Source: South Africa News Agency
The Department of Education in Mpumalanga has received the biggest portion of the provincial budget with over R20.97 million, which equates to 43.6% of the total provincial budget for the 2018/19 financial year.
Delivering his budget speech on Tuesday, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Sikhumbuzo Eric Kholwane, said the… See more
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English – Report:
Headline: Banque du Caire selects Temenos 24 Core Banking as part of visionary transformation of retail and corporate business lines
Temenos (SIX: TEMN) (www.Temenos.com), the software specialist for banking and finance, today announces that Banque du Caire (www.BanqueDuCaire.com) has selected Temenos T24 Core Banking as part of its vision in becoming the region’s leading bank. Banque du Caire has chosen Temenos’ leading T24 Core Banking solution to replace its current solution. T24 will be deployed along with Temenos solutions for Channels, Financial Crime Mitigation, Front Office, Payments, and Risk & Compliance. With this comprehensive technology upgrade, Banque du Caire will be empowered to not only realise its growth strategy in a cost-effective way, but also to bring cutting-edge banking services to its 2.7 million customers in Egypt.
With accelerated time to market for new products and an enhanced user experience across channels and devices, this signing cements Banque du Caire’s commitment to providing the products and services that the Egyptian public needs. Banque du Caire is a multi-award winning, full-service bank that provides a complete array of products and services to the retail and corporate markets. The bank plays an effective role in financing vital sectors of the national economy through participation in the syndicated loans serving different sectors, as well as in financing SMEs and Microfinance projects. By implementing Temenos’ proven and upgradeable software, Banque du Caire continues to ensure that the 10,000,000 million transactions processed monthly are fast, secure, and compliant, as well as providing world-class products and services to consumers and small business owners across Egypt.
Khaled Hamada, CIO, Banque du Caire, commented: “Banque du Caire has seen continued growth, and we are projected to grow 10% year-over-year. Our existing platform was not flexible enough to scale and respond to our growing customer base and their needs. Temenos’ technology provides us with an agile solution, which can scale to size, and offers pre-configured features and enhanced product agility. By partnering with Temenos, we will be able to bring to our customers a highly responsive service, tailored products and a truly customer-centric experience.”
Jean-Paul Mergeai, Regional Director – MEA, Temenos, stated: “Temenos is excited to have been chosen by Banque du Caire as one of their primary technology partners to expand through innovation and operational excellence, and to transform the bank from a product-centric to a customer-centric model. This strategy aligns perfectly with Temenos’ vision which has enabled us to develop a packaged, upgradable and innovative core banking platform which is used by more than 1000 financial institutions globally.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Temenos.
Media Contacts
Jessica Wolfe
Temenos Global Public Relations Manager
Tel: +1 610 232 2793
Email : Jessica.Wolfe@Temenos.com
Alistair Kellie & Andrew Adie
Newgate Communications on behalf of Temenos
Tel: +44 20 7680 6550
Email: Temenos@NewgateComms.com
About Temenos
Temenos Group AG (SIX: TEMN) (www.Temenos.com), headquartered in Geneva, is a market leading software provider, partnering with banks and other financial institutions to transform their businesses and stay ahead of a changing marketplace. Over 2,000 firms across the globe, including 41 of the top 50 banks, rely on Temenos to process the daily transactions of more than 500 million banking customers. Temenos customers are proven to be more profitable than their peers: over a seven-year period, they enjoyed on average a 31% higher return on assets, a 36% higher return on equity and an 8.6 percentage point lower cost/income ratio than banks running legacy applications.
For more information please visit www.Temenos.com.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English – Report:
Headline: Amref Health Africa and GE Healthcare Partner to Strengthen Healthcare Systems in Africa
GE Healthcare (www.GEHealthcare.com) and Amref Health Africa (www.Amref.org) today announced a framework agreement that aims to develop a range of in-country health care service collaborations across reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, non-communicable diseases, water, sanitation and hygiene and safe surgery.
Initially, Amref Health Africa and GE will work together with Intrahealth and Project HOPE on a new program in Ethiopia, where GE will provide medical equipment at 20 health centers and 4 primary hospitals to widen access to antenatal screenings, essential newborn care and to upskill health workers. The technology will include portable ultrasound for antenatal screening, baby warmers, anesthesia and resuscitation equipment used during childbirth and phototherapy devices which help mitigate jaundice in babies.
Through a focus on task-shifting, health workers such as midwives who operate in remote communities where access to medically trained personnel is often limited or non-existent, will be taught essential skills to perform additional tasks such as antenatal scans, ensuring that critical, potentially life-saving services are available to the most at-risk patients.
Amref Health Africa is the largest non-governmental organization founded and based in Africa and has more than 60 years’ experience in health development. GE Healthcare is a leading global provider of healthcare technology and services and brings more than 100 years’ experience in the continent. The collaboration allows the partners to develop new in-country programs that will combine their respective technical expertise, capacity building know-how and ability to convene large-scale funding into programs.
The new GE program with Amref Health Africa will build on results from a 6-month GE pilot during which 22 NICU nurses and paediatricians were trained on the provision of essential newborn care. It showed a 24% reduction in facility-based neo-natal mortality, from 82 in every 1000 admissions to 62 in every 1000 admissions. [1] The study was conducted by the Ethiopian Paediatric Association in consultation with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health for Ethiopia, at four sites across Ethiopia, and involved more than 2,400 neonates. It also showed a 50% reduction in patient referrals and a 1-day reduction in overall hospital length of stay after an NICU intervention to 7 days.
“Amref Health Africa stands at the forefront of creating stronger community-based health systems that ensure access to quality health services for all. Training health workers on essential skills for mother and child health is a key component of addressing the high rates of maternal, newborn and child mortality that still exists in far too many communities,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi Group CEO, Amref Health Africa.
“Strengthening primary care and the broader referral system is an essential building block towards the attainment of universal health coverage in Africa,” said Farid Fezoua, President and CEO, GE Healthcare Africa. “To that end, Amref Health Africa – as a proven and trusted partner in African healthcare, has been at the forefront of primary care development. Leveraging their unique insights and local know-how is an important step in GE’s plan to contribute meaningfully to the reduction of preventable maternal and child mortality.”
He added: “Our approach combines relevant technologies, skills development and localized service delivery into one scalable deployment model. Early pilots have shown promising results and together with Amref Health Africa and our other implementation partners, we have a dedicated and local team monitoring and evaluating these programs to share learnings across the continent.”
Today there are more than a dozen GE Healthcare programs in Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Sierra Leone aimed at reducing preventable maternal and infant mortality underway together with a range of implementation partners. With a plan to deliver more than 20 such initiatives with several partners including Amref Health Africa, GE aims to reach 3.5 million expectant women, mothers and new-borns and train over 3,000 primary healthcare workers by 2020.
According to WHO, approximately 830 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth [2], with maternal mortality higher in women living in rural areas and among poorer communities [3]. Almost all maternal deaths (99%) occur in developing countries. More than half of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa [4]. The situation remains challenging for infants and newborns. While the total number of under-five deaths dropped to 5.6 million in 2016 from 12.6 million in 1990, 7,000 newborns still die every day, according to UNICEF [5]. In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 1 child in 13 dies before his or her fifth birthday, while in the world’s high-income countries the ratio is 1 in 189.[6]
One target under Sustainable Development Goal 3 is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 births, with no country having a maternal mortality rate of more than twice the global average. To that end, skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies according to WHO.
Amref Health Africa has a strong regional presence, working with over 100 poor and marginalized rural and urban slum communities as well as district health authorities and Ministries of Health and Education in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda; pioneering experience in community based healthcare – emphasizing community ownership of projects and programs to encourage sustainability; and extensive experience in health development training targeted at a diverse range of health professionals from primary healthcare workers to field surgeons.
[1] “Improving Neonatal-health outcomes in Ethiopia through an innovative and sustainable healthcare model” Bogale Worku, Ethiopia Journal of Pediatric Child Health, 2016 Vol XIII, No 2.
[2] https://goo.gl/avwKj7
[3] Ibid reference 2
[4] Ibid reference 2
[5] https://goo.gl/r7EB7W
[6] Ibid reference 5
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE.
Media Contact
Hannah Huntly
GE Healthcare
+44 7887 824201
About GE Healthcare
Harnessing data and analytics across hardware, software and biotech, GE Healthcare (www.GEHealthcare.com) is the $19 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE:GE). As a leading provider of medical imaging equipment, with a track record of more than 100 years in the industry and more than 50,000 employees across 100 countries, we transform healthcare by delivering better outcomes for providers and patients. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter or The Pulse for latest news. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.GEHealthcare.com.
About Amref Health Africa
Amref Health Africa (www.Amref.org), the largest African-led international organization on the continent, reaches more than 11 million people each year through 150 health-focused projects across 35 countries. Founded 60 years ago as the Flying Doctors of East Africa to bring critical health services to remote communities, Amref Health Africa now delivers preventative, community-based health care. With a focus on women and children, Amref Health Africa manages a full range of medical and public health programs tackling the most critical health challenges facing the continent: maternal and child care; HIV, TB and malaria; clean water and sanitation; and, surgical and clinical outreach. www.Amref.org; @Amref_Worldwide
Source: South Africa News Agency
The Department of Education in Mpumalanga has received the biggest portion of the provincial budget with over R20.97 million, which equates to 43.6% of the total provincial budget for the 2018/19 financial year.
Delivering his budget speech on Tuesday, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Sikhumbuzo Eric Kholwane, said the budget for education will fund school infrastructure, provide dignity packs and bursaries.
The province is broadening access to education by building more boarding schools to mitigate the dysfunctional learning environment of farm schools.
“Included in this budget is an amount of R210 million for bursaries towards deserving young people, as per the wishes shared with me on social media,” MEC Kholwane said.
In line with the government priorities of social protection, security and societal development, the province has allocated R38 045 732 to the Social Sector departments.
The Social Services Cluster includes the Department of Basic Education, Department of Arts and Culture, Department of Higher Education, Department of Health, Department of Social Development and the Department of Sports and Recreation.
He said these departments provide essential services to the poor through targeted interventions such as social relief, public education, and advances the social cohesion and unity of South Africans around the Constitutional directive of the protection of human rights.
“Education has an influence of immense proportions in our efforts to fight the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, particularly in improving the employability of the provincial labour force,” MEC Kholwane said.
Health
The second largest component of the budget, at R13 278 174, is allocated to the Department of Health to strengthen primary health care; provide lifesaving care and medication and promote a healthy lifestyle, amongst others.
“Of this budget, R1 320 298 is allocated towards the continuing construction of health infrastructure, which includes Mapulaneng and Middelburg hospitals, as well as the completion of Bethal and Mmametlhake Hospitals,” he said.
Human Settlements
The Department of Human Settlements received R1 774 080 to plan, coordinate and facilitate the creation of integrated and sustainable human settlements in the province.
“The department will not only increase access to housing opportunities for our people, but will also create job opportunities through the human settlements programmes.
“Some of the priority programmes to be funded through the department of Human Settlements includes the sanitation programme as a lack of or inadequate waste disposal or sewage systems have profound impact on the health of the society,” MEC Kholwane said.
Included in this allocation is R165 million to address sewer spillage challenges in Emzinoni and Embalenhle (Govan Mbeki); Tekwane South (City of Mbombela) and address sewer spillage as well as refurbishment and internal reticulation in Amersfoort (Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme).
Social Development
The department received R1 551 584 to provide psycho-social services, increase opportunities for early childhood education and deliver social relief benefits to needy families.
A special allocation of R20.2 million is included in the baseline of the department for provision of dignity packs to girl children from poor communities in the province.
“The Department of Social Development is at the coalface of the State’s war against poverty and social injustices,” he said.
A total of R468 461 has been allocated to the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation in an effort to forge strategic partnerships in taking creative industries in the province to the next level.
Economy, investment and employment
MEC Kholwane said the share of the economy, investment and employment cluster is R7 353 497, which is 15 percent of the provincial budget.
“Accordingly, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism as a thought leader and overseer is allocated R1 198 058 to drive and coordinate the provincial economic growth and development programmes.
“Fifty-three percent of this allocation is made up of transfers to Provincial Public Entities namely, Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) and Mpumalanga Economic Regulator (MER) to fulfil their economic and developmental mandate,” MEC Kholwane said.
He said funds have been reprioritised to assist with the implementation of catalytic projects to support youth and women-owned enterprises in strategic productive sectors.
The special allocation of R320 488 for the implementation of the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market (MIFPM) has been reclassified as capital expenditure from MEGA to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
The Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs will receive R1 180 437 while the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport received R4 987 002.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has been allocated R522 260.
“Provincial Treasury will receive R322 706 to ensure the equitable allocation and optimal utilization of public resources in providing a quality and better life for the more than 4.4 million citizens of the province,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: South Africa News Agency
The Republic of Indonesia has extended South Africa’s recognition status which enables the country to export horticultural products through Jakarta Port of entry until 11 April 2021.
The initial recognition was granted by the Indonesian Authority on the 11 April 2016, and is due to expire on 10 April 2018.
The extension follows an application by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana on 27 July 2017 for an extension of the recognition of South Africa’ Food Safety Control Systems.
His counterpart in Indonesia, Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman decreed the extension.
Minister Zokwana made the decision to apply for an early extension to avoid interruption of South African export of horticultural products to Indonesia.
The extension granted is in respect of 14 horticultural products, namely, apples, apricots, cherries, citrus fruits, grapes, grapefruit, lemons, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pomelos, plums and prunes.
Minister Zokwana noted that the extension will translate into the mentioned exported agricultural commodities being subjected to monitoring only, instead of the conducting of verification inspections and checks on each and every consignment exported to Indonesia.
Furthermore, exporters will be allowed to use the Port of Jarkata, Tanjung Priok, which is closer to the main Jarkata market, thus reducing transport costs and preventing a loss in quality of the exported produce.
“Expanding exports is one of the department’s strategic priorities in both the regional and international arena. Forging good relations with international counterparts plays a vital role in achieving this strategic priority. We want to encourage exporters to make the most of this opportunity,” the Minister said.
The Minister thanked the industry and the continued cooperation received from the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation.
The Indonesian Authority also expressed its appreciation of South Africa’s continuous efforts to guarantee that horticultural products exported to Indonesia are safe and fit for human consumption. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: South Africa News Agency
Environmental Affairs Minister, Dr Edna Molewa, says South Africa’s approach to wildlife management will always be aimed at benefiting both wildlife and the people.
South Africa, the Minister said, remains committed to continued cooperation with other countries for the sustainable use of environmental resources.
The Minister on Wednesday addressed the ‘Keep calm and let Africa take the lead’ conference through a recorded video message. The conference is currently taking place in Brussels, Belgium, under the theme ‘Supporting communities in wildlife conservation through African-EU dialogue’.
The goal of the meeting is to bring together European and African decision-makers, together with stakeholders from across the spectrum, to understand the leadership of African range countries in the management and conservation of their wildlife and the role that local communities play in these management and conservation activities.
“This helps to secure areas where rural communities are still very dependent on the natural resource base for survival,” Minister Molewa said.
She cautioned that illegal wildlife trade, illegal hunting or poaching and any form of animal cruelty is strictly prohibited by law in South Africa.
“We therefore reject the notion that equates legally and regulated hunting with poaching or other forms of illegal wildlife activities. South Africa is committed to promoting responsible hunting, which is conducted in line with the applicable legislation,” she said.
Minister Molewa said trophy and meat hunters respectively contributed R1.9 billion and R8.6 billion to the economy in the 2015-2016 hunting season.
Hunting further contributes to food security in the form of healthy free-range lean protein of between 31 000 and 87 000 tonnes per annum.
The conference is hosted by, among others, member of the European Parliament, Karl-Heinz Florenz. It is organised in coordination with the Federation of Association for Hunting and Conservation of the EU (FACE), the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) and Safari Club International (SCI). – SAnews.gov.za
Source: South Africa News Agency
The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services is hosting a two-day workshop on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, which seeks to lower the cost of communication.
The workshop, which concludes today in Pretoria, is an opportunity for the department to interact with the 43 respondents to the bill, which include the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), Vodacom, Nokia, Cell C, MTN, SMMEs, industry associations, organised business, government and individuals.
The amendment bill forms part of government’s efforts to create an enabling environment for the digital industrial revolution and contribute to lowering the cost of communication.
Key issues in the bill include the introduction of an open access regime in the licensing of spectrum to promote competition, remove barriers to entry and lower the cost of communications services.
In particular, the bill proposes the creation of a Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN), as a wholesaler to provide capacity to existing and new entities, which will create an environment for innovation and transformation.
Of the 43 respondents, 23 are scheduled to present their key arguments today.
“We welcome the opportunity to engage on difficult issues with all interested stakeholders because we have to answer difficult questions as a country,” said Director General Robert Nkuna.
He said one of the main reasons for public consultation is to assess the socio-economic benefits of the proposed amendments and evaluate which proposals are workable.
“At the end of the day, we need to quickly process laws which will enable us, for an example, to allocate spectrum in the next financial year,” he said.
The workshop takes forward the pronouncement by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2018 State of the Nation Address to “finalise engagements with the telecommunications industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the allocation of spectrum reduces barriers to entry, promotes competition and reduces the cost to consumers”.
The workshop also underscores the department’s commitment to meaningful engagements with all stakeholders to develop policies to modernise the sector and news ways of connecting as many people to affordable and reliable internet, as the digital industrial revolution beckons.
Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Dr Siyabonga Cwele has on numerous occasions indicated that public consultations are about finding the most suitable ways of implementing ICT Policy. He has also said this means that the sector must be open to new entrants without killing the current players.
He has also said that spectrum may not be returned before the expiry of the current licensing period.
The department hopes to introduce the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill later this year. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: South Africa News Agency
Fifteen people have been arrested in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in a major crackdown on corruption related to the fraudulent issuing of driving licences.
The suspects including four driver licence examiners, a clerk, a cleaner and nine learner licence applicants were nabbed in a joint police action by the Road Traffic Management Corporation… See more
Source: South Africa News Agency
Fifteen people have been arrested in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in a major crackdown on corruption related to the fraudulent issuing of driving licences.
The suspects including four driver licence examiners, a clerk, a cleaner and nine learner licence applicants were nabbed in a joint police action by the Road Traffic Management Corporation… See more
Source: President of South Africa –
Headline: Presidency encouraged by 2017 Q4 GDP growth
The Presidency welcomes, on behalf of all South Africans, the Statistics South Africa finding that gross domestic product growth in Quarter 4 of 2017 reached 3.1%.
While GDP growth remains subject to a broad range of market factors and can fluctuate based on such factors, the Quarter 4 improvement should motivate all South Africans.
The Quarter 4 figure does suggest the economy is taking a turn for the better thanks to the efforts of all stakeholders in our economy.
It is also a very appropriate accompaniment to the positive sentiment with which South Africans and the global community are embracing South Africa’s current renewal.
The Presidency hopes that growth of the kind experienced in Quarter 4 will be sustained and that it will translate into meaningful job creation.
Enquiries: Acting Spokesperson, Tyrone Seale on 083 575 7440
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria