September 2022 | 296 comments (296 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

During the Blinken visit, Pandor accused the U.S. and other Western powers of focusing on the Ukraine conflict to the detriment of crises around the globe.

PREPOSTEROUS!
archived food for starving Africans inna tribal patent omicron moneypox PANDEMIC

by Cat on Fri Sep 16th, 2022 at 03:53:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Bat Man: Kiss of Death (none / 0)

White House | Readout of Meeting Between President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, 16 Sep wc: 138
White House | Remarks by Vice President Harris and President Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa Before Bilateral Meeting, 16 Sep transcript

[...]
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA: Thank you so much.
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: And thank you to the press. Thank you.

presidency.gov.za | Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the meeting with the congressional black caucus and anti-apartheid veterans during his visit to the United States, 16 prepared remarks

...The Congressional Black Caucus should hold the US government to account for its implementation of the US Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, which acknowledges the role of the African continent in global affairs and seeks a partnership among equals. We are therefore concerned the possible implications for the African Continent if the 'Countering Malign Russian Activities Bill' were to become US law. The law could have the unintended consequence of punishing the continent for efforts to advance development and growth.
Both the US and Russia are strategic partners for South Africa. As a sovereign country that pursues an independent foreign policy, the Bill seems to punish those who hold independent views. It is disappointing that this Bill has been crafted at a time when President Biden has sought to engage African countries on the basis of respect for their independence and sovereignty.....

presidency.gov.za | President Ramaphosa concludes positive Washington DC visit, 16 Sep topical PR
• The Citizen | US bill to counter 'malign' Russian activities could badly affect Africa, says Ramaphosa16 Sep
• Sahara Reporters | Don't Tell Us Who To Associate With - South African President Tells US Not To 'Punish' Continent Over Russia Relationship, 16 Sep
archived H.R.7311 - Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act May 2022
ROLL CALL 27 Apr 2022, 415-9 inc CBC (54 House, 2 Senate not Harris), NV 5 (inc 1 FL-D)
University D'Oh Bulletin skin folk ain't kin folk

by Cat on Sat Sep 17th, 2022 at 07:01:45 PM EST
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The Bat Man BONUS (none / 0)

Kyiv Post | US, South Africa Leaders Vow Cooperation After Ukraine, 17 Sep
"Biden has not yet visited but has pledged a renewed interest, including with a summit of African leaders planned in Washington this December."

The Hill | opEd | At the US-Africa Leaders Summit, launch 'Process Africa', 15 Aug

Several weeks ago, President Biden announced that he will host a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in December. It's about time. This is the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit since 2014, and just the second such meeting ever. China, meanwhile, has held its comparable Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) every three years since 2000, and that has provided a leadership and messaging advantage for China in Africa.
[...]
One of the biggest problems in Africa is that the continent does not process much of the food that is grown there. Despite having a large and robust agricultural base, there has been a long history of sending all or much of [raw material] abroad to be processed. Processing is a very lucrative part of the food value-added chain, usually much larger than the value of the crop itself....

no kidding

Why has this pattern developed? There are several reasons, but it is partly a remnant of the colonial history of much of Africa. European colonial powers were happy to have raw material such as unprocessed food grown on the continent in their colonies. But they insisted that the food be sent to Europe for processing so they could capture the value-added stage. ....

landssakes. Does vdL know about this?

by Cat on Sat Sep 17th, 2022 at 11:36:28 PM EST
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Re: The Bat Man: Kiss of Death (none / 1)

Telesur | President Ramaphosa Cancels UNGA Address to Deal With Blackouts, 19 Sep pun

On Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa canceled his planned address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and will return home after attending British Queen Elizabeth's funeral to deal with nationwide blackouts.
South Africa continues to endure long hours without electricity due to the breakdown of five generating units, the power utility Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom) said.
The country is currently at load shedding level six, meaning that the power utility must remove 6,000 megawatts of power from the grid. During this stage, the country can go without electricity for up to at least six to eight hours per day. Eskom said the country lost about 7,210 MW due to planned maintenance and 16,597 MW of capacity was lost to breakdowns.
"The system has been under pressure over the past week. This has caused us to run our reserves -- our diesel and our dams - very hard and we are now in a situation where we urgently need to replenish these reserves in order to maintain an adequate safety buffer as we are required to do by The Grid Code," said Eskom Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer on Sunday.
[...]
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said the government is eroding the little confidence citizens have regarding its leadership due to the current Stage 6 of nationwide rolling blackouts. The trade union said the government has poorly addressed the issue and called on the president to find a permanent solution to the crisis.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reiterated its call for President Ramaphosa and the government to account for the energy response plan, saying Eskom is not entirely to blame for the country's power CRISIS....

Guterres be, like, Geopolitical Divides Undermine International Law, 20 Sep
"Our world is in big trouble."

Watch history unfold during the 77th session of #UNGA!

Follow the action as world leaders seek solutions to some of the most serious threats facing humanity, from the climate emergency to inequalities, hunger & more. https://t.co/xWc4QNQQ6l pic.twitter.com/c6HSTKFkQo
— United Nations (@UN) September 16, 2022