Andrew Stegmann
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Angola Cables and TM Global Successfully Establish Proof of Concept For a New Undersea Cable Route

Most of the global internet traffic today utilizes infrastructure located primarily in the northern hemisphere to link Asia, Europe and North America. Meanwhile, the southern hemisphere, which includes parts of Asia, Africa and South America is heavily connected via links coming from the North as well. However, the traffic to the southern region currently travels a longer route which may affect the internet experience of the end-users.

Aware of the increasing needs for a more efficient and low latency route, TM GLOBAL, the global and wholesale arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Angola Cables have been exploring another alternative via a new express route connecting the southern hemisphere subsea cables from Asia directly to South America. A Proof of Concept (PoC) testing is being conducted by both parties leveraging two (2) cable systems; the South Africa Far East cable system (SAFE), connecting Malaysia to Angola, and South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) connecting Angola to Brazil owned by both parties respectively.

The preliminary PoC results have showed up a reduction in the latency reading as compared to the current northern hemisphere routes. This may lead to a significant improvement in the global internet traffic routing quality especially on data connectivity services to the southern hemisphere.

The new express route is set to provide a shorter path connecting Asia to South America while bypassing the Middle East and Europe, hence delivering a better customer experience. The low latency routing will also provide the catalyst for the creation of more effective digital ecosystems that are developing within the southern hemisphere. This initiative is expected to transform data transfer between countries and economies, enabling more robust connection amongst back-haul providers, content/application providers and content delivery network providers in a more efficient data sharing process. The benefits will be far-reaching, especially for financial institutions in conveying market-sensitive information or multinational companies in sharing large amounts of data and applications to users in the US, Latin America or the Far East region.

TM GLOBAL and Angola Cables believe that this initiative will provide better options for service providers in growing their business and expanding their reach to new and niche markets. Both parties will continue to explore other potential collaboration areas in penetrating new market opportunities and serving the customers who are looking for diversity, high resiliency route and better quality of service.

 

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

Ethiopia Unveils Blueprint to Drive Economic Growth

The government of Ethiopia has unveiled what it describes as a “Homegrown Economic Reform” agenda aimed at unlocking the country’s development potential.

“Several months in the making and spearheaded by some of Ethiopia’s finest minds, our initiative aims to propel Ethiopia into becoming the African icon of prosperity by 2030,” said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia.

He made the remarks during an event to unveil the Reform Agenda at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa.

The Agenda outlines macroeconomic, structural and sectoral reforms that will pave the way for job creation, poverty reduction, and inclusive growth.

The P.M. said “in just over one year,” his government has taken a series of measures to shift the economic landscape of Ethiopia, such as reforms in investment laws and business climate, which have helped remove regulatory obstacles that hamper investment.

Mr. Ahmed stated that the private sector was crucial for the next chapter of Ethiopia’s growth and development. Consequently, he said, we have “opened up key economic activities to private investments,” adding that these measures will “surely be reflected in Ethiopia’s ease of doing business ranking.”

The P.M. pointed out that to ensure the success of the Agenda, “we are tightening our fiscal belts, strengthening our public sector finances, shedding our debts, and increasing domestic resource mobilization.”

The Agenda prioritizes sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism, and ICT.

Reflecting on the Reform Agenda, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said Ethiopia’s aspiration to grow from 865 to 2219 GDP per capita was “very ambitious” but that it was doable, citing the success stories of China, Laos, and Vietnam.

Ms. Songwe cautioned, however, that Ethiopia currently has a USD 10 billion gap – 6 billion in new investment and 4 billion of debt reduction per year – that must be bridged in order to achieve its reform aspirations.

“If you continue to accumulate debt the way you’re doing now, you will likely fall into debt distress in the next two years and a lot of the structural reforms you’ve put in place will not bring in the private sector because you will not be a credit-worthy country.”

Ms. Songwe said credibility is what the private sector will be looking for in the reform package. She recommended paving the way for IPPs in a reformed energy sector as a quick-win that can demonstrate the country’s credibility.

The event was attended by representatives from the World Bank, IMF, UN Agencies and other development partners. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged all stakeholders to “support us in crafting Ethiopia’s economic miracle.”

He said, “We realize that our interdependence solidifies Ethiopia’s geopolitical importance in becoming Africa’s gateway to the global market.”

The Reform Agenda was presented by Ethiopia’s minister of state for finance, Eyob Tekalign.

 

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

New South African Marriage Policies Being Discussed

The South African Home Affairs Department has kick started discussions to align the country’s current marriage laws with the Constitution.

“We are starting a process to modernise our marriage laws to ensure that they adhere to the principles of the Constitution, which enjoins us to ensure that the State does not unfairly discriminate against any citizen,” said Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

Currently, marriages in the country are governed by three laws all of which discriminate against some citizens.

These laws are contained in The Marriage Act 25 of 1961, The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 and The Civil Unions Act 17 of 2006.

Largely influenced by religion, the laws in relation to marriage prejudice certain segments of people and contravene the Constitution.

Current legislation does not regulate some religious marriages such as the Hindu, Muslim and other customary marriages that are practiced in some African or royal families.

The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act does not make provision for entering into a polygamous marriage with non-citizens. This poses a serious challenge when such marriages are entered into especially among the community members who are members of the same clan but are separated by a borderline.

The legislation does not make provision for couples who change their sex status but want to retain their marital status.

While in terms of the African tradition, chiefs or traditional leaders have a recognised role in the conclusion of a customary marriage; the legislation does not extend a similar responsibility to traditional leaders.

In light of this, government has sought to do away with the discrimination by crafting a new marriage policy.

It is envisaged that the new marriage policy will be taken to Cabinet, in March 2021, for approval after an extensive public consultation process has been undertaken.

 

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

Home Affairs Umgeni Staff Commended

This letter was written by D Boardwin, and sent to Berea Mail.

My passport expired on 19 June and I had to renew both my partner’s and mine simultaneously.

After having read so many negative comments about Home Affairs I was pretty apprehensive about going through the process and this is where my whole perception of Home Affairs changed.We visited the Home Affairs in Umgeni Road on Tuesday, 13 August at 8.30am and by 10.30am we were out with the 100 others before us. This they achieved notwithstanding being short of one camera,which is the most time consuming part of the process. The staff were very courteous and very organised and efficient.

The only negative comment I have to make is in respect of some people who sat in the queue of seats just moaning every step of the way – of the 100 or so there were four or five at the most who just couldn’t handle sharing the queue with anyone else. I guessed that this small minority were spoilt in the past (prior 1994) and that should explain everything.

On Monday, 19 August, four working days after I applied, I received an SMS informing me that the passports were ready for collection. At 11.45am we entered the Home Affairs Collections Division and by 12pm we were back in our car.

Need I say more – I believe that South Africans must accept that things have changed and its time for them to change with the times.

Home Affairs Umgeni Offices have my vote of confidence. We need to be more supportive and positive. Churchill once said that “if you nothing good to say, then don’t say anything.”

 

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].