THIS WEEK

2: SA’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment will host the 18th Annual Air Quality Governance Lekgotla. Marking 20 years since the promulgation of the National Environment Management: Air Quality Act, this year’s event will be held virtually under the theme ‘Implementation for Accelerated Emission Reduction’. The 2024 Lekgotla aims to take forward the development and implementation of emission reduction plans.  (Virtual: https://shorturl.at/wVyva)

2:  The mass trial of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters is scheduled to commence in the Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Borno courts. Amnesty International Nigeria said more than 2 000 protesters were arrested across the country during the 10-day protests against hunger and misgovernance tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.

2-5: President Cyril Ramaphosa leads South Africa Delegation to China State Visit and the Forum on China – Africa Co-operation. The visit commences with a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. Ahead of the bilateral engagement, Ramaphosa will lay a wreath at the Monument to the Peoples Heroes in Tiananmen Square in honour of Chinese revolutionaries. South Africa and China will sign agreements that are aimed at enhancing economic cooperation and the implementation of technical cooperation, particularly in the fields of  human settlements, agriculture and science and technology (Beijing).

3: NutriVision: Pan-African Youth Dialogue. Bill Gates and young leaders and nutrition experts will exchange ideas, ignite action and collaborate on transformative solutions for shaping Africa’s future (Register at online.africa.com/nutrivision).

3-4: Africa Oil and Gas Digital Transformation Conference. Hosted by the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Lagos).

4: South Africa‘s he Department of Health will re-introduce the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill to Parliament. Updating the Portfolio Committee on Health about the status of the Bill on 28 August, the department said that it hoped to speedily process the new laws, taking off from where it left off in the sixth administration when the bill lapsed.

5: OpenText Summit Africa 2024 Summit. It is aimed at medium and large businesses that operate in critical sectors such as banking, finance, retail, mining, telco and the public sector (Johannesburg).

6:  Justice & Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane will explain her involvement in the VBS scandal on Friday to Parliament. Last week’ joint investigation by News24 and Daily Maverick revealed that Simelane had used a ‘commercial loan’ to purchase a coffee shop in Sandton. At the time, Simelane was the mayor of Polokwane, which had unlawfully invested into VBS (Cape Town).

OTHER:

* The US Department of State has imposed visa restrictions on individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining and impeding a sustainable peace in South Sudan. These individuals, who include members of the South Sudanese Government, participated in obstructing life-saving humanitarian aid through the taxation of aid shipments, the US State Department said in a statement.

* The Brega Petroleum Marketing Company on Sunday announced the reactivation of the supply of a range of fuel products through the main supply pipeline – after a 10-year hiatus. The pipeline used to be the main supplier of Tripoli’s Airport Road Fuel Depot with petrol.‎ It will now be used for the supply several fuels, including diesel. The reactivation of the pipeline is timely following the last two weeks of petrol shortages in Libya.

*  Egypt delivered its first military aid to Somalia in more than four decades on Tuesday, three diplomatic and Somali Government sources said, a move likely to deepen strain between the two countries and Ethiopia. Egypt and Somalia have drawn closer together this year after Ethiopia signed a preliminary deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland to lease coastal land in exchange for possible recognition of its independence from Somalia.

* A year since a military coup in Gabon ended the Bongo dynasty’s 56-year rule, the country marked the anniversary in a festive mood this week with celebrations and promises by the ruling junta to step up progress on reforms. The people largely welcomed the military’s ousting of President Ali Bongo, whose family’s poor management of the central African country’s oil wealth had led to a stagnant economy and stranded a third of the population in poverty. Hundreds of people gathered in the capital, Libreville, on Friday, for official celebrations led by interim president General Brice Oligui Nguema to mark the first anniversary of what is referred to as the ‘coup of liberation’ in Gabon.

* Namibia has taken a stand against the ongoing Gaza war and blocked a vessel carrying weapons destined for Israel from docking. Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab ordered the relevant authorities, including the Namibian Ports Authority, not to allow the vessel MV Kathrin to enter Namibian waters.

* The opposition EFF’s push for the scrapping of apartheid legislation is steaming ahead amid calls for the speeding up of the law-making process in the South Africa’s seventh Parliament. The Programme Committee has heard that there is a list of the apartheid laws in a 153-page document.

* International Relations & Co-operation Minister Ronald Lamola has returned to South Africa after attending the Tokyo International Conference on African Development Ministerial Meeting. Following successful diplomatic negotiations, an agreement between the two countries was signed earlier this year, establishing a protocol for the export of South African avocados to Japan. The first consignment arrived in Japan last week, coinciding with Lamola’s visit.