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Ramaphosa to visit India if team reaches World Cup final

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.(Photo: twitter.com/PresidencyZA)

The progress of the South African cricket team in the world cup has brought cheer in the country which recently saw its Rugby Team become World Champions…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday said that he intends to visit India to watch the Cricket World Cup final, if the Proteas make it, to further express support for South Africa men’s national cricket team.

While applauding the Proteas, who have been performing well in the World Cup, Ramaphosa said he held a conversation with the Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.

“I spoke to the Proteas captain Temba Bavuma and encouraged them to remain focused and told him that the entire nation supports and stands behind them,” according to the South African Government’s official statement.

“I also told him that I intend to travel to Mumbai in India to watch them play in the finals,” he emphasized.

South Africa had a thrilling one-wicket win against Pakistan in the 26th match of the ODI World Cup 2023, following which, Bavuma said that the players were not calm in the dressing room after the nail-biting finish.

The progress of the South African cricket team in the world cup has brought cheer in the country which recently saw its Rugby Team become World Champions.

“On Saturday night, South Africans watched with pride and joy as our national rugby team, the Springboks, became the world champions for the fourth time since the advent of democracy in our country” the South African President said.

“As we all watched their progress towards the championship, we marvelled at their resilience and determination to overcome some of the best teams in the rugby world. At moments when their cause seemed lost, they fought back and they emerged victorious,” he added.

“I want us all to embark on a period of celebration culminating in a celebratory holiday after our matriculants have finished their exams and the Proteas have done the country proud at the Cricket World Cup” President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

He added that the Springboks, the South Africa national rugby union team, will return home tomorrow, highlighting that “They will conduct a victory tour around the country and I will receive them at the Union Buildings later this week.”

He further stated, ” I want us to now rally behind the Proteas in the same way as we have given our support to the Springboks.” (ANI)

ALSO READ-Ramaphosa wins bid to interdict prosecution against him by Zuma

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South Africa says arresting Putin would be ‘declaration of war’

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pictured after being re-elected as president of the African National Congress (ANC) during the 55th national conference of the ANC in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/IANS)

The arrest would also undermine a South African-led mission to end the war in Ukraine and “foreclose any peaceful solution”, Ramaphosa wrote…reports Asian Lite News

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa warned that any effort to apprehend Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit would be tantamount to initiating a state of war with Russia.

Ramaphosa said in court papers that were released on Tuesday that “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting President would be a declaration of war.”

Putin has been invited to a BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month but is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant – a provision that Pretoria as an ICC member would be expected to implement were he to attend.

South Africa’s diplomatic dilemma is playing out in court, where the leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is trying to force the government’s hand and ensure the Kremlin leader is held and handed over to the ICC if he steps foot in the country.

In his response, Ramaphosa described the DA’s application as “irresponsible” and said national security was at stake. According to the president, South Africa is seeking an exemption under ICC rules based on the fact that enacting the arrest could threaten the “security, peace and order of the state”.

“It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” he said, adding that this would go against his duty to protect the country.

The arrest would also undermine a South African-led mission to end the war in Ukraine and “foreclose any peaceful solution”, Ramaphosa wrote.

The ICC treaty states that a member country should consult the court when it identifies problems that may impede the execution of a request, and that the court may not proceed with requesting an arrest if this would require a state to break international rules on diplomatic immunity.

South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS group, a gathering of economic heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China, which sees itself as a counter-balance to Western economic domination.

Putin is sought by the ICC over accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children. South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said in recent interviews with local media the government has been trying to persuade Putin not to come – but so far unsuccessfully.

Signed in June and initially marked as “confidential”, Ramaphosa’s affidavit was published on Tuesday, after the court ruled it be made public.

DA leader John Steenhuisen praised the court’s decision, describing Ramaphosa’s argument that South Africa risked war with Russia as “farcical” and “flimsy”. “When foreign policy decisions have the capacity to decimate South Africa’s international reputation … and decimate our economy, it is crucial that government uphold its obligation to be open and transparent,” Steenhuisen said in a statement.

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READ MORE-Ramaphosa wins bid to interdict prosecution against him by Zuma

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Ramaphosa wins bid to interdict prosecution against him by Zuma

The court declared that the “Nolle Prosequi Certificates” issued by the NPA do not apply to Ramaphosa, and the summons issued against Ramaphosa is invalid, unlawful and subsequently set it aside…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has won his bid to interdict the private prosecution against him filed by the country’s former President Jacob Zuma, local media reported.

In a judgment delivered Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg found among other things that Zuma instituted the private prosecution of Ramaphosa for an “ulterior motive”, according to a report by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Zuma accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory to a crime related to prosecutor advocate Billy Downer’s alleged leaking of the former president’s medical records. He further alleged that Ramaphosa failed to act on the alleged breach which he argues compromised the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and by extension, the criminal justice system as a whole, the report said.

The court declared that the “Nolle Prosequi Certificates” issued by the NPA do not apply to Ramaphosa, and the summons issued against Ramaphosa is invalid, unlawful and subsequently set it aside.

In addition, the private prosecution itself was declared unlawful and unconstitutional and subsequently set aside, according to the report.

ALSO READ-Ukraine war has to have an end, Ramaphosa tells Putin

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Ukraine war has to have an end, Ramaphosa tells Putin

Putin said the food crisis had been caused by the actions of Western countries, not by what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – who is in Russia as part of a peace-seeking delegation – told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine must stop.

Ramaphosa laid out the 10 points of the African peace initiative that is seeking agreement on a series of “confidence-building measures” – even as Ukraine last week began a counteroffensive to push back Russian forces.

“This war has to have an end… It must be settled through negotiations and through diplomatic means,” said Ramaphosa in St Petersburg on Saturday at the 18th-century Konstantinovsky Palace.

He added his delegation, consisting of seven African leaders, “came with a very clear message: that this war has to be ended”.

“This war is having a negative impact on the African continent and indeed, on many other countries around the world,” Ramaphosa said.

Putin interrupted opening remarks by African leaders seeking to mediate in the Ukraine conflict to deliver a list of reasons why he believed many of their proposals were misguided.

He reiterated his position that Ukraine and the West had started the conflict long before Russia sent its armed forces over the border in February last year. He said Russia had never refused talks with the Ukrainian side, which had been blocked by Kyiv.

The group also includes leaders from Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Zambia, Uganda and Comoros. On Friday, the delegation held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Ukraine’s leader said after meeting the leaders that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdrew its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory.

“We have come to listen to you and through you to hear the voice of the Russian people,” said Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently heads the African Union, told Putin. “We wanted to encourage you to enter into negotiations with Ukraine.”

African countries have been divided over their response to the conflict, with some siding with Ukraine, while others have remained neutral or gravitated towards Moscow.

During their meeting with Zelenskyy, the Ukraine president requested the African leaders push Putin to release political prisoners as a confidence-building measure.

Putin, 70, on Saturday, praised the “balanced approach” of African countries towards the Ukraine conflict.

“We welcome the balanced approach of African friends to the Ukraine crisis,” Putin told the visiting leaders. “We’re open to constructive dialogue with all those who want peace based on the principles of respect for each other’s interests, as well as justice.”

The Russian leader also said exports of Ukrainian grain under a deal ensuring its safe passage through the Black Sea was not helping to resolve Africa’s problems with high global food prices – as only 3 percent has gone to the poorest countries.

Putin said the food crisis had been caused by the actions of Western countries, not by what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that there appeared to be “no chance” of extending the deal permitting Ukraine to export grain safely across the Black Sea through Russian-controlled waters.

“It’s hardly possible to predict any final decision here, but I can say that, judging de facto by the status quo that we have, this deal has no chance,” Peskov told the Russian news outlet Izvestia.

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Ramaphosa declares national state of disaster

To deal more effectively and urgently with the challenges, Ramaphosa said he will appoint a minister of electricity in the presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster to address the country’s electricity crisis.

“The National Disaster Management Center has consequently classified the energy crisis and its impact as a disaster. We are therefore declaring a national state of disaster to respond to the electricity crisis and its effects,” Ramaphosa said while delivering his 2023 State of the Nation Address in Cape Town.

“The state of disaster will enable us to provide practical measures that we need to take to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including for the rollout of generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply,” he said, adding that it will also enable the country to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals from load shedding.

To deal more effectively and urgently with the challenges, Ramaphosa said he will appoint a minister of electricity in the presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response.

“As we outline our agenda for the year ahead, our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately end load shedding altogether,” the President added.

South Africa is currently facing a severe electricity crisis.

South Africans have endured power cuts for years but 2022 was the worst on record with 205 days of rolling blackouts, as aging coal-fired power plants broke down and state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to find the money to buy diesel for emergency generators.

So far this year, there have been outages every day.

The situation worsened again last month when Eskom said it would implement more cuts because of breakdowns at 11 coal-fired generating units.

Loadshedding was escalated to level 6, which entails removing 6,000 megawatts (MW) worth of power from the grid in order to rebalance demand and supply. This can result in outages lasting 4.5 hours at a time and totaling 12 hours a day for households and businesses.

At peak times, demand in South Africa averages between 28,000 MW and 34,000 MW.

The electricity crunch has been years in the making, a product of delays in building new coal-fired power stations, corruption in coal supply contracts, criminal sabotage and failures to ease up regulation to enable private providers to swiftly bring renewable energy on tap.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday he would appoint a minister of electricity within the presidency to focus solely on the crisis.

He also pledged to continue with South Africa’s partly donor-funded transition to cleaner energy, with planned investments of 1.5 trillion rand ($84.52 billion) in the next half-decade.

He said the government was working on a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable, within fiscal constraints.

Ramaphosa started his speech about 45 minutes late after opposition lawmakers, mainly from the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, disrupted proceedings. After the speaker of parliament told them to leave, a group of EFF MPs tried to barge onto the stage before security intervened.

Eskom has racked up debts and struggled to maintain the country’s coal-powered electricity infrastructure. The electricity provider was mired in corruption scandals under former President Jacob Zuma.

Declaring a state of disaster allows the government to follow emergency procurement procedures with fewer regulations and bureaucratic hurdles.

It also unlocks additional funding for the government to quickly buy new energy equipment, such as generators and solar panels.

South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has vowed to challenge Ramaphosa disaster declaration in court.

It claimed that Ramaphosa’s African National Congress abused procurement processes during the pandemic and issued nonsensical regulations.

Meanwhile, the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters walked out en masse before the State of the Nation Address. Some members of the party stormed the stage, causing Ramaphosa’s speech to be delayed by 45 minutes.

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Ramaphosa re-elected to lead ANC

Ascendancy to the helm of the African National Congress (ANC), in power for almost three decades, is a steppingstone to a second term as head of state…reports Asian Lite News

Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected leader of South Africa’s ruling ANC party on Monday, despite being badly damaged by a cash-heist scandal that has dogged him for months.

Ascendancy to the helm of the African National Congress (ANC), in power for almost three decades, is a steppingstone to a second term as head of state.

But the 70-year-old is on much shakier ground than when he was first elected party leader in 2017, amid deep divisions within the ANC — the party shaped by Nelson Mandela to spearhead the struggle to end apartheid.

Ramaphosa promised a “new dawn” for South Africa when he became president in 2018, but his image has been dented by scandal and a lackluster economy.

Earlier this month, he survived an opposition-led attempt to open impeachment proceedings against him over accusations he attempted to conceal a burglary at his farmhouse.

Details about the huge cash haul, stolen from under sofa cushions, have dealt a massive reputational blow to the man who took the reins of Africa’s most industrialized economy on a pledge to root out graft.

Born on November 17, 1952, in Johannesburg’s Soweto township — the cradle of the anti-apartheid struggle — to a policeman and a stay-at-home mother, Ramaphosa had long eyed South Africa’s top job, but only came to it after a long detour.

He took up activism while studying law in the 1970s and spent 11 months in solitary confinement in 1974. Ramaphosa turned to trade unionism, one of the few legal ways of protesting the white-minority regime.

A protege of Mandela, who once described him as one of the most gifted leaders of the “new generation,” Ramaphosa stood alongside the anti-apartheid icon when he walked out of jail in 1990.

He was a key member of the task force that steered the transition to democracy.

But after missing out on becoming Mandela’s successor, Ramaphosa swapped politics for a foray into business that made him one of the wealthiest people in Africa.

In 2012, his image was badly tarnished when police killed 34 striking workers at a platinum mine, where he was then a non-executive director and had called for a crackdown on the miners.

He became Zuma’s vice president in 2014, often drawing criticism for failing to speak out against government corruption.

Renowned for his patience and strategic thinking, Ramaphosa narrowly defeated pro-Zuma rivals to take over leadership of the ANC party in 2017 and then the presidency when Zuma was forced out two months later.

Relaxed at public appearances, he attracts a support base that crosses South Africa’s racial and class divides, but still faces strong opposition from inside the ANC.

His anti-corruption drive has yielded some results, with charges being brought against some high-profile figures.

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King Charles welcomes Ramaphosa for first state visit

Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela…reports Asian Lite News

King Charles has hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch, welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace.

Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony on Tuesday for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in Africa.

Ramaphosa and his wife were officially greeted by Charles’s eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate at a central London hotel to mark the start of his two-day trip, the first state visit to the UK by a world leader since that of former United States President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019.

Gun salutes and a ceremonial welcome from the king and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, followed before a grand carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where a banquet will be held later in the president’s honour.

Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela.

He will also address lawmakers in Parliament and meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Britain hopes the visit, which had been planned before the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, will strengthen trade and investment ties between the two nations, and show the importance of links with the Commonwealth of Nations, the international organisation that Charles now heads.

“This is a reinforcement of the strong bilateral relationship that we have with South Africa, a real opportunity to build on that close working relationship and discuss some of the issues that affect us all,” British Foreign Minister James Cleverly told Reuters news agency.

The last state visit to Britain by a South African leader was that of President Jacob Zuma in 2010, when he was met by Charles and Camilla at the start of the trip.

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