, mais dans la résilience.

Le parcours n’a pas été simple. Notre évolution, de la banque transactionnelle au financement de la mobilité, et plus tard à la connectivité numérique, n’a pas été le fruit d’une stratégie rigide, mais de l’observation et de l’adaptation. Les clients ont démontré que la possession d’un actif générateur de revenus, en particulier une motocyclette, a fourni une augmentation plus prononcée et immédiate des bénéfices par rapport à la réception d’un petit prêt. Plus tard, comme les smartphones sont devenus des infrastructures essentielles plutôt que des articles de luxe, nous nous sommes étendus au financement des appareils. Tant en matière de mobilité que de connectivité, le principe reste le même : l’accès aux bons outils permet de gagner de l’argent, de planifier et de progresser.

Mais l’échelle a également apporté des leçons. L’inclusion financière n’a de sens que lorsque les résultats sont positifs et durables. Nous avons été témoins de chocs économiques, de volatilité des revenus et de transitions réglementaires qui ont mis à l’épreuve à la fois nos clients et notre modèle. Ces événements nous ont forcés à renforcer la façon dont nous évaluons l’abordabilité, communiquons les obligations et les risques, et soutenons les clients pendant les périodes de difficultés imprévues. La croissance responsable exige de la rigueur et que nous apprenions aussi vite que nous nous développons.

Le paysage économique au sens large évolue également. À travers l’Afrique et les marchés émergents à l’échelle mondiale, trois transitions redéfinissent la façon dont les gens travaillent et se déplacent.

Premièrement, le secteur des transports s’électrise progressivement. Les deux-roues et les trois-roues électriques offrent des coûts d’exploitation plus faibles, des marges plus prévisibles et des avantages environnementaux, à condition qu’ils soient soutenus par les bonnes infrastructures et les bons modèles de financement.

Deuxièmement, les paiements deviennent de plus en plus numériques. Les écosystèmes d’argent mobile ne facilitent pas seulement les transactions. Ils génèrent une visibilité économique précieuse et créent des opportunités de crédit là où elles n’existaient pas auparavant.

Troisièmement, le travail informel gagne en structure. Grâce à la technologie, aux plateformes de petits boulots et à l’identité numérique, les travailleurs qui étaient autrefois invisibles aux systèmes financiers deviennent lisibles et donc finançables.

Ces transitions représentent un changement fondamental dans le fonctionnement de la participation économique. Elles apportent un défi clair : les systèmes doivent suivre le rythme des personnes qui comptent sur eux.

Dans la perspective de notre prochaine décennie, l’accent doit donc être mis non plus sur l’élargissement de l’accès mais sur l’accélération de la mobilité ascendante. Une moto ou un smartphone n’est plus le point d’arrivée de l’inclusion. C’est le point de départ. Les questions que nous nous posons maintenant sont les suivantes : comment pouvons-nous aider les clients à passer de leur premier actif au deuxième, puis à l’expansion de leur activité ? Comment utiliser les données pour les aider à anticiper les chocs de revenus avant qu’ils ne se produisent ? Comment collaborer avec les régulateurs, les fabricants et les partenaires de développement pour faire en sorte que les nouvelles technologies, telles que la mobilité électrique, se traduisent par de réels avantages économiques ?

Ce ne sont pas des préoccupations abstraites. Ces questions représentent la prochaine frontière de l’inclusion financière, où l’accès est jumelé à une capacité à long terme et où les opportunités à court terme évoluent vers des progrès durables.

Dans tous les marchés que nous servons, nous voyons des personnes ingénieuses et déterminées qui travaillent dur pour améliorer leur vie et celle de leurs proches. Leurs efforts génèrent de l’emploi, facilitent les services et maintiennent les villes en mouvement. La question n’est pas maintenant de savoir si elles peuvent construire l’avenir. Il s’agit de savoir si l’infrastructure financière, réglementaire et technologique qui les entoure sera prête à suivre le rythme.

Le rôle de Watu est de contribuer à ce que la réponse soit « oui ». Alors que nous entamons notre deuxième décennie, notre engagement est d’évoluer de manière responsable, d’innover avec audace et de rester étroitement liés aux réalités des entrepreneurs qui alimentent nos économies. Leur succès n’est pas simplement une preuve d’inclusion. C’est la preuve d’une accélération.

S’il y a une leçon qui se tient au-dessus du reste, la voici : lorsque vous donnez aux travailleurs les outils nécessaires pour créer des opportunités, ils continuent d’avancer. Nous devons faire de même.

Distribué par APO Group pour Watu.

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No extensions for Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Majodina

Source: Government of South Africa

No extensions for Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Majodina

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has stressed the urgency of meeting the 2028/2029 completion deadline for Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), warning that no further extensions will be granted.

While acknowledging progress made on the project, Majodina said delays could not be tolerated, particularly given that the project had already been delayed by nine years.

“If you are running behind schedule, you must have a clear turnaround plan on how and when you are going to catch up, because we cannot afford to delay this project any further. The taste is in the eating of the pudding,” Majodina said.

Majodina was speaking to stakeholders on Sunday during the first day of her oversight visit to the project, where she received a progress briefing on Phase II implementation. The visit follows her commitment made in August 2025 to return to Lesotho to monitor and review progress.

During presentations, the Minister was briefed on resettlement linked to the dam construction, including the relocation of 24 households to date. She was also informed that approximately 300 households are affected by the project, with construction of 105 replacement houses currently under way.

Majodina expressed concern over the slow pace of relocations and questioned the underlying causes.

“Is it because you are slow, or is it resistance from the community? Why such a low number?” she asked.

She also raised concerns about the criteria guiding relocation decisions, noting reports of requests for relocation beyond Lesotho’s borders.

“Is there no framework to say you can only be relocated up to this far? I’m asking this because I’ve received a lot of petitions where people want to be relocated from here to Ladybrand [Free State]. There’s nothing in the Treaty that says across the borders, and that must be explained thoroughly. You must act within the Treaty,” Majodina said.

The Minister further called for greater transparency regarding expenditure on infrastructure development, particularly road construction.

“How many feeder roads and how many kilometres have been built? You’ve mentioned schools, clinics and hospitals that have been built, but there’s no timeframe,” she said.

To date, R21 billion has been spent on the R53 billion project, which involves the construction of dams and a network of tunnels to transfer water from the Orange–Senqu River in the Lesotho highlands to South Africa, while also supporting hydro-electric power generation in Lesotho.

The water transfer component of Phase II includes a 165-metre-high concrete faced rockfill dam at Polihali, downstream of the confluence of the Khubelu and Senqu-Orange rivers, as well as a 38-kilometre concrete lined gravity tunnel linking the Polihali and Katse reservoirs.

Once completed, Phase II will increase water transfers from Lesotho to South Africa by an additional 490 million cubic metres per year, raising total deliveries from 780 million cubic metres to 1.26 billion cubic metres annually through the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS). – SAnews.gov.za
 

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President Ramaphosa to lead Reconciliation Day commemoration

Source: President of South Africa –

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, deliver a keynote address at the national commemoration of Reconciliation Day.

This year’s commemoration takes place at the Ncome Museum, Nquthu Local Municipality, within the uMzinyathi District in KwaZulu-Natal. 

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government will lead this year’s national event under the theme: “ Reaffirming Reconciliation for Future Generations. ”

This year’s theme enshrines on the call for South Africans to deepen commitment to unity, healing, forgiveness and nation-building for shared future.

The selection of the Battle of Blood River heritage site at the Ncome Museum signifies the value of cherishing unity and peace collectively as South Africans.

The fierce battle between the Voortrekker invaders and the Zulu forces unfolded 187 years ago in 1838 and marked a historical episode that shaped differing and often divisive commemorative customs for more than a century.

However, as a part of redressing the past injustices in South Africa, the democratic government redefined the day in 1995 as the National Day of Reconciliation onwards.

That was a unifying effort to transform the day from a symbol of division into a transformative platform for truth, justice, dialogue, healing and a shared nationhood. 

Hosting the 2025 programme at Ncome reaffirms this commitment and invites the nation to engage honestly with its complex past while advancing a future rooted in inclusion, understanding and unity.

The commemoration will take places as follows:
Date: 16 December 2025
Time: 08h00
Venue: Ncome Museum, in Nquthu KwaZulu-Natal Province

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya Spokesperson to the President media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

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Burundi : Bujumbura, Capitale de la jeunesse africaine célèbre la créativité et l’innovation des jeunes talents

Source: Africa Press Organisation – French


Ce samedi 13 décembre 2025, Son Excellence Evariste Ndayishimiye, Président de la République du Burundi et champion de l’Union Africaine pour l’Agenda Jeunesse, Paix et Sécurité, a rehaussé de sa présence un événement exceptionnel à Bujumbura, capitale de la jeunesse africaine, dédié à la créativité et à l’innovation des jeunes talents.

La 4ème édition du Dialogue continental sur la Jeunesse, la Paix et la Sécurité s’est ainsi combinée à la finale de la 3ème édition d’Inkerebutsi Day, offrant un cadre unique pour célébrer les talents et les projets innovants des jeunes. Placée sous le thème « Valorisation des initiatives locales : réalisations et perspectives d’avenir », cette grande finale a permis à dix initiatives remarquables, sélectionnées au niveau national, d’être présentées, illustrant l’esprit entrepreneurial des jeunes Burundais.

Le projet de la société D-TECHNO s’est particulièrement démarqué. Spécialisée dans la fabrication de machines de transformation, cette entreprise incarne pleinement le dynamisme et l’ingéniosité des jeunes entrepreneurs burundais. Pour son innovation et son impact, elle a été honorée par un trophée et un prix de 20 millions de FBu, remis des mains de Son Excellence Evariste Ndayishimiye, Président de la République du Burundi, en reconnaissance de son rôle exemplaire dans le développement économique et technologique du pays.

Le Chef de l’Etat, Son Excellence Evariste Ndayishimiye et Ami des Jeunes, a tenu à féliciter la jeunesse burundaise, saluant son rôle exemplaire à l’échelle africaine. Il a rappelé que la persévérance et le travail acharné sont les clés du succès et de l’épanouissement, encourageant tous les jeunes à continuer à oser et à entreprendre.

Fier de la jeunesse burundaise en général, et particulièrement de celle qui se consacre pleinement à la valorisation de la culture, le Père de la Nation a offert deux vaches au club culturel Amagaba. Il a encouragé les membres du club à tirer pleinement parti de ce don afin d’en faire un outil de développement et de prospérité pour leur club.

Distribué par APO Group pour Présidence de la République du Burundi.

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Qatar Among Five Largest Donors to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for 2025

Source: Government of Qatar

New York, December 14, 2025

The State of Qatar expressed its pride in being among the five largest donor countries contributing to humanitarian aid to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for 2025, with a total exceeding USD 1.528 billion, reflecting the utmost priority Qatar gives to humanitarian response.

This came in Qatar’s statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, before the United Nations General Assembly session on Agenda item 72 (a): Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance: strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, convened at the UN headquarters in New York.

HE Sheikha Alya emphasized that the UNGA convenes to weigh in on this agenda at a time when a variety of world territories are experiencing a profoundly perilous humanitarian situation, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian needs are unprecedentedly mounting due to the Israeli aggression in the enclave.

At the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar launched a humanitarian aid land bridge last October in response to the urgent needs to mitigate the anguish of the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, Sheikha Alya highlighted.

She pointed out that the bridge was launched through the territories of the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, noting that this initiative came in the wake of the signing of the document to end the war in the Gaza Strip during the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit, with Qatar emphasizing the importance of fully consolidating the ceasefire, putting an end to the suffering of civilians, ensuring unhindered entry of humanitarian aid, and embarking on early recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Her Excellency evinced that the tragic humanitarian situation in Al-Fashir in the sisterly Republic of Sudan, and the tough conditions faced by civilians, including severe food shortages and increasing need for shelter supplies and essential goods due to the armed conflict, triggered the State of Qatar to dispatch humanitarian and relief assistance last November to support the displaced from Al-Fashir in Darfur and surrounding areas.

The State of Qatar stresses the need for the Rapid Support Forces to fulfill their duty in protecting civilians, ensuring the secure delivery of humanitarian aid, and adhering to international humanitarian law as stipulated in the Jeddah Declaration, Sheikha Alya continued.

She clarified that from 2013 until October 2025, the State of Qatar provided USD 1.9 billion in support of the general budget and core contributions to UN agencies, their regional offices, and initiatives, adding that, based on the existing partnership between Qatar and the UN, Qatar provided multi-year support for the core resources of OCHA during the period 2017-2026, totaling USD 88 million, to strengthen its capacity to implement its mandate.

Yesterday, the renewal of the State of Qatar’s support for the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for 2026 was declared, bringing its total contributions to CERF since its inception to over USD22million, Sheikha Alya recalled.

Sheikha Alya elaborated that the worsening humanitarian situation gripping numerous crisis zones triggers intensified diplomatic efforts to have a climate in place that helps ensure urgent and unconditional access to humanitarian aid, with the objective of salvaging millions of civilians from humanitarian suffering.

She stressed that this action requires a regional and global effort in prioritizing humanitarian action and protecting workers operating in the humanitarian field, as they are the key drivers of delivering humanitarian aid.

Her Excellency further noted that last September, the State of Qatar joined the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, led by Australia, and the Global Initiative launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross to strengthen and ensure respect for international humanitarian law (IHL).

Finally, HE Sheikha Alya underlined the State of Qatar’s steadfast efforts to strengthen humanitarian diplomacy, in pursuit of mitigating humanitarian suffering and protecting human dignity.

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Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bids Farewell to Ambassador of Haiti

Source: Government of Qatar

Doha | December 14, 2025

HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi met on Sunday with HE Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti to the State of Qatar Jean-Marie Francois Junior Guillaume, on the occasion of the end of his tenure in the country.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs expressed his thanks to HE the Ambassador for his efforts in supporting and strengthening bilateral relations, and wished him success in his new assignment.