Ramaphosa sets five goals to be achieved in next decade
Ramaphosa announced that R230 billion in fiscal support would be directed to debt-laden power utility Eskom over the coming ten years [GCIS]
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address was lofty in terms of dreams, but failed to show how these dreams would be implemented and consequently underwhelmed most commentators.
Domestic final demand, which excludes the change in inventories and foreign trade, is more stable
Streamlined cabinet aimed at reviving economic growth
But down on 2014 national elections
A record 26.8 million South Africans were registered to vote in this election, but there were a further 7 million who were eligible to vote, but did not register [PREUSS]
The ruling African National Congress (ANC), which was formed in 1912 to combat the 1913 Land Act, and banned from 1960 to 1990, retained its majority in the 2019 elections with a 57.5 per cent share of the vote.
Indaba was shifted one week earlier due to May 8 election
“This industry must be positioned as a key empowering sector of the economy whosepower we should unleash and use to change the lives of people in our urban and ruralareas,” Ramaphosa noted [PREUSS]Many delegates said that although this year’s Indaba was quieter than previous years due to the date shift from the traditional second week of May, they also said that they had a better Indaba as they could engage for longer with their partners.
The 30-member body will guide government policy
Ramaphosa wants the commission members to be from different sectors of society and reflect a balance in gender, youth, labour and business [PPIO]The euphoria that accompanied the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as leader of the African National Congress (ANC) in December 2017 has morphed into a dystopia, as business executives wonder whether the ANC is capable of leaving its ideological baggage of Marxism /Leninism behind and instead embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
If China builds it, will they still come?
If China builds it, they will likely come, but with conditions … it, being the Silk Road economic initiative, and they, being countries of the European heartland.
Russia sees the Belt and Road Initiative as a necessary economic counterbalance to EU and US sanctions [PPIO]The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation opens in Beijing April 25 with China already having scored a number of victories in 2019.
Michel Temer entered the presidency vowing to slash spending but he ended his presidency having failed to push pension reforms through Brazil’s Congress [PPIO]
Despite severe criticism in Brazil against the controversial pension reform plan, the government says it is confident the measure will pass in Congress and save the country one trillion reais, or $262 billion dollars over the next 10 years.
The government says that the reform plan, which was a core policy of the former cabinet led by Michel Temer, is necessary to boost growth.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a bilateral summit in Goa, India on 15 October 2016 [PPIO]
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov received Foreign Secretary of India Vijay Gokhale in Moscow on Monday to discuss the work of both countries in BRICS as well as other issues to do with their strong strategic ties.
Russia has dismissed US warnings for countries to stop supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro visited Russia and met with Putin in December 2018 [PPIO]
On Friday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned that moves to deploy military resources in Venezuela would be seen as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.
