Andrew Stegmann
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Cape Town Hosts World Travel Market Africa to Attract More Tourists to the Continent

The doors to the Cape Town International Convention Centre were opened on Wednesday morning with the hope that hundreds of millions worth of currency would change hands in the coming days.

The World Travel Market (WTM) Africa began in Cape Town and focuses on promoting and networking the tourism industry in Africa. In 2017, $365m (about R5.1bn) was exchanged in business transactions at the three-day event.

Nearly 6,000 industry professionals are expected to attend.

“Platforms such as WTM Africa provide us with an opportunity as Africans to share with the world what we have to offer not only as a city, or as a country, but as an African region,” Cape Town mayor Dan Plato told delegates.

“We are looking forward to sharing ideas with our counterparts on how to continue building a globally competitive tourism and business destination.”

The opening seminar focused on the economic potential the tourism industry has for SA.

“Currently, the tourism economy in Cape Town employs around 150,000 people which makes it the sector with the highest growth and employment potential,” said Plato.

Other panelists outlined plans to bring more visitors to SA. Tourism Business Council of SA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said the organisation aims to double the number of annual tourists in SA by 2030 to about 21-million.

Gillian Saunders, special adviser to tourism minister Derek Hanekom, said marketing strategies need to change be changed to attract more Africans to SA.

“Often aspirational destinations are in Europe, even though there is nothing wrong with Joburg and Cape Town,” Saunders said. “Aspirational destinations of Africans should also be down here.”

The event is hosting about 600 exhibitors and lasts until the evening of Friday 12 April 2019. For more information about the Expo, and to register, click here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Another Desalination Plant on the Cards for Cape Town

Cape Town Harbour may soon get a desalination plant as further studies into the viability of this option have been approved by Transnet SOC Ltd.

The plant will assist in converting ocean water into drinking water through seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), and if studies find this option to be viable it could become a reality by as soon as 2020.

Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) Cape Town acting port manager, Alex Miya, told IOL that the next step would be to appoint consultants to perform studies that could be concluded by September.

In the meantime, the port will align with the City’s initiatives to supply extra water.

“The port is confident the municipality will ensure a water-resilient region through a mix of water sources. We have considered a few options to ensure economic sustainability. One is an SWRO plant for port use. This is being explored in conjunction with various regulatory authorities and has received support from Transnet to proceed with further studies,” Miya said.

If the plant is approved, it will be located at the Quay 700 port area and would be expected to provide an average of 1-million to 3-million litres of water a day.

The port has also been providing assistance with regards to the potential site availability for a permanent plant.

As dam levels have dropped below the 50% mark again this week, there can be no doubt that it is a worthwhile initiative to look further into so the city can provide more water for its residents and fight back against the looming threats of drought.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: Cape Grace [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Africa’s New Free Trade Deal Has Enough Signatories to Go Into Force

It is now official: Africa’s free trade agreement has drawn enough signatures to go into operation.

On Tuesday (Apr. 2), The Gambia’s parliament was the 22nd nation to ratify the agreement, the minimum threshold expected to approve the deal among the 55 member states of the African Union. The move posits a major step forward for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was created last March in Rwanda. The trade agreement is set to become operational within a month after the required number of endorsements are deposited with the AU chairperson’s office.

Once in place, the AfCFTA will cover a market of 1.2 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion—making it the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization seven decades ago. African leaders hope the agreement will eliminate current high tariffs, generate employment opportunities for a rapidly growing young workforce, and harmonize the work of already-existing regional economic communities. It could also enhance intra-African trade by 52.3% annually, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

“Posterity will recall this day,” the ex-president of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka wrote on Twitter. His sentiments were shared by the former executive secretary of UNECA Carlos Lopes who wrote, “Africa made it.” Lopes noted that it took the continent a year to operationalize the trade deal, “an absolute record for these type of agreements.”

Trade deals have a reputation for being slow and drawn-out affairs, with the European Union-Canada deal, for instance, taking seven years to negotiate after being 22 years in the making.

Yet not all is rosy with the historic free trade agreement. Africa’s largest economy Nigeria—along with Benin and Eritrea—is yet to sign the agreement, presumably due to pressure from trade and labor unions. Only 15 out of the 22 nations that have ratified the agreement have also submitted their ratification documents at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Private sector leaders have also expressed their concern about how the deal will be executed and if governments will be bold enough to move the deal forward. “The challenges are going to be in the implementation,” Naguib Sawiris, the executive chairman of the Egyptian investment holding Orascom said at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda last week.

In a speech at the same conference, Rwandan president Paul Kagame said making sure AfCFTA succeeds represents “the very highest consequence for Africa’s future.” He acknowledged the role of politics and policy in driving countries and the continent forward, stating that he reached out to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari to sign the deal.

“Whatever we try to do, even in terms of economic development, the result comes back to the politics surrounding it,” he said. “If the politics is bad, everything else is bad. That is why open, responsive, and accountable governance is so critical.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

SA 2019 Elections: Voting from Overseas; Special Voting Registration Info; Party Info; Registration Details

Written by Quintin Coetzee

South African general elections will be taking place on the 8th of May (a public holiday) this year. This is an opportunity for all South African citizens, living locally and abroad, to cast their vote for their preferred political party and have their say in who represents them in Parliament for the next 5 years. Voter turnout is traditionally quite low in SA, and parties have been going to great lengths to encourage all registered voters to turn up at the polls on 8 May to participate.

To confirm you are registered to vote, visit the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) website here. And to check the your info is correct on your My IEC profile, click here.

For certain voters, such as those living overseas, or those who need to cast a special ballot, there are extra steps that needed to be taken by 13 March, and we have outlined the process for voting (and voting days and times) for these voters below.

Voting from abroad

South Africans who will be overseas on voting day (residing or on vacation) needed to submit their intent to vote from overseas to the IEC via a VEC10 form by 13 March. If you have done this, your voting day will be 27 April. Polls will be open from 7am to 9pm on this day. You need to take your passport, as well as one of the following: a green, barcoded ID; a smart ID; a valid temporary ID. If you do not take the two documents on the day, you will not be allowed to vote, even if you are registered. For more info, click here.

Special vote (voting from home)

Special votes are available for situations such as pregnancy, disability, and physical infirmary. For voters needing to vote from their home, a VEC1 application form should have been submitted to the IEC by 13 March. If you have done this, you should have received an SMS notifying you of the outcome of your application after processing. To confirm whether you are registered for a special vote, click here. Special votes from home will be cast between 9am and 5pm on 6 May and 7 May.

Special vote (voting at a polling station)

Those who will be unable to vote at the polling station closest to the home, but will be able to vote at a different station, also needed to apply for such via a VEC1 application form, submitted to the IEC by 13 March. If you have done so, you also should have received a confirmation SMS. To confirm whether you are registered for a special vote, click here. Special votes from different polling stations will be cast between 9am and 5pm on 6 May and 7 May.

Political party manifestos

Each election, major South African political parties release manifestos, stating their vision for the country, and outlining their plans, should they take power. It is important to educate yourself on the issues important to each party, to make sure your values align with who you vote for. We have linked some of these manifestos below.

  • United Democratic Movement (UDM): Link
  • African National Congress (ANC): Link
  • Democratic Alliance (DA): Link
  • Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP): Link
  • GOOD: Link
  • Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF): Link
  • African Democratic Change (ADeC): Link
  • Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO): Link
  • Freedom Front Plus/Vryheidsfront Plus (FF Plus/VF Plus): Link
  • African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP): Link
  • Congress of the People (COPE): Link
  • African Transformation Movement (ATM): Link

Other information

Below we have a list of links to other important information worth reading before you cast your vote.

  • Voting station finder (map): Link
  • IEC mobile app (for checking your details, getting news, and receiving notifications of election results): Link
  • Find out who your Ward Councillor is: Link
  • Political party list: Link
  • How political party funding works in SA: Link
  • The Electoral Code of Conduct: Link
  • Voter frequently asked questions: Link

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].