₦airaland Forum

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2015/10/01/Gigaba-invites-foreign-students-to-become-new-South-Africans?ref=yfp

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba today asked foreign students studying in South Africa to stay on after graduation.

“We want to make it easy and straightforward for those students who are interested in staying in South Africa after graduating to do so. We are developing proposals in this regard which we will announce soon‚” he said in a prepared speech to an International Students Dialogue on International Migration in Johannesburg today.

Explaining his invitation for foreign students to live in SA‚ he said: “No country can produce all of the skills it needs… Skilled immigrants make an important contribution in destination economies”.

“International students are especially advantageous‚ as their qualifications have been obtained here in South Africa and are thus able to transition seamlessly into their chosen fields‚” Gigaba said.

Pledging to ensure efficiency in the issuing of study visas‚ he said: “We want South Africa to be at the top of list of destinations for prospective students across Africa and the world”.

Gigaba also asked delegates to share the biggest challenges they are facing as international students in SA.

“When you work for Home Affairs you quickly develop a thick skin‚ you don’t need to worry about our feelings. We want to hear your concerns‚ your criticisms and your aspirations.”

Gigaba proposed that the conference address nation building and social cohesion in SA as part of its discussions. “We are a young country on a young continent‚ in the most dynamic period of political‚ economic and social change humanity has ever known.

“Where previously our discourse on what has been called the ‘national question’‚ was about uniting Africans‚ coloureds‚ Indians and whites‚ it now must expand to include visitors to our country and new South Africans from all over the African continent and world.”

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Horrific-conditions-for-100s-detained-in-Malawi-en-route-to-SA-20150804

Horrific conditions for 100s detained in Malawi en route to SA
2015-08-04 14:53
Betha Madhomu, News24

Cape Town – Hundreds of illegal migrants, most of them from Ethiopia, remain detained in Malawi in appalling conditions after they failed to reach their destination, South Africa, a humanitarian organisation has said.

According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the migrants were detained while on their way to South Africa in search of jobs.

Statistics from Malawi-based Child Rights, Advocacy and Paralegal Aid Centre (Crapac), show that large numbers of African migrants are passing through Malawi en route to South Africa. Anecdotal reports are that the numbers have been on the increase in the past two years, possibly because other nations, such as Mozambique, are making it harder for undocumented migrants to travel through their countries.

Most of these migrants have been imprisoned since December and do not have identity documents.

As "prohibited migrants" they were ordered by the Malawian court to be repatriated within three months of their initial arrest, but they remain imprisoned, MSF said.

At least 193 Ethiopians, 14 Congolese and two Burundians were at Maula Central prison in Lilongwe, whilst others were detained in other prisons across the southeast African country.

In an interview with News24, MSF’s deputy head of mission in Malawi, Nicolette Jackson, shared the humanitarian organisation's grave concerns at the impact of the "extreme" prison overcrowding.

News24: What's the situation with these migrants?

MSF: In Maula Central Prison, in Lilongwe, there are over 300 migrants who are locked up in the remand section of the prison. Some of these migrants were delivered to the prison by the department of immigration in late 2014. As of early August 2015, they still don’t know when they will be released. These men are living in appalling conditions that are endangering their physical and mental wellbeing.

In addition to the migrants in Maula, there are about 100 migrants in three other prisons in Malawi at present.

Maula Prison is the largest prison in Malawi. It’s designed to house 800 inmates but currently it has over 2 400 residents.

News24: So what have been some of your experiences with them?

MSF: As a humanitarian organisation working inside Maula prison providing medical services, we are witnessing the suffering that these migrants are enduring: extreme overcrowding, ill-health, insanitary conditions, inadequate food as well as the mental torment of not knowing when or how they will be released.

Malawi migrants
Ethiopian migrants detained in Maula prison because of their illegal status. They were on their way to South Africa in search of a better future. (MSF)

These men are by their own reports, migrants who are in search of a better life. They are not criminals.

News 24: What is complicating the process of having them freed?

MSF: Negotiating the return of foreigners to their country of origin, without identity papers, has a level of complexity to it. It requires both countries to be aware of the problem and be prepared to act.

An additional complication is that a number of government departments in Malawi need to work together to secure the migrants' release and this is never a straightforward process.

From discussing this issue with government representatives, it appears that while a decision was made by the Malawian government since the end of last year to start detaining migrants in prison, there wasn’t a plan put in place for organising their repatriation to their homelands.

Other multilateral organisations whose remit it is to support governments on managing the movement of migrants have not been pro-active, on this issue either.

News 24: Should the migrants be placed in refugee camps rather than in prisons?

The refugee camp in Malawi in Dzaleka is for refugees not migrants. While some migrants do go to Dzaleka of their own volition when they arrive in Malawi, the police raid the camp and arrest people they suspect of being migrants. In the past the immigration department would return illegal migrants to the border, for example with Tanzania.


However, they noticed a trend whereby the migrants would keep returning to Malawi [rather than going home] so that they could continue their journey onwards to South Africa. Malawian government representatives report that they are facing increasing pressure from neighbouring countries to ensure that migrants without travel permits are contained rather than being allowed to transit freely.

News24: What are some of the challenges you are facing in trying to get them released?

MSF: The challenge we have faced in trying to get them free is to mobilise the key actors and agencies and government representatives to take responsibility to act to resolve this critical humanitarian situation.

I do not believe that it is our job, as a medical aid organisation to ensure diplomatic channels of communication are being utilised between countries in order for foreigners to be released from prison, but this is what we’ve been doing.

News24: Have you, as a humanitarian organisation spoken to the governments involved? If so, what has been the response?

MSF: We have been talking to the governments involved and they have expressed their concern and appreciation for the advocacy we are doing on this.

We are encouraged by the fact that a workshop is planned in Malawi in a few weeks that will bring together all the key government departments who are involved in the detention of migrants; immigration, police, prisons, plus foreign affairs and the justice department, to strategise for solutions.

This is a very positive step. However we still believe the burning issue is to secure the immediate release of the hundreds of men who are being detained in prison right now. MSF strongly believes that this is the first priority. The second priority is to identify solutions so that this doesn’t happen again and the third is to address the bigger problem of overcrowding in Malawi’s jails.

News24: What’s your biggest fear should the migrants continue to be detained?

MSF: The growing number of migrants who are being locked up for longer periods of time is creating stress on an already overstretched prison system. Prison authorities are reporting the challenges they are facing given their financial constraints, to cover the additional costs associated with feeding, housing and providing medical care to the large number of migrants who have become residents of the prison.

Malawi
Prisoners sit in an overcrowded cell during the night, struggling to sleep. Overcrowding is a critical problem in Malawian jails. (MSF)

MSF is concerned by the impact of the extreme overcrowding in Maula. The prevalence of communicable diseases and the risk of infection are very high. On average there are 147 inmates living in a cell that is designed to house 50 to 60 people. Residents of the prison of Maula have no space to sleep, or keep their belongings because the prison is currently at three times its intended capacity.

Diseases that are transmitted through close contact are very difficult to control in a context such as Maula prison and infectious diseases such as HIV and TB are grave health concerns.

The food given to inmates is inadequate. They eat only once a day – typically a plate of Nsima (thick porridge).

Malawi migrants
Nutrition is a major concern in Maula prison as inmates receive an inadequate supply of food in terms of quantity, nutritional value and calorie intake. (MSF)

News24: So it’s indeed a dire situation?

MSF: Yes. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment recommends a minimum amount of space per person as 4m² and they should not be confined in these conditions for longer than two days.

Inmates in Maula are confined in spaces far smaller than that that when they are locked up for 14 hours each evening. Inmates who are able to lie down to sleep have eight times less space than the minimum of 4m² per person and for those who are forced to sit when they sleep; they have 16 times less than that recommended by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

The water and sanitation situation in the prison is critical and is well below the minimum requirements as defined by humanitarian agencies during an acute emergency. In Maula Prison there is one tap for 900 people and one latrine for 120 people, whereas the minimum requirements during an emergency are one tap per 200-250 people and one latrine per 20-50 people

News24: Have there been any deaths?

MSF: There have been no deaths amongst the migrants in the prisons where we’re working (Maula and Chichiri) so far. However, our medical staff do notice that the migrants come regularly to the clinic, at least three every day.

They show signs of malnourishment and some are suffering from a skin disease that is commonly related to protein deficiency. They lack the extra coping mechanisms which Malawian prison inmates have – where families supplement prison rations by bringing food in for their relatives. The migrants don’t have this and it leaves them even more prone to disease.

They will host when they are ready.

Have the barbaric, uncivilized, uneducated, xenophobic, violent, lazy ZULUS relocated from SA to peaceful, civilized Nigeria! Such barbarism never happens in educated, civilized Naija!

Have the barbaric, uncivilized, uneducated, xenophobic, violent, lazy ZULUS relocated from SA to peaceful, civilized Nigeria! Such barbarism never happens in educated, civilized Naija!

Mugabe, the African Union chair.

Start with Mugabe.

What's scary with these town names? Just because they are of (a) language/s different from yours and unfamiliar to you and me does not make them scary. Are they supposed to label your country's town names scary just because they can't pronounce them? Silly comment.

Stunning!!!!

http://www.sundaystandard.info/article.php?NewsID=22966&GroupID=5

Zuma and Khama are right. Xenophobia attacks are Mugabe’s fault

by Sonny Serite
07-05-2015



President Ian Khama last week overcame his phobia for heads of state meetings and attended the SADC extraordinary summit in Harare. Reports coming from Harare say South African President Jacob Zuma found himself on the receiving end when the host, Zimbabwe’s life President Robert Mugabe lambasted him for the recent xenophobia attacks in Kwazulu Natal province which affected mostly Zimbabwean immigrants. It is reported that President Zuma took the liberty to present to other African leaders various measures that are being implemented by his government to tackle the problem of xenophobia. Probably waking up from a deep nap, Mugabe is said to have gotten emotional and spoke at length about xenophobic attacks.

In his rage, Mugabe went on to blame Zuma for the xenophobic attacks and for siding with King Goodwill Zwelithini who made remarks allegedly responsible for sparking off xenophobic violence. Yes, I agree with Mugabe that when these attacks started, Zuma came across as indifferent and failed to publicly rebuke King Zwelithini for his repugnant and irresponsible remarks on foreigners. However, I do not believe Mugabe has any authoritative temerity, let alone moral ground, to blame anyone for the mishaps that befall his people in the diasporas. Many of those Zimbabweans who were affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africa are not in that country out of their love for South Africa. They are in South Africa because there is no life in Zimbabwe.

They fled their country because it has got nothing to offer them. Our brothers and sisters from Zimbabwe are roaming our streets to eke out a living. They are not in South Africa or Botswana because Zimbabwe has bad weather conditions. No, they are here because Zimbabwe has bad governance record. They are being attacked in South Africa because their president has failed them.

They are being exploited in Botswana because their president has turned their country into a living hell. They are being trafficked to become prostitutes in Mozambique because Mugabe has not given them any hope for anything better. I therefore do not understand where Mugabe gets the cheek to throw tantrums when the issue of xenophobia is being discussed. And like I mentioned last week, I totally condemn those xenophobic attacks but in my condemnation, I want to face the truth on the true source of this influx of foreigners in South Africa.

It has always been my stance that, these foreigners come to our countries because of the horrible situations in their countries and instead of blaming them or blaming those who meet them with hatred, we need to blame the people who make them run away from their countries. When I heard that during the SADC summit Zuma and Khama were bold to tell it like it is, I was delighted that finally our leaders are doing away with their misguided diplomacy and are beginning to point out the wrongs that bedevil our continent.

“As much as we have a problem that is alleged to be xenophobic, our sister countries contribute to this. Why are their citizens not in their countries?” Zuma is reported to have raised this very important question at the summit as he was addressing the root causes of the xenophobia away from the symptoms that come with it. And Zuma deserves an answer. The ever arrogant Mugabe is reported to have gone silent as Zuma posed these questions.

The answers are there for all of us to understand why these people flock to South Africa and Botswana. They are running away from leaders such as Mugabe. It is therefore plausible to put the blame on leaders such as Mugabe who make their people jump from the pot straight into the fire, as we saw during those xenophobic attacks. It was also pleasing to learn that our President also lent support to Zuma, saying instead of focusing on xenophobia issues, SADC leaders must address the root cause of the problem that include bad leadership and economic mismanagement which trigger waves of mostly illegal immigrants. “Let us address real issues and stop behaving as if South Africa is an employment bureau for the African continent”, Khama is quoted in the Zimbabwean media as having told Mugabe, who has been president since Khama was in diapers.

Until African leaders get their act together and stop looting their countries and terrorizing citizens, xenophobic attacks will never completely die away because more illegal immigrants will continue to come here or go to South Africa and eventually overstay their welcome, forcing locals to chase them away and the chase is never amenable. One can only hope Zuma and Khama will continue to put pressure on that old geezer in Zimbabwe to stop dragging Zimbabwe along to his grave. Zimbabwe is a great country with great citizens who love their country but cannot live in their country because Mugabe has turned it into a living hell.

sonny@thetelegraph.co.bw Twitter:@kuvuki

Nigerians appear for drug syndicate
2015-03-16 17:59

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Nigerians-appear-for-drug-syndicate-20150316

Johannesburg - Three of seven Nigerian men arrested for alleged drug dealing in North West appeared in the Vryburg Magistrate's Court on Monday, police said.

They were arrested in Mahikeng, Vryburg, and Lichtenburg last week, spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone said.

Nigerian nationals Ikechukwu Julius Darlington Abatube, Theopilus Okechuku Odimegwu and Valentine Obiefona Awayiaka appeared in court on Monday and would stay in custody until their bail application on 23 March.

Police seized CAT, crystal meth, cocaine, Mandrax and ecstasy worth hundreds of thousands during raids in the three towns last week.

A Toyota Yaris, Fiat Palio and Volkswagen Polo Vivo worth R335 000 were seized during the operation.

They allegedly got the drugs from Hillbrow, Johannesburg and distributed them to dealers.

Ugochukwu Stephen, Chibuike Vincent Mbagu, and Nkem Eric Nwaokearu appeared in the Mmabatho Magistrate's Court on Friday.

They would remain in custody until their bail applications on 24 March.

The seventh man, Emeziem Berthrand Ogugiuba, appeared in Lichtenburg Magistrate's Court on Friday.

He was expected to apply for bail on 18 March.

- SAPA

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21620245-power-shortages-have-been-holding-africa-back-are-last-easing-lighting

THE stylishly dressed men and women window-shopping in the air-conditioned cool of the Lagos Palms shopping mall speak of a Nigerian economy and middle class on the rise. But out the back, the stench of diesel fumes hanging heavily in the muggy tropical air is evidence of failings that are holding back Africa’s biggest economy: banks of diesel generators chug away to supply eye-wateringly expensive power because Nigeria’s rickety national grid is so unreliable.

Across Africa investors joke about living in a “bring-your-own-infrastructure” continent, in which firms must provide independent generators, water purification and even sewage treatment when building a factory or hotel. Of these the costliest is often power. Nigeria, which has a population three times larger than South Africa’s, generates just a tenth as much electricity.

Power from private generators costs $0.35 per kilowatt-hour or more, ten times more than electricity from the grid in most other countries. Analysts at Coronation, a South African asset manager, reckon electricity accounts for 6% of costs at Nigeria’s biggest banks (each branch needs a generator) and 10% of the costs of telephone companies (each cellphone mast must have its own power).

Even India’s ramshackle infrastructure looks good by comparison. Nigeria may produce roughly as much output per person as India, but it has only one-fifth the generating capacity per head, according to McKinsey, a consulting firm. China, meanwhile, is building new power plants so rapidly that it is adding the equivalent of an Africa to its grid every two years. The World Bank reckons that power shortages trim more than two percentage points from annual growth in GDP on average in Africa; in Nigeria the loss has been almost four percentage points a year.

After a drought in investment in new generating capacity lasting almost three decades, blooms of new power plants are now sprouting across sub-Saharan Africa like acacia seeds after a rainstorm. A tally by The Economist of announced power projects (under construction or at an advanced stage of planning) suggests that the region’s electricity-generating capacity will increase by more than half by the end of the decade.

In the longer term governments have set what are probably over-ambitious targets. Angola, for instance, wants to increase its annual generating capacity from 1,800mW to 9,000mW by 2025.

South Africa, which already generates about two-thirds of the region’s power, is adding about 15,000mW to its grid—about as much as the rest of sub-Saharan Africa produces now. Most of this will come from massive coal-fired power stations such as the one at Medupi, site of an existing coal mine. It alone will produce more power than Nigeria when it comes into service.

Almost as much new power will be of a greener variety, given that South Africa has approved 64 renewable-energy projects ranging from fields of wind turbines and solar cells to generators that burn sugarcane.

In other countries most of the new energy will be renewable or from gas, which is cleaner than coal. Ethiopia is building Africa’s largest hydroelectric and geothermal plants. Between them the two projects will triple the country’s power production. Kenya is drilling holes deep into the Rift Valley in Hell’s Gate National Park to build what will ultimately be the world’s largest single geothermal plant. At Lake Turkana, a particularly windy spot farther north in the Rift Valley, private investors are building Africa’s biggest wind farm.

Two forces are driving the expansion. First, a number of African countries have either opened their markets to private investors or adopted clearer regulations that encourage investment. Take South Africa. For years it insisted that new capacity should be built only by the state-owned generator, Eskom. But in 2008 the country experienced crippling power shortages that forced mines and factories to cut production and sent millions of South Africans to bed early. The government reversed course and encouraged private investment in renewable energy sources.

Nigeria last year privatised state-owned distribution companies, while Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania are all attracting foreign investment. Anton Eberhard of the University of Cape Town reckons that, although investment by governments in power has largely remained stable, there have been big increases from other investors, including Chinese state-owned firms.

A second factor is the rapidly falling cost of renewable energy. Africa has some of the world’s best potential sites for wind, solar and hydropower. Investors are proving readier to test the market by putting up a few windmills than by committing to big power stations. Wind farms and solar parks can also provide decentralised or “off-grid” power directly to customers, reducing the load on congested transmission lines. Given the high cost of power from diesel generators in Africa, renewable energy can be an attractive alternative.

Ahmed Heikal, chairman of Qalaa Holdings, an investment firm with holdings in several power producers, thinks that in Africa a “new model [of renewable energy] that bypasses the government is emerging”. It is one in which firms are able to offer competitively priced renewable power without the hefty government subsidies needed to encourage investment elsewhere, such as solar parks in cloudy Germany or offshore wind farms in the rough waters of the North Sea. Africa has the potential to jump from being the world’s electricity laggard to a leader in renewables—if inefficient governments don’t hold it back.

[b][/b]http://mg.co.za/article/2013-05-17-00-zimbabwe-wants-sa-to-keep-its-citizens

The South African government spends at least R90-million a year on sending illegal immigrants back to their countries, most to Zimbabwe. Many ¬Zimbabweans, however, make it back into South Africa within days.
The Zimbabwean government has now complained about the high number of nationals deported by South Africa. This comes against the background of an apparent hardening of attitudes towards refugees from the South African government.
The story of Johannesburg-based illegal immigrant Ndadzoka Pamberi, which is not her real name, is a familiar one.
After spending a week at the Lindela repatriation camp awaiting deportation, Pamberi was taken by train to Musina, then across the border into Zimbabwe in a police truck.
While in custody at Lindela, she operated a makeshift hair salon, plaiting female immigration officers' hair for a fee. That money would later pay for her transportation back to Johannesburg from Beit Bridge.
"When you get to the Zimbabwean side, they don't arrest you because you didn't commit any crime in that country," she said. "They let you free and you go wherever you want."
Pamberi planned her return to Johannesburg as soon as the South African police handed her back to her country's officials.

Living illegally
"By 4pm I hit the road, walking in the bush for about two hours until it got dark and we started walking by the side of the road," she said.
She made it back to Johannesburg on the same day.
Malayishas, Zimbabwean nationals who transport fellow citizens' groceries and other parcels from South Africa to Zimbabwe, provided transport back to Johannesburg, said Pamberi. "When you see a car that flashes its lights twice you run to that car because you know that's the one that's safe to use," she explained.
She went on to spend eight more years in South Africa illegally, paying her way out of arrest several times.
Hers is the story of many Zimbabweans living illegally in South Africa and defying efforts to send them back home.
Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pan¬dor admitted in January that it was a challenge to keep deporting illegal immigrants, but said there was no easy solution to the problem.
The Zimbabwean government says South Africa deported 23150 illegal Zimbabweans in the four months to April 30 this year, but Pandor told the Mail & Guardian that 11133 Zimbabweans were deported between January and March.
Pandor said the cost of deporting Zimbabwean nationals was about R558 a person and it cost R99 a day to accommodate one illegal foreign national at the Lindela repatriation camp.
If the 11133 deported Zimbabweans spent one night at Lindela, it means the government has already spent at least R7.3-million in the first three months of the year on deportations.
Migrant rights organisations say South Africa's immigration policy of deportation is inefficient and a waste of money. In a report that focused on illegal detentions of migrants, the University of the Witwatersrand's African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) found that, in a 23-month period during 2009 and 2010, home affairs spent R4.7-million defending cases that challenged the detentions.
Analysis
In the report, released in September last year, the ACMS acknow¬ledged that the "true costs are likely to be higher". The centre's analysis was restricted to costs it could confirm per case.
Dr Roni Amit, the author of the report, told the M&G the centre believed deportation did not work. "One of the things we have ¬suggested is providing mechanisms for lower-skilled migrants to legally enter the country so that they are not forced to enter illegally and/or overwhelm the asylum system."
In addition to this, in 2009, the ACMS found that the South African Police Service in Gauteng spends more than R362.5-million a year on detecting, detaining and transferring illegal migrants to Lindela.
In a presentation to Parliament's portfolio committee on home affairs in February, the ACMS expressed concern that the government appears to be heading towards what the centre called "securitisation of migration management", which entailed heightening border controls, restricting entry and increasing detention and deportation.
Pandor dismissed the fears, saying South Africa had a "very progressive refugee and immigration law that matches with the best in the world".
Zimbabwe wants South Africa to regularise the stay of illegal immigrants, in addition to the 275762 documents already granted to legalise stays.
Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said his country would make another attempt to convince South Africa to reopen the Zimbabwe documentation process.
Dispensation project
But Pandor said South Africa would not reopen the Zimbabwe dispensation project.
Asked why the Zimbabwean government was encouraging its citizens to stay in South Africa, Mohadi said: "We've had a good education system and most Zimbabweans are literate and skilled. Our economy cannot absorb all of them."
His home affairs co-minister, Theresa Makone, supports the call for South Africa to regularise more Zimbabweans. "It's South Africa's right to deport people who are not documented, but it does not work in the interest of our people because of the economic hardships they face."
She said many Zimbabweans did not heed the call to legalise their stay because they suspected the process was a plan to identify them for deportation. "We have a large pool of people who were on the sidelines," she said. "We'd really appreciate if the South African government can give us a small window for another documentation process."
Langton Miriyoga, co-ordinator of refugee rights group People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty, said the fact that deportees found their way back into South Africa "indicates that [the] government's deportation programme is going in circles, not resolving the problem".
Miriyoga said promoting voluntary return and repatriation by offering support to those who wanted to go home and documenting illegal immigrants would ensure "the costs of deportation are minimised".

________________________________________

[b][/b]http://www.news24.com/Travel/South-Africa/Joburg-is-Africas-most-popular-destination-20130606

Johannesburg - Johannesburg is set to be the most popular destination in Africa, with a projected 2.54 million international visitors expected to visit the city in 2013, according to the third annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.

Mastercard released the figures stating, despite a marginal 5.5% increase in the number of international visitors from 2012, Johannesburg’s substantial 53.6% growth in international visitors from 2009 to 2013 has propelled it into the Index’s top 20 fastest growing cities globally.

Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa in terms of international visitor spending, with US$2.7 billion estimated (about R27bn at R10.03/$) to be injected into the city during 2013, a slight increase (1%) on 2012’s expenditure.

“For the first time in the Index’s three year history, Johannesburg occupies the number one rank in terms of expected international visitor arrivals in Africa,” says Philip Panaino, division president, MasterCard, South Africa.

“Home to the continent’s busiest airport and the air transport hub of southern Africa, Johannesburg has grown from strength to strength,” he says.



The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks cities[1] in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities. It also gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2013.

Thirteen African cities were ranked within 132 cities that were included in the Index. These included Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo, and Tunis.

The top three cities from which most visitors to Johannesburg originate are London (299,000 people), Frankfurt (187,000 people), and Dubai (157,000 people), with all of these expected to grow in 2013. The number of visitors from London is expected to increase by 5.6%, followed by those from Frankfurt (4.5%), and Dubai (2.4%).

In more detail, Londoners are expected to spend US$482 million during 2013 (an average of US$1,612.04 per person), those from Frankfurt will spend approximately US$134 million (an average of US$716.58 per person), while Dubai visitors are projected to spend US$113 million (an average of US$719.75 per person).



“The Index also reveals the cities that people from Johannesburg are travelling to, and it was found that in most cases they are choosing African destinations,” says Panaino. “Four of the top five outbound destinations for Johannesburg travellers are within Africa. Maputo and Harare top the list; London comes in third, followed by Lagos and Windhoek.”

Looking at expected international visitors in the Index’s other African cities, Lagos occupies the number two position with 2.16 million visitors expected in 2013, while Cairo, with an anticipated 2.08 million international visitors, is third.

When it comes to visitor expenditure in the African destination cities, Cairo takes second place after Johannesburg, with the city expecting to attract US$1.7 billion. Tunis ranks third on the continent, with international visitors expected to spend US$1.1 billion in 2013.

Durban, while only ranked 12th in Africa, is the second fastest growing African city in 2013 – behind Dakar - in terms of international visitors, with a projected 26% growth in 2013. Cross-border spending is also expected to grow by nearly 22% – albeit off a low base. Interestingly, Air Mauritius has announced that it is reintroducing two direct weekly flights to Durban from July this year.

Conversely Cape Town, while ranked slightly higher than Durban in ninth position, is the only African city that is expected to see a decline in both inbound visitors (-8.5%) and expenditure (-13.5%). International visitor numbers are expected to decrease from 484,520 in 2012 to 443,131 in 2013, while cross border spending is forecasted to drop from US$527 million in 2012 to US$456 million this year.

The majority of international visitors expected to visit the Mother City and Durban are from Dubai, with a combined approximation of 173 000 visitors, who are expected to spend US$124.1 million in both these cities throughout the year.



Interestingly, the number of international visitors travelling from London to Cape Town is expected to decline by 16.8% this year, with just over 130 000 visitors forecasted to visit the city. Londoners will also reduce the amount that they will spend from US$267 million in 2012 to US$213 million this year - a 20.2% decline.

“The decrease in international visitors expected to visit Cape Town in 2013 could be attributed to the fact that South African Airways cancelled its direct route from London to Cape Town in August 2012, with passengers re-routed through Johannesburg,” says Panaino.

The world’s top destination cities

Bangkok is this year’s number one city for travel globally with 15.98 million international visitors expected to visit the city in 2013. While London reached the top spot in 2012, it was edged into second place in 2013 by Bangkok by a very slim margin with approximately 25,000 visitors separating the two – a difference of about 1%. Paris (13.92 million), Singapore (11.75 million), and New York (11.52 million) are the three remaining cities in the world’s top five destination cities in terms of international visitors.

In terms of visitor spending, New York has retained its top rank in the world in 2013 with an estimated US$18.59 billion, followed by London with US$16.32 billion. They are followed by Paris (US$14.60 billion), Bangkok (US$14.28 billion), Singapore (US$13.50 billion) and Tokyo (US$12.71 billion).

“Despite the persistent weakness of constrained demand in the global economy, international travel is growing strongly, and 132 of the world’s most important destination cities are benefiting. This is underscored by electronic payments, which are enabling more people from more places to participate in the global economy than ever before,” Panaino concluded.


- This Index and the accompanying reports are not based on MasterCard volumes or transactional data.

Whether you approve of same sex relationships is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that if you don't see it happening openly it certainly is happening in secrete. Not everyone shares your religious convictions. Live and let live!

Johannesburg - A Limpopo farm said to be owned by fraud-accused Julius Malema has been seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.

"On [Monday], the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the NPA was granted a forfeiture order for a farm that is alleged to belong to Mr Julius Malema as part of a money laundering scheme," spokesperson Medupe Simasiku said in a statement.

"The farm is estimated to be worth about R4m. This emanates from a freezing order on the same farm that was granted on 5 December 2012 by the North Gauteng High Court."

Earlier on Tuesday, The Times newspaper reported Malema missed the deadline to challenge the SA Revenue Service's (Sars) application for the sequestration of his estate to cover a R16m tax bill.

The former ANC Youth League leader filed a notice of intention to oppose the application in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on 18 February.

He had until last Monday to file his answering affidavit.

Simasiku said the farm was known as the remaining extent of the farm Schuilkraal 623, and was registered in the name of Gwama Properties.

"The sole director of Gwama is Mr Lesiba Cuthbert Gwangwa," he said.

"It is noteworthy that the AFU application was neither opposed by Mr Gwangwa or his company Gwama Properties, nor by Mr Malema, who is alleged to be the real owner."

The court found the property was acquired with the proceeds from fraud, corruption, theft, and money laundering.

The alleged crimes were perpetrated against the Limpopo department of roads and transport, Simasiku said.

Alternatively, the property had been used to launder money.

The property would be sold and the proceeds deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery account, used by law enforcement agencies to fight crime.

In January, sheriffs seized Malema's Sandton and Polokwane homes.

Sars then rejected a R4m settlement offer and auctioned Malema's assets in the Sandton and Polokwane homes in February.

Malema also faces charges of fraud and racketeering related to the irregular awarding of a R52m tender to On-Point Engineering in Limpopo.

Gwangwa is the CEO of On-Point.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Malema-Limpopo-farm-seized-20130319

THIS IS WHY!!!!!!

CityPress Home > South Africa
SKA split between SA and Australia
View 0 comments | Comment on this story
By: Yolandi Groenewald

2012-05-26 10:15
South Africa’s prestigious astronomy dream, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project has been split between South Africa and Australasia, with South Africa getting the lion’s share.

The decision was announced at a meeting of the international consortium controlling the project at Schipol Airport in the Netherlands on Friday.

Despite South Africa being listed as the preferred site, the SKA decided to divide the multi-billion rand project between South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

But South Africa still has the biggest share, as two-thirds of the project will be hosted here. South Africa has competed against Australia for the past six years for the honour of hosting the SKA, one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes.

“In our view it’s an unexpected decision,” said elated science minister Naledi Pandor at a press conference in Pretoria. She emphasised that this was still a victory for South Africa. She joked that she much preferred this announcement to the task of announcing the matric results as former education minister.

“We had hoped for an outright win, because we were unambiguously appointed as the preferred bidder,” she said.


SKA Graphic


But the decision didn’t come as a total surprise, despite South Africa’s status as preferred bidder. Australia had launched an intensive lobbying initiative at the beginning of the month after it emerged that South Africa would be the possible all out winner.

Since then rumours have been circulating that the SKA Organisation was considering a “win-win scenario” because both bidders had invested too much in the process.

As a result of Australia’s lobbying, a committee to investigate what it called a “more inclusive approach” to benefit both bidders was formed. And this committee recommended that the project be split.

She said she had not spoken to her Australian counterpart, Chris Evans.

“I will probably write him a nice note when I’ve calmed down, when I’ve stopped celebrating,” she said.

“We are slightly disappointed,” said professor Justin Jonas, associate director for science and engineering at the SKA South Africa Project.

“But we must emphasise that we did the get the majority of this telescope.”

He said this was a turning point for Africa and that continent was becoming an engineering hub, not just place where there are resources to be exploited.

“We must realise how big this is,” he said. “Two-thirds of the instrument in the world is still the biggest in the world.”

He said the split in no way compromised the science, although there will be added costs. Construction is expected to start next year and will last till 2025. City Press [b]THIS IS WHY

CityPress Home > South Africa
SKA split between SA and Australia
View 0 comments | Comment on this story
By: Yolandi Groenewald

CityPress Home > South Africa
SKA split between SA and Australia
View 0 comments | Comment on this story
By: Yolandi Groenewald

2012-05-26 10:15
South Africa’s prestigious astronomy dream, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project has been split between South Africa and Australasia, with South Africa getting the lion’s share.

The decision was announced at a meeting of the international consortium controlling the project at Schipol Airport in the Netherlands on Friday.

Despite South Africa being listed as the preferred site, the SKA decided to divide the multi-billion rand project between South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

But South Africa still has the biggest share, as two-thirds of the project will be hosted here. South Africa has competed against Australia for the past six years for the honour of hosting the SKA, one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes.

“In our view it’s an unexpected decision,” said elated science minister Naledi Pandor at a press conference in Pretoria. She emphasised that this was still a victory for South Africa. She joked that she much preferred this announcement to the task of announcing the matric results as former education minister.

“We had hoped for an outright win, because we were unambiguously appointed as the preferred bidder,” she said.


SKA Graphic


But the decision didn’t come as a total surprise, despite South Africa’s status as preferred bidder. Australia had launched an intensive lobbying initiative at the beginning of the month after it emerged that South Africa would be the possible all out winner.

Since then rumours have been circulating that the SKA Organisation was considering a “win-win scenario” because both bidders had invested too much in the process.

As a result of Australia’s lobbying, a committee to investigate what it called a “more inclusive approach” to benefit both bidders was formed. And this committee recommended that the project be split.

She said she had not spoken to her Australian counterpart, Chris Evans.

“I will probably write him a nice note when I’ve calmed down, when I’ve stopped celebrating,” she said.

“We are slightly disappointed,” said professor Justin Jonas, associate director for science and engineering at the SKA South Africa Project.

“But we must emphasise that we did the get the majority of this telescope.”

He said this was a turning point for Africa and that continent was becoming an engineering hub, not just place where there are resources to be exploited.

“We must realise how big this is,” he said. “Two-thirds of the instrument in the world is still the biggest in the world.”

He said the split in no way compromised the science, although there will be added costs. Construction is expected to start next year and will last till 2025. City Press

http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/africa/165232-africa-southern-africa-and-australasia-to-share-ska.html

Africa: Southern Africa and Australasia to Share SKA

Pretoria — South Africa and Australia are to share the hosting of world's most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the SKA Board decided at a meeting in the Netherlands today (25 May).

This is despite the conclusions of an independent site advisory committee, which carried out an objective technical and scientific assessment of sites that had been proposed in each of the two countries, and identified the South African site as being the preferred one (although both sites were found to be suitable).

The SKA Organisation, the international body responsible for the construction and operation of the telescope, has now agreed to split the project, on the grounds that it would make it inclusive, and also maximize return on the investments that have been made so far. Two of the receiver components will be constructed in Africa, and one in Australia.

"We accept the compromise in the interest of science, and in acknowledgement of the sterling work done by our scientists and the excellent SKA project team," said South Africa's Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor, speaking in Pretoria after the decision was announced.

"We celebrate the good news that the majority of this global scientific enterprise will be built in Africa," Pandor said.

The African bid to host the SKA was led by South Africa, and included commitments from eight partner countries on the continent: Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, Mauritius and Madagascar.

An important aspect of the site decision was the recognition of the MeerKAT telescope, which is being designed and built in the Northern Cape by South African scientists and engineers, as a critical step towards the implementation of the SKA.

The South African government has allocated more than 500 million rand (around US$60 million) to the SKA in the current financial year, and had agreed to exempt the SKA from value added tax, if the country was successfully in securing the bid.

The Australian SKA Pathfinder similarly serves as a precursor to the SKA. The almost US$100-million project entails the construction of an array of thirty-six twelve-metre dishes in the Mid-West region of Western Australia. The Australian bid was also supported by New Zealand.

According to Justin Jonas, project leader of the South African SKA team, the decision to split the telescope will have cost implications, since infrastructure will have to be duplicated in the two locations.

"But the split will in no way compromise the science that will be done with this instrument," he said.

The US$1.8 billion SKA project involves the construction of an array of 3,000 radio telescope dishes and will require estimated US$125-190 million a year to operate and maintain.

The project will be funded and run through an international consortium made up of 67 organisations in 20 different countries. Now that the sites have been decided on, a more accurate estimate of the costing can be done for the construction of the instrument.

The core of that part of the SKA telescope which is hosted by South Africa will be located near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, with antenna stations in Namibia, Botswana and the other African partner countries.

African supporters of SKA have argued that it has the potential to boost the number of Africa's scientists and technicians, and stimulate Africa to play an increasingly important role in the global knowledge economy.

In support of its bid, South Africa has already awarded more than 400 grants and bursaries to researchers, and supported almost a 100 MSc and PhD students. It has also provided 16 bursaries to students from the rural areas in the Northern Cape province to study technical skills in the areas of welding, plumbing, electrical, bricklaying, carpentry and motor mechanics.

"I think it could potentially benefit local science, but we have a lot of work ahead of us - we need to make sure the benefit spreads as far as possible, particularly into our schools system," said Claire Flanagan, director of the Planetarium at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Copyright © 2012 SciDev.Net. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/12/south-africa-struggling-with-asylum-seekers/

South Africa struggling with asylum seekers

Published April 12, 2012

Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa, which receives more individual asylum requests than any other country, announced Thursday it is taking steps to cope with the influx.

The government's immigration department said in a statement that it faces an "immense challenge" and was extending hours at offices across the country that accept asylum applications from people who have traveled from as far away as Pakistan. Mkuseli Apleni, the department's top bureaucrat, also said police will help manage lines at the offices, where fights and stampedes have broken out.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed the moves. The agency's spokeswoman for southern Africa, Tina Ghelli, told The Associated Press that her agency is concerned that people fleeing oppression and violence are finding it difficult to get help because economic immigrants are abusing and overwhelming the system in South Africa.

According to UNHCR figures, more than 100,000 people sought asylum in South Africa last year. That was well above the next highest number of applications received, some 74,000 in the United States.

Kenya has more refugees, with more than 460,000 Somalis camped in the eastern part of that country, according to UNHCR figures. But Kenya welcomes Somalis as a class, rather than requiring each to apply for asylum, because of decades of violence and anarchy in Somalia.

Somalis make up the second largest group of asylum seekers in South Africa, according to the U.N. refugees agency. In South Africa, they are not confined to refugee camps and can work and receive state welfare benefits.

Most asylum applications are from Zimbabweans, whose neighboring country is gripped by political violence and economic uncertainty. Congolese, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis also apply, UNHCR said.

Xenophobic attitudes led to an explosion of violence against foreigners, particularly those from elsewhere in Africa, in some of South Africa's poorest communities in 2008.

Delays in processing asylum requests are also a problem. Apleni, the South African immigration official, said Thursday that officials have found a backlog of more than 150,000 applications that had been refused but are awaiting appeals reviews.

Despite a possibly cold welcome and bureaucratic delays, asylum seekers "still keep coming. I think it's just the possibility of a better life," UNHCR's Ghelli said.

Besides having the continent's biggest economy, South Africa has a liberal constitution that outlaws discrimination on the basis of race, gender and sexual orientation, and that enshrines rights to join a union and have access to adequate housing, health care, food and water. While its promises may not always be fulfilled, the charter stands out not only in Africa, but in the world.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/120409/south-africa-aiding-the-iranian-military

JOHANNESBURG — A lawsuit alleging that Africa’s biggest cell phone company conspired to help Iran obtain South African weapons and government support for its nuclear program has drawn fresh scrutiny to Pretoria’s close ties with the Islamic Republic.

Cell phone company MTN, in exchange for a license to operate in Iran, allegedly said it would persuade the South African government to vote in favor of Iran’s nuclear program at the UN and to sell it heavy weapons prohibited by international sanctions.

The accusations of bribery and corruption against MTN are made in a lawsuit by a rival mobile firm that was also vying for the Iranian operating license. The suit was filed in a US court under the Alien Tort Statute.

Johannesburg-listed MTN Group Ltd.'s stock price sank by 7 percent in the week that followed the allegations, even though legal experts don’t give Turkcell much chance of winning in the US.

The lawsuit — along with separate accusations that South African front companies peddle influence and defy sanctions to do business with Iran — comes while the United States is ramping up efforts to isolate Iran financially. President Barack Obama is pushing to cut off Iran’s oil revenue, which the United States and European Union countries say could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

South Africa, already under pressure from the US over its substantial Iranian oil imports and historic friendship with Tehran, could face new strain over the allegations, which involve one of the country’s highest-profile companies and several top political and business figures.

More from GlobalPost: South's Africa's ANC suspends Julius Malema again

MTN was established with government support as the first major black-owned firm in post-apartheid South Africa, and since 2005 has owned a 49 percent stake in MTN Irancell, which controls about half of Iran’s mobile market.

The company has denied the accusations made in the $4.2 billion lawsuit launched in a US federal court by Turkcell, a Turkish company initially awarded the Iranian cellular license, declaring the claims to be "without legal merit." MTN has commissioned its own investigation under a committee led by a South Africa-born retired senior British judge.

The accusations in court documents filed by Turkcell on March 28 are chockablock with political intrigue, implicating high-level government officials and business leaders in using bribes and political influence to help secure the license.

Internal MTN memos attached to the lawsuit describe a code name, “Project Snooker,” given to the company’s alleged efforts to thwart Turkcell’s deal. Iran’s former deputy foreign minister and South Africa’s ambassador to Iran are referred to as “Long J” and “Short J” in correspondence about payments of bribes.

The lawsuit alleges that MTN struck a deal to deliver a large shipment of military arms and technology, code named “The Fish,” to Iran’s defense ministry in 2004. This was to include Rooivalk helicopters, based on the US-made Apache, sniper rifles, G5 howitzers, canons, radar technology and other defense equipment barred by international sanctions.

The promised arms sale never took place, angering Iranian officials, according to documents filed by Turkcell.

According to court documents, politically connected MTN executives also offered to influence South Africa’s votes at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear agency, on Iran’s nuclear weapons program in the company’s pursuit of an Iranian GSM operating license. The lawsuit alleges that MTN prevailed upon South Africa to abstain from three IAEA votes on Iran.

“MTN created a scheme to displace Turkcell as the license holder by leveraging political tensions in Iran and taking advantage of its political connections within South Africa and Iran,” the court papers say.

Other accusations charge that MTN allegedly offered the Iranian defense ministry access to its devices to “facilitate installation of eavesdropping technology on MTN devices.”

Obama, in a message on the Iranian New Year holiday last month, spoke of an “electronic curtain” around Iran, noting that “the regime monitors computers and cell phones for the sole purpose of protecting its own power.”

More from GlobalPost: South Africa: Kruger Park rangers, guides arrested over rhino poaching

On this point, MTN is being pressured to abandon its business in Iran from lobby groups such as United Against Nuclear Iran, which has petitioned the US Congress to back efforts to encourage divestment.

Avi Jorisch, a former US Treasury Department official, accused MTN of following Iranian government instructions to suspend text-messaging services and block Skype, used heavily by Iran’s opposition movement during protests following the 2009 presidential election.

MTN has a corporate responsibility to stop “colluding with a state sponsor of terror that uses its technology to track, silence and kill its people,” wrote Jorisch, who is now with the Washington, DC-based think tank American Foreign Policy Council.

The lawsuit filed by Turkcell comes on the heels of a report in South Africa’s Sunday Times describing how local front companies are used in attempted schemes to sell US-made helicopters and spare parts to Iran in defiance of sanctions.

The newspaper report alleged that the partner of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Gugu Mtshali, attended a meeting during which a bribe was solicited to facilitate government support for a planned Iran deal. The claims are now under investigation by South Africa’s public protector, who has a role similar to that of an ombudsman.

On the issue of a nuclear Iran, South Africa has repeatedly emphasized Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment for energy purposes, while strongly opposing nuclear proliferation.

But the government has so far been unclear about whether it will participate in sanctions against Iranian oil exports. Senior government officials have sent contradictory messages, typical of Pretoria’s recent foreign policy on issues such as Libya.

South Africa relies on Iran for more than 25 percent of its annual crude oil imports. Their friendly relationship dates back to the apartheid era, when Tehran supported the liberation movement, but Pretoria is under mounting American pressure to sever ties or else lose access to the US financial system.

Deputy foreign minister Ebrahim Ebrahim told reporters last month that South Africa intended to follow the US request, and had already suspended almost all of its oil imports from Iran. But South Africa’s department of energy later corrected his statement, saying that no decision has been taken, and South Africa will not decide whether to reduce Iranian oil imports until the end of May.

South Africa imported $364 million worth of crude oil from Iran in February, up from zero oil in January, according to customs data.

South Africans are already facing gas price increases, and a switch to non-Iranian oil would potentially require a $40-million cost of converting refineries. Higher prices at the pumps could lead to revolt at home.

COSATU, the South African trade union group and an alliance partner of the ruling African National Congress, railed at the US for “its attempts to bully countries to cut imports of Iranian oil,” on the basis of “unproven allegations.”

The South African government must “stop this kowtowing to the US imperialists,” COSATU spokesman Patrick Craven said.

South Africa’s main opposition party has called on the police to investigate the claims that MTN tried to influence the national position on Iran’s nuclear weapons program at the IAEA.

“These very serious allegations cannot simply be investigated by an independent committee within MTN,” said David Maynier, the shadow defense minister for the Democratic Alliance. “We have to be absolutely sure that South Africa's nuclear policy is not for sale
(Report Post) (Modify Post) (Quote Post)

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/120409/south-africa-aiding-the-iranian-military

JOHANNESBURG — A lawsuit alleging that Africa’s biggest cell phone company conspired to help Iran obtain South African weapons and government support for its nuclear program has drawn fresh scrutiny to Pretoria’s close ties with the Islamic Republic.

Cell phone company MTN, in exchange for a license to operate in Iran, allegedly said it would persuade the South African government to vote in favor of Iran’s nuclear program at the UN and to sell it heavy weapons prohibited by international sanctions.

The accusations of bribery and corruption against MTN are made in a lawsuit by a rival mobile firm that was also vying for the Iranian operating license. The suit was filed in a US court under the Alien Tort Statute.

Johannesburg-listed MTN Group Ltd.'s stock price sank by 7 percent in the week that followed the allegations, even though legal experts don’t give Turkcell much chance of winning in the US.

The lawsuit — along with separate accusations that South African front companies peddle influence and defy sanctions to do business with Iran — comes while the United States is ramping up efforts to isolate Iran financially. President Barack Obama is pushing to cut off Iran’s oil revenue, which the United States and European Union countries say could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

South Africa, already under pressure from the US over its substantial Iranian oil imports and historic friendship with Tehran, could face new strain over the allegations, which involve one of the country’s highest-profile companies and several top political and business figures.

More from GlobalPost: South's Africa's ANC suspends Julius Malema again

MTN was established with government support as the first major black-owned firm in post-apartheid South Africa, and since 2005 has owned a 49 percent stake in MTN Irancell, which controls about half of Iran’s mobile market.

The company has denied the accusations made in the $4.2 billion lawsuit launched in a US federal court by Turkcell, a Turkish company initially awarded the Iranian cellular license, declaring the claims to be "without legal merit." MTN has commissioned its own investigation under a committee led by a South Africa-born retired senior British judge.

The accusations in court documents filed by Turkcell on March 28 are chockablock with political intrigue, implicating high-level government officials and business leaders in using bribes and political influence to help secure the license.

Internal MTN memos attached to the lawsuit describe a code name, “Project Snooker,” given to the company’s alleged efforts to thwart Turkcell’s deal. Iran’s former deputy foreign minister and South Africa’s ambassador to Iran are referred to as “Long J” and “Short J” in correspondence about payments of bribes.

The lawsuit alleges that MTN struck a deal to deliver a large shipment of military arms and technology, code named “The Fish,” to Iran’s defense ministry in 2004. This was to include Rooivalk helicopters, based on the US-made Apache, sniper rifles, G5 howitzers, canons, radar technology and other defense equipment barred by international sanctions.

The promised arms sale never took place, angering Iranian officials, according to documents filed by Turkcell.

According to court documents, politically connected MTN executives also offered to influence South Africa’s votes at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear agency, on Iran’s nuclear weapons program in the company’s pursuit of an Iranian GSM operating license. The lawsuit alleges that MTN prevailed upon South Africa to abstain from three IAEA votes on Iran.

“MTN created a scheme to displace Turkcell as the license holder by leveraging political tensions in Iran and taking advantage of its political connections within South Africa and Iran,” the court papers say.

Other accusations charge that MTN allegedly offered the Iranian defense ministry access to its devices to “facilitate installation of eavesdropping technology on MTN devices.”

Obama, in a message on the Iranian New Year holiday last month, spoke of an “electronic curtain” around Iran, noting that “the regime monitors computers and cell phones for the sole purpose of protecting its own power.”

More from GlobalPost: South Africa: Kruger Park rangers, guides arrested over rhino poaching

On this point, MTN is being pressured to abandon its business in Iran from lobby groups such as United Against Nuclear Iran, which has petitioned the US Congress to back efforts to encourage divestment.

Avi Jorisch, a former US Treasury Department official, accused MTN of following Iranian government instructions to suspend text-messaging services and block Skype, used heavily by Iran’s opposition movement during protests following the 2009 presidential election.

MTN has a corporate responsibility to stop “colluding with a state sponsor of terror that uses its technology to track, silence and kill its people,” wrote Jorisch, who is now with the Washington, DC-based think tank American Foreign Policy Council.

The lawsuit filed by Turkcell comes on the heels of a report in South Africa’s Sunday Times describing how local front companies are used in attempted schemes to sell US-made helicopters and spare parts to Iran in defiance of sanctions.

The newspaper report alleged that the partner of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Gugu Mtshali, attended a meeting during which a bribe was solicited to facilitate government support for a planned Iran deal. The claims are now under investigation by South Africa’s public protector, who has a role similar to that of an ombudsman.

On the issue of a nuclear Iran, South Africa has repeatedly emphasized Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment for energy purposes, while strongly opposing nuclear proliferation.

But the government has so far been unclear about whether it will participate in sanctions against Iranian oil exports. Senior government officials have sent contradictory messages, typical of Pretoria’s recent foreign policy on issues such as Libya.

South Africa relies on Iran for more than 25 percent of its annual crude oil imports. Their friendly relationship dates back to the apartheid era, when Tehran supported the liberation movement, but Pretoria is under mounting American pressure to sever ties or else lose access to the US financial system.

Deputy foreign minister Ebrahim Ebrahim told reporters last month that South Africa intended to follow the US request, and had already suspended almost all of its oil imports from Iran. But South Africa’s department of energy later corrected his statement, saying that no decision has been taken, and South Africa will not decide whether to reduce Iranian oil imports until the end of May.

South Africa imported $364 million worth of crude oil from Iran in February, up from zero oil in January, according to customs data.

South Africans are already facing gas price increases, and a switch to non-Iranian oil would potentially require a $40-million cost of converting refineries. Higher prices at the pumps could lead to revolt at home.

COSATU, the South African trade union group and an alliance partner of the ruling African National Congress, railed at the US for “its attempts to bully countries to cut imports of Iranian oil,” on the basis of “unproven allegations.”

The South African government must “stop this kowtowing to the US imperialists,” COSATU spokesman Patrick Craven said.

South Africa’s main opposition party has called on the police to investigate the claims that MTN tried to influence the national position on Iran’s nuclear weapons program at the IAEA.

“These very serious allegations cannot simply be investigated by an independent committee within MTN,” said David Maynier, the shadow defense minister for the Democratic Alliance. “We have to be absolutely sure that South Africa's nuclear policy is not for sale

Remember Nairalanders' response to xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa in 2008? And rembember, these are Nigerians killing other Nigerians! Looks much worse to me.

Remember Nairalanders' response to xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa in 2008? And rembember, these are Nigerians killing other Nigerians! Looks much worse to me.

HOPE THIS REPORT WILL PUT THIS UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT IN PERSPECTIVE. A LOT OF PEOPLE DO DIE IN POLICE CUSTODY IN SOUTH AFRICA, NOT JUST FOREIGNERS AND NIGERIANS IN PARTICULAR, BUT MOSTLY SOUTH AFRICANS. THIS IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE REPORTED INCIDENT. DO PEOPLE NOT DIE IN THE HANDS OF THE POLICE IN NIGERIA? ARE STATISTICS AVAILABLE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN NIGERIA, AND WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010010253.html

South Africa: Fewer Deaths in Police Custody
Bekezela Phakathi
1 October 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cape Town — A total of 860 people died in police custody or as a result of police action in the past year - a 6% drop from the previous year, annual figures released by the Independent Complaints Directorate yesterday showed.

Presenting the 2009-10 report, executive director Francois Beukman said of the 6375 cases received, 294 were deaths in police custody whereas 566 were deaths as a result of police action. Of these, Metro police were responsible for 10 deaths.

In the 2008- 09 financial year, the police shot and killed 556 people countrywide. This was the largest number recorded in the directorate's 12-year history and indicated a significant increase in the number of people who had been shot dead since the first "shoot to kill" statements were made by national police commissioner Bheki Cele.

Of the total deaths, 31% occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and 22% took place in Gauteng. The Eastern Cape accounted for 10% of the deaths. The other provinces handled less than 10% each, Mr Beukman said.

With regard to deaths as a result of police action, 46% occurred during the course of arrest, 22% occurred during a crime being committed and 10% took place during the course of investigation.

Mr Beukman said seven people were "tortured" to death last year.

The 6 375 cases received during the financial year represented an increase from the previous reporting period. "This figure represents a 4% increase when compared with the corresponding reporting period in 2008-09."

Mr Beukman said not all cases lodged with the police could be substantiated. "Sometimes we found that they had acted within the boundaries of the law and sometimes there was not enough evidence."

A total of 47 police officers were found guilty of serious crimes and summarily dismissed, directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini said.

Of those, 25 were convicted in relation to deaths in custody. The sentences handed down included jail terms of 18 years.

Mr Dlamini said the statistics showed that "police don't get away with murder".



Copyright © 2010 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

AllAfrica - All the TimeHOME

Talk for yourself RSA, not for the "People of South Africa" .

Three sentenced for robbery of foreign journalists
2010-06-12 16:36
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Three men have been sentenced for the armed robbery of three foreign journalists in Magaliesburg, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said today.


Advocate Menzi Simelane said: “Two of the accused were convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each.”

He added that a third was convicted of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to four years imprisonment.


Zimbabwean national Bright Madzudzu, Obunna Ndzubuisi from Nigeria and George Magubane also from Zimbabwe, were convicted and sentenced in the Protea regional court in Soweto last night.


One Spanish and two Portuguese journalists – Antonio Simoes, Rui Gustavo and Miquel Cerano – were asleep in their room at the Nutbush Boma lodge in Magaliesburg on Wednesday morning when the robbers broke into the room.


Armed with a firearm and knife, the robbers stole items including cameras, laptops, clothes, a passport and cash in Euros and US dollars.


Police have recovered some of the items.


The estimated value of the stolen property is R388 000.


In a statement, national Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa said they were “pleased” and “satisfied” with the work of the police and the NPA.


Cele said: “I am very pleased that the system put in place between the SAPS and the NPA to deal with offences relating to the World Cup quickly has proved to be effective.”


Mthethwa said: “It took police no more than 24 hours to arrest these lunatic scoundrels.

It further took the justice department no more than 48 hours to sentence them.”


Dedicated teams of detectives have been assigned to work on serious crimes linked to the World Cup.

The NPA has established 56 dedicated courts, with assigned prosecutors and magistrates, to process these cases as quickly as possible.

Eight cases have been heard thus far.

Three sentenced for robbery of foreign journalists
2010-06-12 16:36


Three men have been sentenced for the armed robbery of three foreign journalists in Magaliesburg, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said today.


Advocate Menzi Simelane said: “Two of the accused were convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each.”

He added that a third was convicted of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to four years imprisonment.


Zimbabwean national Bright Madzudzu, Obunna Ndzubuisi from Nigeria and George Magubane also from Zimbabwe, were convicted and sentenced in the Protea regional court in Soweto last night.


One Spanish and two Portuguese journalists – Antonio Simoes, Rui Gustavo and Miquel Cerano – were asleep in their room at the Nutbush Boma lodge in Magaliesburg on Wednesday morning when the robbers broke into the room.


Armed with a firearm and knife, the robbers stole items including cameras, laptops, clothes, a passport and cash in Euros and US dollars.


Police have recovered some of the items.


The estimated value of the stolen property is R388 000.


In a statement, national Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa said they were “pleased” and “satisfied” with the work of the police and the NPA.


Cele said: “I am very pleased that the system put in place between the SAPS and the NPA to deal with offences relating to the World Cup quickly has proved to be effective.”


Mthethwa said: “It took police no more than 24 hours to arrest these lunatic scoundrels.

It further took the justice department no more than 48 hours to sentence them.”


Dedicated teams of detectives have been assigned to work on serious crimes linked to the World Cup.

The NPA has established 56 dedicated courts, with assigned prosecutors and magistrates, to process these cases as quickly as possible.

Eight cases have been heard thus far.

Brazilian tortured, held hostage in SA


MELODY BRANDON

JOHANNESBURG - While the Brazilian soccer team received a warm welcome to South Africa, a businessman from Brazil is happy to be alive after he was held captive and tortured by Nigerian citizens in a house in Kensington, east of Johannesburg.

Spokesman for the Hawks, Musa Zondi said that the businessman who heads an international timber company, was the second victim to fall into the gang’s clutches.

The first, a South Korean businessman and president of an international shipping company was released on May 19 after his company paid a $70 000 ransom fee to his captors under the guise of a business deal.

According to police, the Hawks swooped on the residence after getting crucial information from the South Korean businessman.

The Hawks put the house under surveillance and finally swooped in during the early hours of yesterday morning.

Police officials, in the country with the Brazilian soccer team, interviewed the man before he was taken to hospital.

“He was badly burnt on his stomach, chest and feet by his captors, who used a hot iron to inflict the pain. He believed his days were numbered and his captors threatened to kill him,” said Zondi.

Zondi said that the plan to lure the men to the country was not a traditional 419 scam, but had been carefully planned and the businessmen specifically targeted.

“These men thought they were coming here to conclude legitimate business deals. The man from South Korea thought that he would be meeting with another businessman to ship concrete to Iraq,” he said.

The names of the two men could not be released as police fear they may come to harm.

The Nigerian suspects will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

When asked if the Hawks were concerned about similar crimes being committed during the World Cup, Zondi said “he would not go anywhere near the topic of the World Cup”.

“We cannot prevent this type of crime from happening, but we can make an example of these criminals,” he said.

National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele warned that South Africa “is not a paradise for criminals”.

“Those who think they can use this country as a base for their misdeeds are mistaken.

“Everyday we are squeezing the space for criminals and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Other businessmen swindled by “business” scams:

In 2008, Osami Hitomi was lured to South Africa under the false impression he would be engaged in an investment company called Jeffdon Properties, he was robbed and held hostage in a house in Alberton. Hitomi’s captors demanded a $5 million ransom. Seven people were arrested, six were Nigerian and one South African.

The same group was also linked to the kidnapping of Kenth Sadaaki Suzuki, a Swedish national, who was taken to a house in Rosettenville. His hands and legs were bound and the kidnappers demanded a 200 000 euro ransom from Suzuki’s family for his release.

It is believed the syndicate was also involved in the kidnapping of American nationals, coming to the country for business meetings with the syndicate.

The modus operandi is to establish a front company to lure the men to the country. Once in South Africa, they are kidnapped, tortured and held for ransom.

The police warn that foreign visitors coming to South Africa should thoroughly screen potential business partners and contact the police to do so.

Brazilian tortured, held hostage in SA


MELODY BRANDON

JOHANNESBURG - While the Brazilian soccer team received a warm welcome to South Africa, a businessman from Brazil is happy to be alive after he was held captive and tortured by Nigerian citizens in a house in Kensington, east of Johannesburg.

Spokesman for the Hawks, Musa Zondi said that the businessman who heads an international timber company, was the second victim to fall into the gang’s clutches.

The first, a South Korean businessman and president of an international shipping company was released on May 19 after his company paid a $70 000 ransom fee to his captors under the guise of a business deal.

According to police, the Hawks swooped on the residence after getting crucial information from the South Korean businessman.

The Hawks put the house under surveillance and finally swooped in during the early hours of yesterday morning.

Police officials, in the country with the Brazilian soccer team, interviewed the man before he was taken to hospital.

“He was badly burnt on his stomach, chest and feet by his captors, who used a hot iron to inflict the pain. He believed his days were numbered and his captors threatened to kill him,” said Zondi.

Zondi said that the plan to lure the men to the country was not a traditional 419 scam, but had been carefully planned and the businessmen specifically targeted.

“These men thought they were coming here to conclude legitimate business deals. The man from South Korea thought that he would be meeting with another businessman to ship concrete to Iraq,” he said.

The names of the two men could not be released as police fear they may come to harm.

The Nigerian suspects will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

When asked if the Hawks were concerned about similar crimes being committed during the World Cup, Zondi said “he would not go anywhere near the topic of the World Cup”.

“We cannot prevent this type of crime from happening, but we can make an example of these criminals,” he said.

National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele warned that South Africa “is not a paradise for criminals”.

“Those who think they can use this country as a base for their misdeeds are mistaken.

“Everyday we are squeezing the space for criminals and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Other businessmen swindled by “business” scams:

In 2008, Osami Hitomi was lured to South Africa under the false impression he would be engaged in an investment company called Jeffdon Properties, he was robbed and held hostage in a house in Alberton. Hitomi’s captors demanded a $5 million ransom. Seven people were arrested, six were Nigerian and one South African.

The same group was also linked to the kidnapping of Kenth Sadaaki Suzuki, a Swedish national, who was taken to a house in Rosettenville. His hands and legs were bound and the kidnappers demanded a 200 000 euro ransom from Suzuki’s family for his release.

It is believed the syndicate was also involved in the kidnapping of American nationals, coming to the country for business meetings with the syndicate.

The modus operandi is to establish a front company to lure the men to the country. Once in South Africa, they are kidnapped, tortured and held for ransom.

The police warn that foreign visitors coming to South Africa should thoroughly screen potential business partners and contact the police to do so.