Andrew Stegmann

What a Trump win could mean for Africa

US – As millions of Americans went to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president, many more people around the globe were also waiting with baited breath for the outcome of the US presidential elections.

As Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party presidential nominee, and a former US Secretary of State, goes head-to-head with Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, Zachary Donnenfeld, an American researcher from the Institute for Security Studies’ (ISS), African Futures and Innovation department, in Pretoria, outlined how the winner could possibly impact Africa.

“Whatever happens will affect nearly every country on the globe, and especially those in Africa,” said Donnenfeld, in a paper published by the ISS on Tuesday.

“The George W Bush administration and its foreign policy will forever be tainted by the disastrous decision to invade Iraq, and the eventual fall-out that bolstered existing terrorist organisations (such as al-Qaeda) and helped fan the flames of new groups (like the Islamic State, or ISIS).

“But on other fronts, the Bush administration’s efforts to help Africa were quite successful. For example, President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (known as PEPFAR) has been tremendously beneficial for human development,” he wrote.

Donnenfeld believes Trump could become the single most effective recruiting tool for terrorist organisations.

“For Africa, the most harmful policy of the [current Presicdent Barack] Obama administration was arguably the lack of follow-through in Libya after the ousting of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

“When the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) walked away from Libya, it created a power vacuum that left the region thoroughly destabilised,” Donnenfeld wrote.

“A key question now is to what extent Obama’s successor would deviate from the present trajectory of US foreign policy.

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Andrew Stegmann

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TREND FORECAST: DEVELOPING AFRICA’S FUTURE CITIES

On Thursday, various planning authorities will gather to shape and inflect discourse on urban development and the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation under the banner “Developing Future Cities” at the African Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit in Cape Town.

Cities are “smart” when infrastructure, urban assets, public services, human and social capital, mobility systems and other forces are improved and optimised under ICT.  The important benefit is higher economic growth, better quality of life for citizens and a more responsible form of stewardship over natural resources.

However, the creation of such futuristic cosmopolitan utopias are often complex because of variables and variances in development levels, resource availability, technological infrastructure, innovation, cultural systems and issues such as the digital divide.

While other non-African nations are successful in building future cities, their templates can simply not be casted over the cities of this continent each with its own unique set of challenges, opportunities, urban development maps, and local economic development plans.

Commercial real estate developers, investors, property owners and facility managers are a critical link in casting a vision and blue print for future African cities, especially because they provide the spaces and sites for profitability, productivity, sustainability, innovation, cultural cohesion and heritage preservation.

There is a misunderstanding that megacities are the engines of global growth.   According to a McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, the 23 megacities in the world—with populations exceeding the 10 million mark—will only contribute about 10%  of global growth in 10 years from now.   Growth will come from mid-size cities with populations of between 150,000 and 10 million.

To achieve this growth, role-players in the commercial real estate value chain have shaped developmental narratives with local planning authorities.

However, the South African commercial real estate sector is faced with a set of challenges:  on the one hand sluggish economic growth and on the other hand the slow-burning and very real transmutation of physical spaces into virtual sites of economic productivity as a result of technological innovation.

Since the great recession of 2008/09, South Africa’s national vacancy rate has hovered between 9,8% – 10,6%, and is likely to be frozen at the same level or increase further unless South Africa’s economic growth prospects improve.  Workplace flexibility, virtual working and telecommuting – as a result of technological innovation and shifts in organisational policies can put the national vacancy rate under further pressure in the distant future.

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Andrew Stegmann

Home Affairs grants blanket extension for study visas

The Department of Home Affairs has granted a blanket extension until 31 March 2017 on all visas issued for the purpose of studies at tertiary institutions in South Africa.
The extension applies to all study visas with an expiry date of or prior to 31 December 2016, and it is on condition that the date of departure from South Africa is not later than 31 March 2017.

The requirements prescribed in Regulation 27(a) and (c) of the Immigration Regulations are also waived so that the affected students are not declared undesirable persons when departing from the Republic after the expiry of their temporary residence visas.

Those students will therefore not be deemed to have overstayed. Officials at ports of entry will be informed accordingly.

“We had to intervene in the interest of students, mindful of the situation in tertiary institutions and the imperative for all students to complete their academic year. Acting otherwise would be insensitive to the plight of students, their parents, sponsors and broader society.

“This is key to their future and that of their countries and ours, given the potential on their part to contribute meaningfully to our economic growth and prosperity,” said Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.

The Minister had received representations from tertiary institutions and stakeholders on this matter affecting many in the sector.

The administrative extension is granted, in terms of section 31(2)(c) of the Immigration Act, 2002, allowing for waiving of any prescribed requirement or form, for good cause.

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Andrew Stegmann

‘SA birth certificates in hot demand’

Corruption is rife in the KwaZulu-Natal Home Affairs office, says Cyril Mncwabe, the provincial manager.

“There are those who know how they can circumvent the system. The most sought-after document is the birth certificate.”

Mncwabe was responding to the arrest of a Home Affairs clerk for allegedly selling a South African birth certificate to a foreigner.

The 30-year-old clerk was arrested at his office yesterday.

Mncwabe said the clerk allegedly sold the birth certificate, containing details of a South African, to a Malawian for R1500.

A legal application for a birth certificate costs R75.

“The Malawian used the birth certificate to apply for a South African ID. A staff member noticed the photos of the people looked different. The South African, who is named on the certificate, had simultaneously applied for a late registration birth certificate and had already been for an interview and had his certificate granted. The clerk printed the document and allegedly sold it to the foreigner.”

He said the Malawian wasarrested two weeks ago.

“Both will be charged with fraud and contravention of the Immigration Act. The Malawian said he was told he could get an identity document for R3500.”

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