Government activities for the week 4 to 10 Mar

4 March 2019

Government has scheduled the following briefings/activities for the week: 04 - 10 MARCH 2019. The activities, which are aligned to the National Development Plan and outlined in the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019, are undertaken to build a better South Africa.

• The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize, will on Monday, 04 March, convene a consultative meeting between the political leadership from various Ministries and leaders of the National House of Traditional Leaders and other key representatives from the traditional leadership sector. The meeting will be held at  Birchwood Hotel at 12h30.
   
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the City of Cape Town have partnered with Topco Media, in hosting the inaugural Africa Tech Week Conference, from 4-5 March. The two-day event will showcase Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies developed by Government and the private sector. The Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, will address the event on Tuesday, 5 March. From 6 to 12 March, the Department of Science and Technology will host Scifest Africa festival at Makhanda in the Eastern Cape. The 2019 festival programme will offer exhibitions, workshops, lecturers and science talks, with researchers from South Africa and abroad sharing their wealth of knowledge.
   
• The National School of Government and UN, will on Monday, 04 March, launch the Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance at the Capital in Sandton at 09h00. The journal, published by the African Management Development Institute Network, is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that investigates a broad spectrum of matters and issues related to governance, development, policy research and implementation, leadership and management in the public sector in Africa.
   
• The Statistics South Africa, will on Tuesday, 5 March, release the Gross Domestic Product results of the fourth quarter of 2018 at a media briefing. The briefing will be held at GCIS Tshedimosetso House in Pretoria at 11h00 with a video link to Imbizo Media Centre, Parliament in Cape Town.
   
• The Minister of Trade and industry, Dr Rob Davies and Busi Mabuza, chair of the newly appointed Brics Business Council, will brief media on Tuesday, 05 March, about the international mid-term meeting of the five member states’ business councils, which will be held in SA in April. The briefing will be held at the Imbizo Media Centre in Parliament, Cape Town at 12h00, with a video link to GCIS, Tshedimosetso House in Pretoria.
   
• The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe, will Tuesday, 5 March, host a certification ceremony for 281 learners that completed the 12 month long Youth Hospitality Training Programme in Polokwane, Limpopo. The Deputy Minister will also host a certification ceremony for 203 learners that completed the 12 month long Youth Hospitality Training Programme in Potchefstroom, North West on Friday, 8 March.
   
• On Wednesday, 06 March, the National Treasury and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority will host a media workshop on the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill in Pretoria at 10h00. This is to help journalists better understand what the Bill aims to achieve in the regulation of the financial services sector. The COFI Bill was published for public comment in December 2018, together with an explanatory paper that sets out the policy rationale for the Bill.
   
• A South African delegation of mining equipment manufacturing and mining services firms will showcase their capabilities at a trade mission to Canada during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) exhibition that will take place in Toronto from 03 – 06 March. The 29 companies are supported by the Department of Trade and Industry through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme to participate at the show.
   
• President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to appear before the National Assembly on Thursday, March, to respond to questions from Members of the National Assembly on a wide range of issues. These regular oral question and answer sessions are an important mechanism through which Parliamentarians hold the executive to account. On Friday, 08 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa will launch the Good Green Deeds Programme at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, Mdantsane in East London at 08h00. The Good Green Deeds Programme is aimed at changing behaviour towards littering, illegal dumping and towards waste in general.

All mebers of the media are advised that the media briefings/activities are subject to change. However, the GCIS will update the media through advisories.

Enquiries:
Phumla Williams
Cell: 083 501 0139