Cape Town – At least 248 700 people live in conditions of modern-day slavery.
This is according to a Global Slavery Index survey released this year.
A21 Campaign, an anti-human trafficking NGO said via manager Katie Modrau that nearly 49 out of 100 people are at risk of being trafficked or are vulnerable to human trafficking.
More than 150 women were rescued from being sold into slavery in South Africa this year. This announcement comes as authorities clamped down on human trafficking during Women’s Month.
The women were “rescued” in operations across the country in co-ordination with authorities from the US and neighbouring countries.
Although human trafficking was described as a “serious issue” in the Western Cape, it was the North West, Limpopo and the Free State that were hardest hit with men, women and children, predominantly being smuggled into the country from Malawi.
“The nature of human trafficking is that it is a crime hidden in plain sight.
“It presents as something like an immigrant working on a farm, a drug addicted girl prostituting on the streets, a young girl from a bordering country working as a domestic worker for a distant relative or a friend of the family. But underneath, it is a foreigner lured to South Africa on the promise of work, and then exposed to exploitative labour conditions: a girl forced to take drugs in order to keep her on the streets against her will or a girl trapped in domestic servitude,” said Modrau.
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Elections outcome ‘just what SA property sector needed’
Cape Town – South Africans did its property sector a really big favour last week during the local government elections, according to Chas Everitt CEO Berry Everitt on Tuesday.
“The world was once again presented with a picture of an orderly democracy as millions of South Africans went to the polls and were prepared to stand in long lines even in freezing weather,” Everitt said.
“Every South African was a winner in last week’s local elections,” he said. “We have all just done our property sector – which is the foundation of personal wealth for most ordinary South Africans – a really big favour.”
The ANC was left bruised and the DA energised, while the EFF emerged as kingmakers following one of the most hotly-contested elections in post-democratic South Africa last week.
Support for the ruling party fell to below 60% of the votes for the first time since 1994, who only won outright majorities in Buffalo City, Mangaung, and eThekwini.
The failure of any single party to break the 50% mark meant coalitions would be the order of the day for the next five years.
Everitt said that because there was such a large swing towards opposition parties and a more balanced political situation in which one party does not hold all the power has impressed observers, as it is a big indicator of stability going forward.
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Only 5% of CEOs in Africa are women – McKinsey
Johannesburg – There is a business case to have women in leadership. According to the McKinsey Women Matter report for Africa, released recently, there is a link between companies which perform better financially and that have gender diversity.
The report shows that in the past 10 years Africa has made progress in terms of gender diversity in leadership. However, only 5% of CEOs in the private sector in Africa are women, compared to 4% globally. This indicates that achieving gender equality is still an issue, according to Lohini Moodley, partner at McKinsey.
“In terms of gender diversity, one of the key findings is that we [Africa] are doing well compared to the rest of the world and we have made progress but we are not making the most of the opportunity,” explained Moodley. Organisations with a greater share of women on their boards tend to have higher operating margins, return on equity, and total return to shareholders.
The report also found that Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) for companies with at least a quarter share of women on boards was on average 20% higher than the industry average.
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Human trafficking: A crime hidden in plain sight
Cape Town – At least 248 700 people live in conditions of modern-day slavery.
This is according to a Global Slavery Index survey released this year.
A21 Campaign, an anti-human trafficking NGO said via manager Katie Modrau that nearly 49 out of 100 people are at risk of being trafficked or are vulnerable to human trafficking.
More than 150 women were rescued from being sold into slavery in South Africa this year. This announcement comes as authorities clamped down on human trafficking during Women’s Month.
The women were “rescued” in operations across the country in co-ordination with authorities from the US and neighbouring countries.
“The nature of human trafficking is that it is a crime hidden in plain sight.
“It presents as something like an immigrant working on a farm, a drug addicted girl prostituting on the streets, a young girl from a bordering country working as a domestic worker for a distant relative or a friend of the family. But underneath, it is a foreigner lured to South Africa on the promise of work, and then exposed to exploitative labour conditions: a girl forced to take drugs in order to keep her on the streets against her will or a girl trapped in domestic servitude,” said Modrau.
Source
Tanzania: Mwanza City Sets Sh200 Million Budget for Relocation of Traders
Mwanza — Mwanza city council (MCC) has set aside over Sh200 million for the relocation of hawkers from the streets into special trading grounds.
According to the acting district executive director Mr Hosiana Kusiga; the exercise will be implemented in fourteen days beginning 20 August.
In addition he said 30 officers from the MCC will supervise the relocation where everyone will receive Sh20, 000 per day.
He added that over 400 militia groups will be deployed at the cost of Sh10, 000 per guard.
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