Bamako: My delegation would like to take this opportunity to, first of all, express our full support to our dear brother and colleague, Honourable Minister Boubeye Maiga, of the Republic of Mali, for his leadership as the Chair of the Peace and Security Council of the AU for the month of March 2012. Honourable Minister, thank you for making this meeting possible and thank you for the warm welcome and the hospitality that we are becoming accustomed to.
Pretoria: The African Union has released a statement condemning the unrest in Mali which is being perpetrated by some elements within the Malian armed forces. South Africa condemns any attempt to seize power through the use of force. We reiterate our conviction that no party should come to power through unlawful means.
Johannesburg: The fostering of relations among African states and regional organisations remains solid and South Africa was on a sound footing with other countries on the continent. Tisetso Magama, chairperson of the parliamentary committee on international relations and cooperation, said on Monday that South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) were doing well in advancing the African agenda.
Johannesburg: Former director-general in the Presidency Frank Chikane believes that the African agenda once spearheaded by Thabo Mbeki is losing momentum and the gains made are being reversed. In a wide-raging interview about his book Eight Days in September: The Removal of Thabo Mbeki, Chikane said some of the events currently happening on the continent should not be taking place.
Pretoria: International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will participate in a ministerial meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC), scheduled to take place in Bamako, Mali, on 20 March 2012.
Cotonou: Leaders of eight African Union countries failed on Saturday to break a deadlock over the leadership of the 54-member body, highlighting divisions that have repeatedly stymied its decision-making. The talks in the Benin port of Cotonou were called after neither of the two front-runners for the AU commission chairman post - former South African foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon - managed to secure an outright majority during a voting contest in January.
The decision of the SA Government of President Jacob Zuma to put forward the candidature of our current Home Affairs Minister, and former Health and Foreign Affairs Minister (1994-2008), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, for the position of the Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, must be applauded and supported by all right-thinking South Africans.
Please allow me to thank the management, staff and students of the University of Limpopo for inviting me to address you today. I bring warm greetings from all South Africa’s diplomats, some of the finest of whom are alumni of this venerable institution. I feel deeply honoured to be here at Turfloop, an African centre of excellence and innovation that played a historic role in the resistance against Apartheid and which has produced many of those who lead us today.
Johannesburg: Transcript of an interview by Mandy Rossouw with Lindiwe Zulu following the release of the ANC's discussion document on foreign policy issues:
The topic of our talk tonight is: “Celebrating the Legacy of Liberation Movements in Africa: Freedom through Diplomacy”. In this regard, I would like to preface my lecture with a well known quote that: “Until the lions have their historians, tales of hunt shall always glorify the hunter”
