The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South African

  • Four Fascinating South African Festivals

    Four Fascinating South African Festivals

    South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent that boasts of many exciting and entertaining festivals. There are many culturally rich festivals to admire and explore in the vibrant country of South Africa. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares four fascinating South African festivals.

    THE NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

    This is also called the Grahamstown Festival, and it’s a popular South African festival that’s considered as more or less a rite of passage for the South African people. The ten-day festival is one of country’s oldest, biggest and most famous art festivals, which involves varieties of theater, music, dance and film presentations. Many creative performers aspire to make the cut to feature in this festival because of the festival’s popularity. It typically holds towards the end of June to the beginning of July.

    KNYSNA OYSTER

    This is an increasingly famous festival that holds in the coastal tow of Knysna for a period of ten days in the month of July. Much of its activities include oyster tasting (it is an oyster festival after all), oyster braais, oyster-eating competitions, and other molluscular sports. There is also live entertainment, as well as navy displays, special programs for children and a sporting event called the Knysna Cycle Tour, amongst other exciting events. The festival boasts of a large crowd so if you want to attend, it is best to book your accommodations ahead of time.

    CAPE TOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL

    This usually occurs around late March or early April, is considered one of the biggest musical extravaganzas in Africa. It’s a two-day event that sees a mix of local and international artistes on five different stages at the Cape Town Convention Center performing to a large audience of over 30,000. If you’re an avid jazz fan or simply just have a good ear for music, the festival is worth making an effort to attend. The festival has over time grown to be  a hugely successful event, and features great artists and excellent musical talents. If you want to attend this festival, it is best to book your ticket in advance before it gets sold out.

    OPPIKOPPI BUSHVELD

    It originally started as a rock festival, but, over the years, it has grown into something significantly bigger, and now has several stages where folk and jazz artistes, house DJs and comedians ‘cater to all tastes’. It holds at Northam, which is north of Johannesburg and Pretoria, in the month of August. The festival boasts of a line-up of local and international acts entertaining the many music lovers that flock to the event, for a period of four days across four different stages. There is also a comedy tent at the site of the festival, and in addition to the annual festival, the organizers also host a more intimate gathering over the Easter weekend that focuses mostly on rock and jazz.

  • Coal: Enugu, South African group partner

    South African investors are working along with the Enugu State government and the Federal Government of Nigeria have begun moves to revive the coal industry in Enugu.

    The investors visited Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi at the Government House, Enugu yesterday.

    They hinted that the principal objective of the investment drive was to use coal to generate electricity and then spin a chain of allied business activities for the benefit of the people of the South East and Nigeria as a whole.

    Ugwuanyi , who played host to the investors led by Dr. Odilim Enwegbara of the Pan Africa Group and Stephen Paddy, chairman of the Simang Group, stated that “we have always been hopeful that coal will once again play a major role in the economic development of the country.

    “Our opportunity to actualize the dream has come. This meeting offers Enugu State government the opportunity to establish a relationship with the Simang Group,”said the governor.

  • Nigerian shot dead in S/Africa by Somalian – Union

    The Nigeria Union in South Africa has confirmed the killing of its member, Mr Chinedu Eze, allegedly by a Somalian in the Western Cape Province of that country.

    The Chairman of the union in the province, Mr Mike Ibitoye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from Cape Town, South Africa, that  Eze, 35, was shot on April 25 during an argument over cell phone.

    “Chinedu Eze is a native of Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. He deals in cell phones.

    “Reports at our disposal said that on the fateful day, there was an argument between him and Somali man inside a car.

    “The Somalian reportedly shot him three times, and when he ran out of the car, he shot him six times again, leading to his death,” he said.

    Ibitoye said that the incident happened at Bellview area of Cape Town, a place populated by Somalians.

    “The incident has been reported to the South African Police.

    “The Police has commenced investigation, but we are not aware if the assailant has been arrested,” he said.

    Also, Mr Adetola Olubajo, Secretary of the Union, said “the national body of the union has informed the Nigerian mission in South Africa.

    “We appeal to Nigerians in the Western Cape Province to remain peaceful and law abiding.

    “The Mission is on top of the situation.

    “The union equally appeals to the Federal Government to ensure that the welfare of Nigerians in South Africa are protected,” he said.

  • South African mob kills two Nigerians

    South African mob kills two Nigerians

    Mob action against Nigerians living in South Africa resumed on Thursday,leaving  two Nigerians dead.

    Killed were Razak Ajao,said to be a mechanic and a yet to be identified man.

    Both incidents happened in Polokwane, Limpopo province.

    “I can confirm that a Nigerian, Razak Ajao, an auto mechanic was killed and four others injured during a mob attack against foreigners in Polokwane, Limpopo Province of South Africa today (Thursday),” Martins Cobham, Nigerian high commissioner to South Africa said.

    “The Nigerian mission has formally registered a protest to the South African ministry of foreign affairs on this sad incident.

    “The ministry said they would get back to the mission and that is the situation we are now. The mission has also reported the attacks to the South African police.

    “Meanwhile, the mission is meeting with officials of Nigeria Union on the incident to decide on the next line of action.

    “We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed.”

    Cobham said two of the injured Nigerians had been treated and discharged while others were still receiving treatment in the hospital.

    A Nigerian resident in South Africa,Ralph  Nwachukwu, who could not give the names of the victims, said the attack started when Nigerians living in that area were holding a meeting.

    “They held a meeting on Tuesday and today (Thursday) was supposed to be a follow up,” he said.

  • S. Africa moves to rein in racist social media posts

    The South African government on Friday condemned a “resurgence of racist posts” on social media and vowed to pursue the offenders.

    “Whilst government respects freedom of expression, it will not allow racism to disrupt the gains we have made as a country,” the government said in a statement in response to the recent spate of racist utterances on social media.

    In the latest incident, a Limpopo man posted on Facebook about crowded beaches in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, while calling black beachgoers “cockroaches” who stole money to go on holiday.

    This came almost a year after a similar post by an estate agent calling black beachgoers ‘monkeys’.

    “The government condemns the resurgence of racist posts on Twitter and Facebook which deliberately undermine the gains made towards social cohesion, nation building and strengthening democracy,” said Donald Liphoko, Acting Director General of the Government Communication and Information System.

    The government, he said, “will actively pursue offenders through all available mechanisms including confronting employers and will not allow incidents of racism to define us as a country.”

    Liphoko said victims of racism can seek recourse by opening a case at any local police station, or through the South African Human Rights Commission and the Equality Courts.

    According to Liphoko, the Department of Justice is finalising the National Action Plan against Racism and Related Intolerances, which will strengthen the fight against racism and related intolerances.

     

  • Nigerian, South African unions to meet on Xenophobic attacks

    The United Labour Congress (ULC) has said plans are underway for talks with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) over attacks on foreigners in South Africa.

    COSATU is the largest of South Africa’s three labour unions, with 1.8 million members from 21 affiliated trade unions.

    ULC National President Joe Ajaero spoke in Lagos during a meeting of ULC’s inaugural Central Working Committee (CWC).

    Ajaero, who condemned the xenophobic attacks, urged the South African trade unions to speak out, saying the action was an evidence of “misplaced aggression.”

    “COSATU should speak out, though the ULC is putting in place modalities to reach our comrades in that country to build better relations between our citizens,” he said.

    Ajaero lamented the “looming crisis of hunger and hardship” in the country, but hailed the Federal Government’s “efforts at protecting the naira”. He advocated a “more sustainable action to sanitise the foreign exchange market.

    Ajaero also advised the government to revive or build new, especially modular refineries, and to consider legalising illegal refining in the Niger Delta as a way out of the foreign exchange-sapping petroleum products importation.

  • Nigeria, South African firm seal N224.17b agric, real estate deal

    Nigeria, South African firm seal N224.17b agric, real estate deal

    The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), manager of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed a $700 million (about N224.17 billion) real estate and agriculture deal with South Africa’s Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG).

    Under the deal, signed in Abuja at the weekend, NSIA will partner with South Africa’s OMIG UFF Agri-Fund to establish a $500 million real estate co-investment vehicle and a $200 million agriculture co-investment vehicle.

    NSIA’s Managing Director, Uche Orji said the deal would cover retail assets, especially office buildings.

    He said: “The objective is to invest $500 million in commercial and retail assets, especially office buildings and hospitality facilities. The vehicle is expected to have initial commitments of up to $100 million each from NSIA and Old Mutual and is targeting a total commitment size of $500 million with deal origination and execution to be undertaken jointly by both parties.

    “(For that of agriculture), both parties will make commitments for an initial vehicle size of $50 million ahead of the targeted size of up to $200 million, with deal origination and execution to be undertaken jointly by NSIA and UFF Agri-Fund. The aim of the agreement is to improve Nigeria’s food security and promote rural economic development to capitalise on the growing opportunities that the Nigerian agricultural industry provides.”

    NSIA and OMIG’s interest in the real estate and agriculture sectors Orji explained “is underpinned by a shared vision of the significant opportunities presented by both sectors, given a number of advantageous socio-economic trends prevalent in Nigeria”.

    On the significance of the agreement, Orji said: “The real estate and agriculture sectors offer considerable potential for economic growth in Nigeria. Our commitment in these sectors is underpinned by the economic imperatives of urbanisation, population growth and enhancement of liquidity for the sectors. The real estate vehicle once created alongside the agriculture vehicle will be configured to address some of these issues. The NSIA will continue to serve as a catalyst for private sector involvement in key sectors of the economy by exploring partnerships with credible entities such as Old Mutual Investment Group and UFF Agri-Fund.”

    Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said the  agreement signing “marks a critical milestone towards delivering on NSIA’s broader mandate to invest in key sectors of the economy. It is consistent with the Administration’s concerted efforts to diversify the Nigerian economy away from oil and attract investments into other core sectors which can stimulate sustainable growth.”

    OMIG CEO, Diane Radley, said the partnership with NSIA is a critical step in the development of OMIG’s commercial real estate and agriculture strategies in Africa.

    “As the largest manager of real assets in Africa, we have a deep belief in the opportunities in agricultural and real estate investment across the African continent. Our dealings with agriculture as an asset class have shown that it has already gained huge momentum globally but is still in its infancy in Africa. This presents a significant investment opportunity for both local and international investors,” she said.

    This experience, combined with NSIA’s significant local knowledge and capacity in the real estate and agriculture sectors of the Nigerian economy, Radley said allows for a formidable partnership that can add significant value to both partners’ clients as well as the development of the Nigerian economy.

    For the NSIA – Old Mutual $500million Real Estate Co-Investment vehicle, the vehicle will be established as a private investment holding company, with joint ownership between NSIA and Old Mutual Property (OMP). Each party will commit an initial $50 million-with the opportunity to increase capital commitment to $100 million each, as and when further funding is required.The Vehicle intends to seek third party investors.

    The vehicle will offer investors an opportunity to access high yield retail and commercial real estate investment opportunities in Nigeria, leveraging NSIA’s market presence, with an experienced co-sponsor real estate team.

    Old Mutual Property is considered to be a leading developer of real estate in Africa with over 40 years’ experience in developing landmark shopping centres, industrial parks and major office blocks on the continent.

    With estimated assets under management (AUM) of $1.3 billion as at April last year, Old Mutual Property is one of the specialist boutiques within Old Mutual Investment Group, Africa’s largest private sector investment manager with over $44.6 billion in AUM.

    NSIA’s investment will be made through a wholly owned subsidiary, NSIA Property Investment Company Ltd (NPIC) while OMP’s investment will be made through its wholly owned subsidiaries. Assets will be substantially de-risked, either through leases or robust downside protection.

    The vehicle is expected to have substantial development impact in a number of ways including: to cater for the rapid population growth and urbanisation of the major cities in the country that require such projects; direct and indirect employment benefits due to liquidity created for developers to pursue subsequent construction projects; open up the real estate market and the economy for inflow of greater investments and; absorb the current demand in the market for commercial office spaces allowing for increased business productivity in the economy.

    On the NSIA-Old Mutual $200 million agriculture co-investment vehicle, the NSIA and Old Mutual Investment Group are establishing a $200million co-investment vehicle targeting the agriculture sector in Nigeria.

    NSIA’s commitment to the vehicle is $25 million, with matching capital from Old Mutual bringing the first close to $50 million. Additional capital of $150 million is then expected to be raised from third party investors, bringing the Vehicle to a final close of $200 million.

    The investment focuses on primary production, processing, and logistics. It will have an important social investment component, investing in rural development, food security, import substitution, and other areas in the sector that are beneficial to Nigerians with the NSIA and UFF African Agri-Investment managing the Vehicle.

    UFF African Agri Investments (UFF) is the agriculture management company of Old Mutual Investment Group, Africa’s largest private sector investment manager with over $44.6 billion in assets under management.

  • SOUTH AFRICAN YOUTHS INSPIRE TIWA SAVAGE

    PRESENTLY in South Africa on a tour, Nigerian songstress Tiwa Savage has revealed that she is inspired by spirit not to give up on the youngsters rescued from Child Trafficking, during her encounter with them.

    Speaking on her experience with the youths, after an interactive session with them, she stated: “Even though I was supposed to give these beautiful young ladies words of encouragement I ended up being more inspired by them. They said they didn’t want to be seen as victims but as conquerors because the fact that they are still alive proves that God is not done with them yet. This was such a powerful moment to witness.”

    The mother of one recently admitted in an interview to have been in an abusive relationship with her husband and manager Tee Billz. She appears to be picking up the pieces of her life together, with the focus to make her son, one of the best in the male folks.

    Also being honoured with the Hero Of the Month award, the Mavin Records signee revealed that making music is just part of her story, but touching lives and using her platform to make a change no matter how little, is ultimate goal.

    Tiwa Savage, whose calendar is full for the year, will be performing in Washington DC and Houston on July 29 and August 15 respectively.

  • Eight killed in South African orphanage fire

    At least eight people were killed on Thursday in a fire at an orphanage in the South African city of Durban, the local news agency, ANA, reported.

    Many of those killed were children with the youngest being eight years old, a spokesman for the emergency services was quoted as saying.

    It was not immediately known if other people were injured or what caused the fire.

     

  • South African firms for Law Digest awards

    More South African law firms will challenge Nigeria’s dominance at this year’s Law Digest Africa Awards, the organiser, Mr. Seyi Clement, has said.

    The Editor and Publisher of Law Digest magazine said from the nominations received so far, the South Africans “are going for broke in all the award categories this year.”

    “It will be interesting to see how the Nigerian firms react to the challenge,” he told The Nation.

    At last year’s edition, South Africa won in only two categories from a total of nine of the country’s firms that made the 16-category shortlist.

    Alan Keep of Bowman Gilfillan won the Managing Partner of the Year award, while South Africa Breweries was the winner in the In-House Legal Department of the Year (Trade & Industry) category.

    This contrasted with Nigeria’s haul of 11 awards and Ghana’s three from the same shortlist.

    “A number of non-common law countries have also thrown their hats in the ring, which was a surprise, but shows the level of support and confidence that firms have in the integrity of Law Digest Africa Awards and confirmation of the awards as the quality benchmark for lawyers,” Clement said.

    In response to public demand, he added, the panel for this year’s awards has extended the deadline for nomination till the end of this month.

    “The panel took into account the changes in the nomination procedure for this year, the level of information now required to support each nomination and the resource challenges that some of the firms could face with meeting the tight deadline.

    “The programme timetable can be flexed to accommodate the extension and this would not affect the consideration that will be given to each nomination or the award presentation ceremony scheduled for November 4, in Lagos,” Clement added.