Ramaphosa claims investment conference success
President Cyril Ramaphosa says yesterday’s – sixth – investment conference has prompted fixed investment commitments of R415 billion over the next five years, and R475 billion in financing commitments by development finance institutions. It’s reported that Sasol tops the list with the largest investment of R60 billion, followed by KwaZulu-Natal property developer Cornubio 957, which pledged R25 billion to its infrastructure, retail, residential, and tourism development. The target is to lift private investment to R2 trillion over the next five years. Ramaphosa – who claimed the investments would create over 200,000 jobs, though without giving details – is quoted as saying: “Today, the green shoots of renewal are emerging, We have definitely turned a corner.”
All eyes on Trump prime-time address today
US President Donald Trump’s plans for a prime-time speech in Washington tonight (3am SA time) come after he said that he foresaw the US ending the war in Iran in the coming weeks. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump intended giving an update on the war. Yesterday, Trump said the US had largely accomplished its military goals and would leave it to other nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He told reporters at the White House: “I would say that within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three. We’ll leave because there’s no reason for us to do this.” The news prompted a more than 3% fall in the oil price to just above $100 per barrel – though Brent crude prices remain 39% higher compared to 28 February.
Measures drafted to protect rights of pregnant schoolgirls
Draft regulations have been put forward by basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube to prohibit suspending or expelling schoolgirls because they are pregnant, and mandating access to education, care and support before and after childbirth. According to the department, 11,400 children between 10 and 14 and nearly 450,000 girls between 15 and 19 have given birth since 2021. The statistics show that some 30% of learners who fall pregnant do not return to school after giving birth, limiting their long-term prospects. Gwarube is quoted as saying: “We have moved away from a painful past where young girls were expelled or forced out of school due to pregnancy; these practices contributed to alarmingly high dropout rates.”
Pakistan, China meet on 5-point peace plan for Middle East
A five-part initiative for peace in the Middle East based on dialogue and diplomacy is the core feature of a joint statement issued in Beijing yesterday after talks between Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. The statement called for an immediate ceasefire and for the safety of waterways, including the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, to be protected. The joint statement agreed that dialogue and diplomacy were “the only viable option to resolve conflicts” but there appeared to be little substantive progress in bringing the significant participants to the table to end the war. It is reported that, so far, China has been careful to stay out of the ongoing conflict, though it has ties with the regime in Tehran and is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.
Niehaus says he is not “even vaguely” interested in joining MKP
EFF MP Carl Niehaus has scotched speculation that his attending the funeral of “my beloved friend and comrade Nkosentsha Shezi” was grounds for believing he was thinking of joining former President Jacob Zuma’s MK Party. He attended the funeral “because of my personal camaraderie and close bond with [Shezi] and nothing more”. He is quoted as saying: “I advise former Pres. Zuma not to try to persuade me (to join). He will definitely fail.” He adds that he has “absolutely no reason to even vaguely consider joining the MKP”, noting that “[a]ll the detailed criticisms about the lack of progressive ideological clarity and organisational chaos that I previously expressed against the MKP still apply”.
Sources: Business Day, News24, BBC, Netwerk24, Bloomberg, The Guardian