10 August 2012
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32nd Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government - Tourism Month
- Highlights
32nd Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government
President Jacob Zuma will lead a delegation to the 32nd Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government in Maputo, Mozambique from 17 to 18 August 2012. This year’s summit marks the 20th anniversary of the historic signing of the SADC Treaty and Declaration which led to the creation of this regional bloc.
South Africa’s future prosperity is linked to the future of the African continent and that of its neighbours in Southern Africa. A strong and unified SADC is critical to address regional developmental challenges such as unemployment, food security, poverty and underdevelopment.
South Africa, as a member of the SADC Organ Troika and 2011/12 chair, coordinated and participated in several election support and de-mining programmes, disaster management operations, fighting piracy and regional defence training and capacity building. As the outgoing chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, it will hand over the position to the United Republic of Tanzania. South Africa remains part of the security organ’s troika.
South Africa will continue to utilise its concurrent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), African Union Peace and Security Council and the SADC Organ on Peace and Security, to align the work of the UNSC and regional bodies to facilitate more effective conflict resolution in the region.
The 15-nation regional bloc comprises Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mauritius, Seychelles, Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia. Madagascar is currently suspended pending the restoration of constitutional and democratic order in the country.
The SADC comprises 257.7 million citizens and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $471 118 billion. The regional body’s vision is that of “a common future, a future within a regional community that will ensure economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the people of Southern Africa”.
Key Messages | Supporting Statements |
SADC remains the most important forum through which our common concerns in the southern African region can be addressed. |
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Consistent and long-term economic and social policies remain a priority for the region. |
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Integrated SADC infrastructure will accelerate investment and trade in the region. |
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Africa’s Trilateral Free Trade Areas (T-FTAs) will boost the continent’s competitiveness. |
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A peaceful region is a prerequisite for investment, regional integration and economic growth. |
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Tourism Month
Tourism Month is celebrated annually during the month of September, providing the platform for a sustained focus on the importance of the tourism industry to South Africa’s economy.
South Africa has adopted the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO) theme for World Tourism Day (27 September) – Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development.
Responsible and sustainable tourism has been identified as the most appropriate (and important) concepts and guiding principles for tourism development in the country. South Africa was also the first country in the world to include responsible tourism as a key pillar of its national tourism policy.
Tourism Month 2012 will focus intensely on encouraging South Africans to travel within their own country and to get a better understanding of the affordable and exciting attractions available to them on their own doorstep.
This focus on affordable, accessible packages geared to the identified domestic tourism segments, forms the basis of the campaign. The campaign promises: “Whatever you are looking for, it’s here, right on your doorstep in South Africa”.
The It’s Here, Vaya Mzansi campaign also leverages South Africa’s desirability globally as a leisure destination and encourages South Africans to enjoy all the benefits and experiences of this world-class destination on their doorstep.
Tourism Month is aimed at encouraging more people to embark on leisure activities and, in so doing, to increase the number of domestic holiday trips and tourism spend in all nine provinces, while contributing to a critical sector of the country’s economy.
The strategic objectives of Tourism Month include:
- entrenching a culture of domestic tourism through strategic activities designed to engage South Africans to travel their own country
- raising awareness of travel and tourism within the country with focus on the less visited local destinations and to promote geographic spread
- celebrating and generating awareness of the enormous contribution domestic tourism contributes to the economy and to job creation
- showcasing the Eastern Cape as an exciting and affordable holiday destination and to get people to travel to the province more often.
Key Messages | Supporting Statements |
‘GO! Be a tourist in your own country!’ |
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Vaya Mzansi : It’s Here. |
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Sustainable and responsible tourism policies are an expression of our tourism policy. |
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Domestic tourism is an essential contributor to the growth of tourism economies. |
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Natural environment acts as a primary attraction for visitors. |
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Energy is key for the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism sector. |
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Highlights
South Africa's Chad le Clos added to his growing stature in the world of swimming at the London Olympic Games when he won a silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly event. The rowing team (Sizwe Ndlovu, Matthew Brittain, John Smith and James Thompson) won a third gold medal for the country. Bridgitte Hartely contributed to Team SA’s medals when she won bronze in the Canoe Sprint (Women’s kayak single - K1 500m).
Oscar Pistorius made history as the first double amputee to participate in a track event at the Olympic Games. Pistorius, bowed out of the 400m in the semi-finals after finishing second in his heat.
Sports and Events Tourism Exchange Conference
A number of high-profile local and international speakers are lined up for the 2012 Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) Conference, which takes place at the International Convention Centre in Durban from 12 to 14 September. The conference will provide a platform for the exchanging of ideas aimed at enhancing the sport, tourism and event industries in South Africa.
The conference will run alongside the second edition of the SETE exhibition which itself will feature an estimated 100 exhibitors as well as over 60 international buyers.
Cycling
Cherise Stander made history when she raced to victory on the first stage of the women's version of the Tour de France, the Route de France. It was the first time that a South African woman had won a stage of an international 2.1 graded event, the highest grade, in Europe.
National heritage
Nelson Mandela sculpture
President Jacob Zuma has unveiled a sculpture of former President Nelson Mandela in Howick where the latter was arrested in 1962. President Zuma said the arrest of Madiba in Howick had automatically turned the town into a heritage site and that it would help to raise awareness about the historic injustice meted out by the racist apartheid regimé. The creation of the memorial site would also promote tourism and job creation.
Environmental affairs
Rhino poaching
A national campaign to raise funds for South Africa’s rhinos by asking ‘ordinary South Africans to do something extraordinary’ raised R300, 000.
The event took the campaign’s fundraising tally a step closer to the R10million goal, with three other Skydive for Rhinos events still to take place around the country. Close on R4 million has been raised by participants, the business community, schools, shopping centres and public donations to the African Conservation Trust’s Rhino Fund.
Economy
Solar-powered energy
South African entrepreneur, Peter Graham, launched a solar-powered connection centre in the Thusong Youth Centre in Alexandra township recently. The custom-designed connection centre is an integrated, self-contained, mobile, solar-powered container, which will provide 100% off GRID power for multiple and simultaneous internet user access, transforming township communities.
Some of the features and benefits of this social investment project include educational upliftment and sustainable job creation, while at the same time providing for the creation of monthly recurring revenue generated from the sale of products and services processed through Easy Pay kiosks (prepaid airtime, prepaid electricity, EFTs). Other sources of anticipated revenue include income from advertising and from other facilities offered, such as cellphone- charging, photocopying, scanning and faxing.
Development and support of small farmers
A new partnership between the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), non-governmental organisation, TechnoServe SA and retailer Massmart will create jobs and provide support for smallholder farmers, particularly women farmers, in poor communities.
The pilot project, the first of several to be rolled out across the country, is in line with Massmart's commitment to develop local suppliers and the DAFF’s commitment to creating food security and empowering smallholder farmers.
Investment project in Hammanskraal
A R500-million investment project has been launched in Babelegi, Hammanskraal, creating over 130 permanent jobs. The two new production sites of Nestlé in Babelegi include the construction of a 16 000-square metre factory. The Babelegi investment alone has created over 300 indirect jobs over the 20-month construction phase.
Growth in vehicle sales
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, vehicle sales in the country showed solid gains in July, growing 18.3% year-on-year to 54 067 vehicles. The total domestic sales for the seven months of 2012 were also 11.6% ahead of the same period in 2011.
International relations
South Africa’s relations with the United States of America
United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton undertook a four-day official visit to South Africa to consolidate existing bilateral political and economic relations.
The inaugural South Africa-United States business summit took place on 7 August and called for enhanced economic cooperation between the two countries. Public Enterprises Minister, Malusi Gigaba, speaking at the summit in Johannesburg called on the US to invest in South Africa as it embarked on a State-led infrastructure drive that would transform the country's economic landscape.
On the sidelines of the South Africa-United States business summit, the chairman and president of the US Export-Import Bank announced an offer of US $2-billion in loans to South Africa to fund renewable energy projects involving US firms.