Press Releases

New South African Honorary Consul in Porto

The Embassy is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Jose Guedes Schneider da Silva, as the new South African Honorary Consul in Porto. This appointment will enhance the work of the Embassy in Porto, through facilitating trade and consular activities. With the appointment of Mr Schneider, the Embassy will soon announce the date when the new Office in Porto will begin with consular services. Contact details will then be supplied. Congratulations Mr Schneider on your new appointment!

Minister Pandor concludes successful Official Visit to Portugal

Media Statement

19 May 2023

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor, has concluded her successful Official Visit to Lisbon, Portugal, where she met her counterpart, João Gomes Cravinho, for bilateral talks. Ministers Pandor and Cravinho reviewed the state of bilateral relations between South Africa and Portugal, noting with satisfaction that the two countries enjoy strong relations at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The two Ministers discussed preparations for the upcoming State Visit to South Africa by the President of Portugal, His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The State Visit is scheduled to take place during June 2023. In their discussions, the Ministers noted that South Africa and Portugal collaborate in a number of sectors, such as basic and higher education, science and technology, defence as well as trade and investment.

Portugal is an important trade and investment partner of South Africa. South African exports to Portugal in 2021 were valued at approximately R2,8 billion, while imports from Portugal were approximately R4,6 billion in the same year. There are approximately 500,000 South Africans of Portuguese descent and about 200,000 Portuguese nationals who reside in South Africa. Minister Pandor also met representatives of the Portuguese companies operating in South Africa. The Minister outlined the steps being taken by the government to ensure that South Africa maintains its position as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.

Minister Pandor also met the Mayor of the City of Lisbon, Mr Carlos Manuel Félix Moedas.

Minister Pandor and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, HE Dmytro Kuleba, took advantage of their presence in Lisbon to hold talks at the Ukrainian Embassy. Minister Pandor briefed Minister Kuleba about the envisaged mission to Kiev and Moscow by a committee of six African Heads of State and Government, amongst them President Cyril Ramaphosa. Minister Kuleba told Minister Pandor that Ukraine welcomed the initiative and is looking forward to received the African leaders in Kiev.

The Minister concluded her visit to Lisbon by paying courtesy call on President de Sousa, where she relayed President Ramaphosa’s readiness to host President de Sousa on his forthcoming State Visit to South Africa.

Enquiries: Mr Clayson Monyela, Spokesperson for DIRCO, 082 884 5974

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building

460 Soutpansberg Road

Rietondale

Pretoria

0084

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 22 MAY 2023

Tourism is making a strong and sustained recovery

Dear Fellow South African,

After the devastation caused by the COVID pandemic to our local tourism industry, the latest figures on tourist arrivals show that the industry is making a strong and sustained comeback.

Statistics from StatsSA and SA Tourism that were released by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille recently show that nearly 5.7 million visitors graced our shores last year. This was an increase of over 150% on the previous year.

In the first quarter of this year, we received just over two million visitors, more than twice as many compared to the same period in 2022.

Although tourist arrivals are not yet at pre-pandemic levels, the latest figures show that a significant and rapid recovery is underway. This is taking place in the midst of heightened political and economic uncertainty across the world and particular challenges, especially around electricity supply, here at home.

Yet, despite these difficult conditions, visitors see South Africa as an attractive destination with unparalleled natural beauty, warm and hospitable people, and good value.

The potential of our tourism industry was evident at Africa’s Travel Indaba held in eThekwini earlier this month. The Travel Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the continent and regularly attracts high numbers of exhibitors, marketing bodies and representatives from hotels, airlines and tour operators and media from Africa and the rest of the world. We were able to showcase the great variety of our tourism products to give further impetus to our recovery.

Of the exhibitors at the Indaba, over 120 were small local tourism enterprises that were supported by Government to display their unique products and services, expand their networks and foster partnerships. This is part of our commitment to nurturing small operators in the tourism sector to encourage transformation and the creation of many more jobs.

Not only are we seeing more tourists coming to our shores, but they are also spending more during their visits – more than R25 billion in the first quarter of 2023. This is a valuable stream of foreign exchange, sustaining and creating jobs and enabling further investment in our tourism infrastructure.

The release of these figures during Africa Month is particularly encouraging given that the majority of visitors to South Africa in 2022, approximately 4 million, were from our continent. Travellers from the region and the broader continent are increasingly seeing South Africa as a premier tourism destination and are flocking here to experience our natural wonders and to spend money at South African businesses.

Given the importance of growing tourism to South Africa’s economy, we are determined to forge ahead with the process of immigration reform to improve our competitiveness as a tourism destination.

At this year’s 5th South Africa Investment Conference, I announced that we will be expanding the e-Visa system from the 14 countries in which it currently operates to include an additional 20 countries.

There are obviously linkages between tourists visiting a country and potential future trade and investment. Last week, the Department of Home Affairs published its visa reform implementation plan, which will help to further boost tourism and attract investment.

The recovery of South Africa’s aviation sector is also supporting tourism growth.

South African Airways is expanding into ever more markets on the continent, and we are seeing the resumption of direct flights from major destinations. By way of example, Air China has resumed direct flights to South Africa, and United Airlines now flies directly to New York and Washington DC.

The latest tourism figures are very encouraging and should strengthen our resolve to ensure that tourism becomes one of the biggest drivers of our economic recovery.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 15 MAY 2023

South Africa will not take sides in a contest between global powers

Dear Fellow South African,

Since the advent of democracy nearly 30 years, South Africa has pursued an independent foreign policy.

With the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine conflict, however, there has been extraordinary pressure on the country to abandon its non-aligned position and take sides in what is in effect a contest between Russia and the West. Other countries on the African continent and elsewhere have been put under similar pressure.

One of the most impressive features of the international anti-apartheid movement was that it drew support from countries and citizens from across continental and ideological divides. The struggle to end apartheid was taken up in capitals from Africa to Europe, from the Americas to Asia. Our leaders worked hard to gain the support of governments, lawmakers and citizens across the divisions of the Cold War.

That experience – of reaching out across political divides and building relations with very different countries – has helped to shape our foreign policy. This has been coupled with a firm belief in the value of an inclusive multilateral world order and the peaceful resolution of conflict through dialogue.

This explains South Africa’s membership of the Non-Aligned Movement, a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. South Africa has also used its membership of other international forums like the G20 and BRICS group to advance the views and interests of countries in Africa and the rest of the Global South.

Throughout, we have been firm on this point: South Africa has not been, and will not be, drawn into a contest between global powers.

That does not mean that we do not have a position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Consistent with our stance on conflicts in other parts of the world, South Africa’s view is that the international community needs to work together to urgently achieve a cessation of hostilities and to prevent further loss of life and displacement of civilians in Ukraine. It needs to support meaningful dialogue towards a lasting peace, which ensures the security and stability of all nations.

As a country, we are committed to the articles of the United Nations Charter, including the principle that all members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means. We support the principle that members should refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of other states.

Our position seeks to contribute to the creation of conditions that make the achievement of a durable resolution of the conflict possible. The reality is that the Russia-Ukraine conflict – and the tensions that underlie it – will not be resolved through military means. It needs to be resolved politically.

We do not accept that our non-aligned position favours Russia above other countries. Nor do we accept that it should imperil our relations with other countries.

Last year, I have travelled to Washington to meet President Joe Biden and to London to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In my talks with both leaders, I restated our non-aligned position and explained that South Africa believes that this conflict should be resolved through dialogue. In August, I will be hosting the leaders of Brazil, India, China and Russia for the summit of the BRICS countries. South Africa has strong and enduring relations with all these countries.

In all our interactions with these countries, we restate our belief that the United Nations remains the only viable mechanism through which the global community can strive for peace and common development.

Yet the conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the weaknesses in the structure and practices of the United Nations. The composition of the UN Security Council, in particular, does not reflect the realities of the current global landscape. It needs to be overhauled so that there is equitable representation and a more inclusive mechanism for resolving international disputes.

South Africa is a sovereign state, governed by a democratic Constitution and committed to the consistent application of international law. We will continue to fulfil our obligations in terms of the various international agreements and treaties to which we are signatories.

These are among the principles that inform our approach to allegations that arms were loaded onto a Russian vessel that docked in Simon’s Town late last year. Since we do not have concrete evidence to support these allegations, we are establishing an independent inquiry headed by a retired judge to establish the facts.

South Africa’s position on this issue was well explained by my envoy, Prof Sydney Mufamadi, and his delegation who recently travelled to Washington DC for discussions with representatives of the United States government.

We are determined, in both word and action, to maintain our position on the peaceful resolution of conflict. Guided by the lessons of our history, we will continue to resist calls, from whatever quarter, to abandon our independent and non-aligned foreign policy.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 8 MAY 2023

A THRIVING DEMOCRACY NEEDS FREE MEDIA

Dear Fellow South African,

One of the most important features of an effective democracy is a free media. We should therefore be encouraged by the release last week of the latest World Press Freedom Index, in which South Africa significantly improved its ranking, moving up ten places from 35th in the world in 2022 to 25th this year.

The World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by the organisation Reporters without Borders, assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. It looks at the environment in which media workers operate with respect to political conditions, legal frameworks, safety and economic and socio-cultural context.

The organisation defines press freedom as “the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal and social interference, and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”

As a relatively new democracy compared to those with more entrenched traditions of constitutionalism, we should be proud of our promotion of a free and independent media.

According to the survey, South Africa’s media landscape is “sturdy, diverse and dynamic” at a time when journalism has become an increasingly hazardous occupation in several other parts of the world.

Media freedom is a pillar of our democratic order. Our journalists continue to be the standard-bearers for accountability and the empowerment of citizens. Media investigations have shone a spotlight on corruption, the abuse of vulnerable people, the targeting of whistle-blowers, and all manner of wrongdoing within the state, the private sector, academia and other sectors.

The growth of citizen journalism and the spread of smartphones has made it possible for all manner of newsworthy events, including the actions and utterances of public figures, to be instantly disseminated to a mass audience.

In South Africa, journalists are free to work without censorship, harassment or judicial sanction, even when harshly criticising those in positions of authority.

However, the media in South Africa is also faced with a number of challenges. Several media institutions are struggling to survive in the face of technological change, shifting media consumption behaviour and the after-effects of the COVID epidemic. These developments inevitably undermine the vibrancy and diversity of our media.

In recent years, there have been incidents where journalists have been threatened or assaulted in the course of their work. Some have been vilified on social media or targeted by political figures. As a society, we must condemn such actions and work to prevent them.

It is indeed important for the media to hold those in authority in government, business and civil society to account in the public interest. At the same time, the media has an important role to play in educating and informing citizens on the issues that matter most to them.

Next year the country heads to a general election. As citizens prepare to exercise this important civic responsibility, the media should use its reach and influence to encourage more citizens to register to vote. It should make a greater effort to cover issues in communities that sometimes receive little coverage in the mainstream media. Without seeking to unduly influence voters, the media should focus on the critical issues that matter to people when they need to decide who to vote for.

Media freedom, like so many of the rights contained in our Constitution, is hard won. It thrives in an environment where the media itself exercises due caution to be credible, accurate, fair and truthful always.

In the end, the state of our media is not defined by its ranking on an index, but by how it contributes to building a vibrant democracy with an informed, empowered and active citizenry.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 24 APRIL 2023

WE MUST TACKLE THE ENERGY CRISIS AND CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE SAME TIME

Dear Fellow South African,

The country is faced with both an electricity crisis and a climate crisis, which we must tackle together. As we intensify our efforts to address the electricity shortfall, we remain committed to reduce our carbon emissions through a just transition.

Intensive work is underway to reduce load shedding by improving the performance of Eskom’s power stations. This includes returning units at the Kusile and Medupi power stations to service on schedule, which will together add over 3,500 MW back to the grid. It also includes improving the quality of coal supplied to power stations and ensuring that appropriate skills, adequate funding and effective planning are put in place for maintenance.

We are making real progress in adding new generation capacity to the grid, buying power from neighbouring countries, fast-tracking new wind, solar, battery storage and gas projects. We have previously said that we have a deficit of some 6,000 MW, which we are working to close through all these efforts.

We are seeing a massive surge of private investment in electricity generation as a result of reforms we have embarked upon. These reforms mean that private companies can invest in generation projects of any size and feed their power into the grid.

While these initiatives give us confidence that we will end load shedding, they will take time to show results.

Eskom is undertaking necessary maintenance now to ensure that planned outages can be limited during winter, when demand is expected to increase. As we enter the winter months, when our consumption of electricity rises, we will need to manage our use of electricity. One of the ways in which every South African can contribute to reduce load shedding is by switching off at peak times the home appliances that use a lot of electricity, such as geysers. There are simple energy saving solutions like geyser timers or geyser blankets that we can use.

One of the issues widely discussed in light of the current electricity shortfall is the pace at which older coal-fired power stations that are coming to the end of their lives will be decommissioned.

South Africa has committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030 to within a target range which, at its upper level, is compatible with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5ºC.

We remain committed to achieving this target. We need to do this to prevent the worst effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and other disasters. We also need to protect jobs in sectors of our economy that have to decarbonise to remain globally competitive. However, the manner in which these commitments are achieved must not compromise energy security or the immediate priority of reducing load shedding.

In some cases, it may be necessary to re-examine the timeframe and the process of decommissioning or mothballing of coal-fired power stations temporarily to address our electricity supply shortfall. Few would argue that we should close down power stations even as we experience load shedding. A number of countries in Europe that had decommissioned or mothballed their fossil fuelled power stations are recommissioning them to address the current energy shortage as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The process of re-examining our timeframes is not a reversal of our position on the just energy transition. Other countries have had to do the same in recent years without deviating from their long-term shift to renewable energy sources.

Any decision on decommissioning will be informed by a detailed technical assessment of the feasibility of continuing to operate older plants. It will also be informed by the timeframe in which we can expect new capacity from other energy sources and the impact on our decarbonisation trajectory.

The health and environmental impact of emissions from coal-fired power stations also needs to be considered. In a meeting last week of the Presidential Climate Commission, it was pointed out that the transition to clean energy sources will prevent more than 400,000 avoidable deaths attributable to air pollution by 2050.

With so much at stake, we must ensure that our decisions are taken carefully and informed by science and evidence. Our position is clear and principled: it is possible for us to prioritise our immediate energy needs without jeopardising our climate commitments, and we are determined to do so. In fact, we must accelerate the pace of investment in new renewable electricity generation as an important part of the plan to overcome loadshedding.

How we respond to the energy crisis will determine the future of our country and the growth of our economy. In addition to ending load shedding, the Energy Action Plan will act as a springboard to a just energy transition, boosting the rollout of renewable energy sources, mobilising hundreds of billions of Rand in investment and creating new jobs in sectors from electric vehicles to solar installation.

We must be able to look back on this crisis as a crucial turning point for South Africa – as a moment where we not only worked together to overcome a national challenge, but laid the foundation for a better future.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 17 APRIL 2023

New investments to propel our digital economy forward

Dear Fellow South African,

The 5th South Africa Investment Conference, which was held in Johannesburg last week, provided a huge boost to the country’s digital economy.

In addition to significant investment commitments in data and telecommunications infrastructure, there were also announcements about investments in the mining, manufacturing, energy, property, logistics and food and beverages sectors.

These announcements took the total amount of investment commitments made over the first five years of our investment drive to over R1.5 trillion. This exceeds the target of R1.2 trillion we set in 2018.

While all these investments contribute to economic growth and job creation, the investments in the digital economy will, in addition, propel our country into a new era of innovation and progress. Not only is the digital economy important for growth, but it is also vital to the provision of key services such as education, social services and health care.

South Africa already has among the highest rates of internet penetration in Africa. According to Statistics South Africa’s 2021 General Household Survey, more than three quarters of households have internet access, 97% of all households have at least one mobile phone, and most people use mobile phones to get online. This includes nearly 60 per cent of rural households.

Several recent tech surveys indicate that higher speeds and improved mobile and fibre infrastructure are helping to narrow the digital divide. This is the result of stepped-up investment in the digital economy in recent years.

Since the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018, investments in digital economy have grown exponentially. Over the past five years, we have seen total investment commitments of R200 billion in our country’s telecommunications network by Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Rain and Liquid Telecom.

Faster fibre and 5G rollout makes our economy more competitive as more connectivity solutions help businesses emerge and expand.

The Equiano subsea cable announced at the 3rd South Africa Investment Conference in 2020 was launched by Google last year. We are seeing more investment in data centres. In addition to the network providers, Amazon Web Services, Teraco and Dimension Data have made investment commitments of R21 billion in the past five years. Amazon Web Services plans to grow its investment with a further R30 billion in the next six years.

In 2021 Vantage Data Centers, a US-based company, announced plans to build its first African campus in Johannesburg. It said that it saw Johannesburg as “the data centre hub for sub-Saharan Africa due to its strategic location, IT ecosystem, fibre connectivity and availability of renewable energy”.

According to a recent report on Africa’s Data Centre Market, South Africa is fast becoming a hub for cloud hosting, with the manufacturing, financial services and health care sectors among the major data centre investors. The report further notes that undersea cables are supporting the growth of the local data centre market.

To take advantage of this inward investment and see it increase, we have to urgently resolve the electricity crisis and the theft and destruction of ICT infrastructure.

These were among the issues raised by investors and mobile network operators at this year’s investment conference. We are working with business and other social partners to address these challenges and improve the operating environment.

We are also forging ahead with the structural reforms that are so critical to efforts to improve our economic competitiveness. For example, the conclusion last year of the first high-demand spectrum auction in over a decade will substantially increase connectivity and lower the costs of both voice and data services.

Just two weeks ago, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies published the Rapid Deployment Policy, which will help to accelerate the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure.

To boost the job creation potential of these investments, the National Skills Fund will soon launch a new model for demand-led skills development, which will provide R800 million to fund training for unemployed young people in digital skills.

As we look to foster increased investment over the next five years, as the structural reform process continues to gather pace and as measures to end the energy crisis bear fruit, we will be able to further position ourselves at the forefront of the digital economy in Africa.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 3 APRIL 2023

WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME OPENING DOORS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Dear Fellow South African,

Many young people in South Africa find it difficult to get jobs because they don’t have any work experience. They come out of school, university or college with qualifications, but many employers are looking for people with experience.

That is why, in 2018, we launched the Youth Employment Service (YES), an ambitious partnership with the private sector to address the crisis of youth unemployment. The initiative works with companies to provide work experience opportunities for young people.

Five years later, the YES programme is helping to reduce youth unemployment in very practical ways.

To date, YES has placed over 100,000 South Africans between the ages of 18 and 29 in local businesses for a year of work experience.

Through YES, approximately R6 billion in youth salaries has been injected into the economy and has enabled participants to support their families.

The YES programme is part of the broader Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, which is government’s flagship initiative to respond to youth unemployment. It includes a range of programmes to help young South Africans transition from learning to earning.

Among these programmes is SAYouth.mobi, a zero-rated mobile platform where young people can access opportunities and support. Over four million young people have already registered on the platform and many of the young people participating in YES were recruited through the platform.

An estimated 61% of YES participants come from households reliant on social grants. One participant, who was placed with Mercedes Benz for a year, was the sole breadwinner for a family of four. She told YES that not only was she able to support her family, she was also able to save up to start a broiler chicken business.

Many young people have been placed in future-facing industries such as IT, the green economy, systems and software engineering, app development and others.

In addition to facilitating work experience, YES also operates several training hubs across the country.

One of the YES participants was placed at the Drone Academy, a hub in Alexandra township in Gauteng that offers training in the maintenance, repair, servicing and operation of drones used for business. Having completed his training, he is now employed as a systems integration engineer with a leading Netherlands-based chip manufacturing firm.

Other hubs operated by YES offer training in IT, aquaponics and sustainable farming, culinary skills, textile manufacturing, ceramics and pottery, and automotive manufacturing.

According to research undertaken by YES, an estimated 40% of participants are employed on completion of the programme. One participant in the 2021 intake told YES how after completing the Multichoice Learnership Programme she went on to secure a permanent job with a multinational firm based in Gauteng.

In this year already, YES has achieved a new record of 32,400 jobs. Currently over 1,400 businesses participate in YES, and the aim is to increase the pace of placements as more companies come on board and more opportunities are made available.

What sets the YES programme apart is that it doesn’t just create meaningful jobs; it also creates value for employers that are able to facilitate the entry of more young South Africans into the mainstream of the economy.

Government has put an enabling legislative environment in place to incentivise businesses to participate in youth employment creation. For example, both large and small qualifying enterprises can improve their Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment status by participating in YES. In addition, the Employment Tax Incentive reduces the costs to companies of hiring young people.

We have always said that the unemployment crisis can only be overcome if all social partners come on board. As the main source of job creation and retention in most countries around the world, including our own, the private sector’s involvement is critical.

As government we will continue to play our part by putting in place regulatory and legislative tools to encourage business to hire more young South Africans.

Having reached this important milestone, we congratulate YES and its partners for offering a chance at a better life to 100,000 young people. We can expect to see these numbers increase in the months and years ahead. I call on more businesses to become part of this life-changing programme and to contribute to the recovery and reconstruction of our economy and society.

With best regards,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 27 MARCH 2023

STIMULATING GROWTH FROM THE BOTTOM UP

Dear Fellow South African,

We have reached the end of Human Rights Month.

It is a time in which we reflect on the sacrifices that were made in the struggle for freedom, but also on the progress we have made in advancing the human rights of all.

The right to social security is explicit in the Bill of Rights. This is an approach that recognises that social security is essential to other rights, including the right to dignity.

It is this right that has underpinned the progressive expansion of South Africa’s social protection system over the past three decades.

In 1999 just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants. Today that number has increased to over 18 million people.

In addition, more than two million indigent households also receive free basic water, basic electricity and solid waste removal services as part of this government’s commitment to free basic services for the poor.

Expanding the social wage is not simply an indication that more people need grants today than before, as some have tried to suggest.

In the past, many of the poor, including working age adults who are unemployed, simply did not receive any support.

The Social Relief of Distress Grant that was introduced in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic has reached more than 11 million people at its peak, and has lifted millions of people out of food poverty. According to research approximately

50 per cent of the purchases made by SRD grant recipients are groceries.

Social grants also act as a stimulus for the economy as a whole, increase spending in townships and rural areas, and improve employment outcomes.

An interview-based study by the University of Johannesburg of informal traders in the Johannesburg CBD, Orange Farm, Mthatha, Mqanduli and Warwick Junction in Durban, found that the SRD Grant stimulated customer spending, provided capital to purchase stock, and enabled the new businesses to be initiated.

Informal traders and SRD grant recipients in Philippi in the Western Cape also told researchers that it had a positive impact on their businesses.

According to another recent study by researchers at the University of Cape Town the SRD grant also increased the probability of recipients searching for jobs and gaining employment.

Similarly, many participants in the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (PESI) have gone on to find work after they have completed the programme. The school assistants programme has provided opportunities for 750,000 young people to date in over 22,000 schools, reaching every corner of the country.

Over 72 per cent of participants in the PESI said that having gained their first work experience, the programme helped them to gain a foothold in the labour market thereafter.

In all of these ways, South Africa’s world-renowned social protection system provides important benefits for many in our society, not only those who receive social grants.

It supports economic growth from the bottom up, enables business activity, and strengthens social solidarity and stability. It is one of the greatest achievements of our democratic society, and one that we should all be proud of.

The SRD alone represents a significant step in our commitment to provide a minimum level of support below which no South African should fall.

As I said in the State of the Nation Address last month, we are working on options to provide basic income support for the unemployed, within our fiscal constraints, beyond the expiry of the SRD Grant in April next year.

If the focus of our struggle for liberation was to end apartheid and achieve political freedom, the focus of our efforts now must be to address inequality and ensure that every South African enjoys the fruits of democracy.

It is now well recognised that inequality constrains growth, and that growth which takes place in unequal societies tends to reproduce those patterns of inequality.

This is why our economic policy is guided by the need on the one hand to implement structural reforms to stimulate growth and enhance our economic competitiveness, while on the other hand expanding social protection and public employment and supporting the social wage.

We cannot have one without the other, and we are making steady progress on both.

With best regards,

Press Releases

Press Releases

New South African Honorary Consul in Porto

Minister Pandor concludes successful Official Visit to Portugal

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 22 MAY 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 15 MAY 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 8 MAY 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 24 APRIL 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 17 APRIL 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 3 APRIL 2023

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT - 27 MARCH 2023

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