For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Trent Roebeck

Making headlines: Ramaphosa says Agoa extension would provide certainty for investment, ANC’s Matsila says he won’t stop work on party’s renewal processes and, South Africa risks losing business investment over visa ‘chaos’

Ramaphosa says Agoa extension would provide certainty for investment

President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted that if extended beyond 2025 for a lengthy period, and if used more effectively, the African Growth and Opportunity Act can contribute significantly to the further diversification of African economies.

In his weekly letter to the nation he said that Agoa is an important instrument for growing and transforming South Africa’s economy.

The US trade initiative, which came to be in 2000, is set to expire in September 2025.

Last week South Africa hosted the twentieth Agoa Forum, in Johannesburg, where the case for the extension, or reauthorisation, of Agoa beyond 2025 was made.

ANC’s Matsila says he won’t stop work on party’s renewal processes

The African National Congress’s electoral committee secretary Chief Livhuwani Matsila has refused to let a recent hijacking attempt stop him from pushing for the renewal of the ruling party.

He was speaking on a local radio station following another attempt to take his life on Sunday night. He survived a 20-hour kidnapping ordeal last week.

Matsila is tasked, with former President Kgalema Motlanthe, to work on the ANC’s renewal process ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections.

He noted that the ANC renewal process would have casualties as not everybody is happy about the renewal and the fight against the corruption and crime.

South Africa risks losing business investment over visa ‘chaos’

The Presidency has identified the shortage skills as the second biggest impediment to economic growth, after crippling power outages.

Yet the government department that could resolve the problem, home affairs, has been accused of exacerbating it by failing to deal with a visa system that appears to be causing self-inflicted damage on the economy.

Senior representative for Bayer AG, Klaus Eckstein says the impediments at Home Affairs are not helping anyone including the business as they are looking into to expanding in the country.

Schools, universities and small enterprises also complain that the Department of Home Affairs appears unable to efficiently process work and residence permits and that it is hampering their operations.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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