An Alnwick resident returned to the area of South Africa where she helped raise funds for a classroom to give local children some goodies. Jane Hardy used to live in Cape Town and a few years ago she met up with someone she went to university with whilst on holiday with her husband – a holiday that included the Robben Island to Cape Town Freedom Swim. This person was involved with a charity called Breadline Africa and Jane decided to help with fund-rasing for its project to purchase a shipping container that would then be refurbished for children to use as a classroom.This has now happened, with the biggest activity carried out by the 52-year-old being the successful swimming of the moat of the Castle of Good Hope, in South Africa, with local man and friend Arafat Gatabazi.The classroom is located in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha. It provides a safe place to go and a basic education to poverty-stricken orphaned children in the township.She recently went along to see it … [Read more...] about Jane returns to South Africa to see classroom she helped buy
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South Africa’s leader vows economic reform
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government will speed up economic reforms to revive an ailing economy and attract foreign investors, after his African National Congress party won re-election.Analysts have said boosting South African growth and overhauling debt-laden power firm Eskom were post-election priorities for the ANC, after a decade of slow growth and rising joblessness."We have to embark on the reforms, speed up on them," Ramaphosa told investors in Johannesburg on Wednesday."(Last year) we embarked on an economic recovery stimulus package and we identified a number of reform issues that we needed to address, we are now going to do that with greater speed. We are going to ensure that the certainty that investors want to see is there," Ramaphosa said.He said more details on how the reforms would be implemented would be announced in his State of the Nation address, scheduled for next month.South Africa's economy grew an estimated 0.8 per cent in 2018 after … [Read more...] about South Africa’s leader vows economic reform
French invesment in South Africa’s railway engineers
With over 370 French companies operating in South Africa, France is the 4th largest investor in the country, providing 37,000 jobs and generating 8.5 billion euros for the South African economy.The transport sector is an area where the French-South African collaboration is proving particularly successful, with an ongoing partnership between Alstom, the French-based multinational transport company, and South African railways.Gibela is the result of this partnership. Founded in 2012, the Gibela Rail Transport Consortium is a joint venture where Alstom holds a 61 per cent stake of the shares while Ubumbano Rail and New Africa Rail own the rest between them.The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) was looking for an international partner to revitalise the country’s railway industry and the tender went to Alstom, a company that has been operating in South Africa for the past 100 years. Way back in 1925, Alstom built South Africa's first electric locomotive … [Read more...] about French invesment in South Africa’s railway engineers
South Africa: Close encounters on the Eastern Cape
Less well known than other regions of the country, and less touristy, the Eastern Cape is a place I quickly discover leaves you feeling set free, and out in the middle of nowhere like nowhere else. And being in the middle of nowhere isn't just a state of mind. On average only three Irish tourists a year make it down to Victoria Manor hotel, which appears like a mirage on Market Street in Cradock, a faraway colonial farming town of about 35,000 people which is situated 250km - and often travelling over vast, sparse, flat and treeless plains - north east of Port Elizabeth, which happens to be the southernmost large city on the African continent. But that could be about to change. We get a welcome and a half from our hostess Lisa Ker who seems genuinely delighted to see us, and feeds us with the traditional South African dishes of bobotie - spiced minced meat and with an egg-based topping served with chutney - and koeksisters, syrup-coated doughnuts, and says she would love to see more … [Read more...] about South Africa: Close encounters on the Eastern Cape
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s shock plan to live in South Africa for four months a year after the birth of their baby
PRINCE Harry and Meghan are in talks to move to South Africa for four months a year in a bombshell that has stunned royal watchers. The country is top of a shortlist of African nations where they are expected to create a home from as early as next year, The Sun can reveal. Another Commonwealth state, Botswana, is a close second. The recommendations have been made in a top-secret briefing document about how the couple will establish their future after the imminent birth of their first child. But sources close to the Duchess of Sussex last night rubbished speculation that Meghan wanted to move back to the US and one day become the American president, insisting she had no political ambitions. We have learned senior members of the Royal Family, including the Queen and Prince Charles, have come on board with the African plan. But there are concerns within the royal household about the costs of the move. There would be a huge security bill for eight full-time police staff to relocate … [Read more...] about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s shock plan to live in South Africa for four months a year after the birth of their baby