Author: Staff Writer

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In The News

SA still an investment destination of choice

The NDP may not be perfect, but it continues to be a guide in our vision to tackle poverty, inequality and unemployment, writes Phumla Williams.

Oliver Dickson’s lopsided view of our country’s investment prospects cannot be left unchallenged lest it misleads Business Day’s readers.

For starters, Dickson should be reminded that when this democratic government appointed a panel of eminent persons to contribute towards the development of the National Development Plan: Vision 2030 (NDP) it did so fully cognisant of the enormous challenges it will face as it reconstructs our country in line with the constitution.

For more than 300 years, SA was ruled by a racially exclusive, discriminatory and exploitive system. The majority of the citizens — in particular Africans — were completely excluded from any economic development of this country. Undoing this was never to be as easy as some may want us to believe.

His myopic assertion that our country is a poor investment destination rings hollow and fails to appreciate what the government has done over this short democratic period and what it continues to do in taking the country forward. 

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Photo: GCIS

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In The News

Here is the expected petrol price for June

Mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund points to major fuel price pain for diesel and petrol vehicle owners in June.

The mid-month snapshot is as follows:

  • Petrol 95: increase of 198 cents per litre;
  • Petrol 93: increase of 193 cents per litre;
  • Diesel 0.05%: increase of 163 cents per litre;
  • Diesel 0.005%: increase of 160 cents per litre;
  • Illuminating Paraffin: increase of 215 cents per litre.

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Inside Church

Pope to Mission Societies: ‘Be faithful, bold and creative’

“In this special year you have gathered in Lyon, the city where the Pontifical Missionary Societies originated and where the beatification of Pauline Jaricot, will be celebrated,” writes Pope Francis in a message to members of the Pontifical Mission Societies who are marking a series of anniversaries including the 200 years from the foundation of their institution.

Pauline Jaricot was a French laywoman who felt the call to missionary life and founded the association of the “Propagation of the Faith” which was approved by Pope Pius VII in 1823.

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Inside Church

WCC Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly: “the call for unity, reconciliation, justice, and peace remains our mission today”

An Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly held last week affirmed “the utmost importance of love” and a “call for unity, reconciliation, justice, and peace,” according to a communique jointly released from the 50 participants, which included delegates from 20 Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches.

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Photo: WCC

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In The News

SA braces for full week of power cuts

Eskom Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberholzer, says Eskom may be forced to increase load shedding from Stage 3 load shedding to Stage 4 if the power utility fails to gather enough generation capacity to feed national peak demand.

According to Oberholzer, Eskom suffered at least eight major breakdowns at its power stations – exacerbating strain on the already fragile and constrained power system.

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Gospel Music

Condolences for legendary gospel artist, Dr Deborah Fraser

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has extended sincere condolences to the family friends, colleagues and fans of legendary gospel artist, Dr Deborah Fraser.

Fraser passed away on Sunday due to an illness.

She was a renowned gospel artist who began her illustrious career in 1985 as a back-up vocalist for local and international artists such as Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Lucky Dube and Brenda Fassie, to name a few.

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Inside Church

New and old epidemics in focus at WCC gathering in Nairobi

The WCC Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy International Reference Group and the WCC Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance HIV and AIDS Strategy Group and Health and Healing met in Nairobi from 10-12 May. 

The first meeting after the beginning of the COVID-19 was a time of renewed fellowship and collaboration. The meeting particularly celebrated the inclusion of a skilled person living with HIV, Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga in the staff of the WCC, bringing the lived reality of people with HIV to this work. 

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Inside Church

Pope: ‘May the new Saints inspire solutions for peace’

Pope Francis has again called for efforts on behalf of world leaders to embrace a culture of dialogue and become protagonists of peace and not of war.

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Inside Church

African Faith Leader Urges Global Covid-19 Summit to ‘Make Bold Commitments’

 An African religious leader has urged a global coronavirus summit to give low- and middle-income countries more control over the supply of Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments.

The Anglican archbishop of Southern Africa, Thabo Makgoba, made the call at a meeting of faith leaders alongside the main summit, co-hosted by the United States, Senegal, Belize, Germany and Indonesia.

The White House summit was addressed on Thursday by leaders including President Joe Biden of the United States, Senegal’s President Macky Sall and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. The side event was arranged by Faiths4Vaccines, a multifaith coalition of U.S. religious leaders, and the U.S. government aid agency, USAID. It featured representatives of faiths throughout the world.

Archbishop Makgoba highlighted the control over Covid-19 supplies exercised by wealthy nations, and urged them “to build on the common good that we’ve created over years within the global community”.

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Inside Church

Pope’s Migrants Day message: ‘Better future must be built with foreigners’

“Building the future with migrants and refugees means recognizing and valuing how much each of them can contribute to the process of construction.”

Pope Francis offered that encouragement on Thursday in his Message for the 108th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which the Church celebrates on 25 September this year.

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