South Africa’s visa centres in India have started asking for additional documents, tour operators have reported.
The centres now require travel agents to provide original letters from the hotel where the guests will be staying as well as a fully detailed itinerary with all the supporting documents stamped and signed. In the past a standard letter from the tour operator in South Africa was sufficient.
African airlines posted the strongest demand growth among global regions with February traffic up 12.7 percent compared to a year ago — a sign that African carriers are regaining market share after several difficult years, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Africa is set for strong expansion in air connectivity, the IATA reported. Efforts to enhance revenue management systems are paying off, along with increased exports from Africa.
Africa aviation accounts for more than 70 million passengers a year, generates over $80 billion in gross domestic product and supports more than 6.9 million jobs on the continent. Over the next five years the African economy is forecast to grow at a 4.7 percent per year — well above the global average.
“In the first two months of 2016, demand for passenger connectivity is off to its strongest start in eight years,” said IATA Director General Tony Tyler, AfricanCargoNews reported.
The industry body predicts that seven of the 10 fastest growing air passenger markets over the next 20 years will be in Africa, RoutesOnline reported. These include Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Several employers have appeared in court facing charges of torturing their workers, a development that has angered labour unions in the country. The unions have threatened to stage protests against some of the companies accused of abuse.
We cannot countenance such dehumanising conduct in the world of work
Labour and Employment Relations minister Haruna Iddrisu on Thursday said the government would consider cancelling licenses of companies found to be abusing workers.
“We have jointly taken a position on the matter not to end at the condemnation of the act which is an affront to our labour legislation and practices in Ghana; but to punish same and therefore appropriate steps are being taken, even if it means a revocation of that free zones license, ” he said.
“We are a signatory to all the respected ILO [International Lobour Organisation] conventions that supports and promotes decent work and productive work environment; and the rights of workers will continuously be upheld and respected by this government and all public institutions.”
An employee of Gateway Logistics Limited in Ghana’s oil city of Takoradi, was in March chained to a container for several hours under the scorching sun by his Italian supervisor, Manlio Maggiorotto for allegedly loitering during working hours.
