The Director-General of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Zane Dangor, and his counterpart, Mr Lounes Magramane, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Community Abroad, of the People`s Democratic Republic of Algeria, held Political Consultations during a Working Visit to South Africa. The consultations formed part of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) mechanism at the Senior Officials level between the two countries.

South Africa and Algeria enjoy very good political and fraternal relations dating back to the period when Algeria supported the South African anti-Apartheid struggle. Furthermore, these consultations took place within the current context of a challenging global geo-political landscape characterised by rising tensions and conflicts that threaten to further destabilise international peace and security, including the multilateral system. During the meeting, among others, they exchanged views on developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Sahel, and other conflict situations on the African continent, as well as other critical matters of global concern such as climate change.

Director-General Dangor and Secretary General Magramane also discussed areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly in many areas such as political, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, and people-to-people matters. Relations between South Africa and Algeria in the past three decades were initially anchored in the formation of a Ministerial Joint Bi-National Commission of Cooperation (JBC) in 1998 and later with its elevation to a Bi-National Commission (BNC) at Heads of State, established in 2000. The latter provides a framework for the consolidation and deepening of bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries. In this regard, the visit and the consultations held, contributed towards the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

The Cabinet has approved the revised guidelines on the terms and conditions of service for board members and staff of State Corporations.

These guidelines, the Cabinet said, were in line with the recent directives given by President William Ruto on fiscal consolidation and management of State Corporations.

The new policy also aligns the determination of the terms and conditions of service in the agencies with the provisions of the Constitution and the relevant laws.

Consequently, the revised guidelines will provide salary bands and allowances for CEOs, board members, Vice-Chancellors, Chancellors and members of university councils.

President Ruto chaired the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at State House Nairobi.

Additionally, the Salaries and Remunerations Commission and the State Corporations Advisory Committee will be key players in determining the terms and conditions for State corporations.

The guidelines also provide a new standard for the governance and ethical behaviour of board members and staff of State corporations.

The Cabinet was briefed on the ongoing industrial action by healthcare workers. The members were informed that 19 issues were in contention, but only four concerned the National Government – basic salary arrears, scholarships for postgraduate studies, medical insurance and stipends for medical interns.

All the issues have been resolved save for the stipend of interns. The Cabinet was adamant that it is unsustainable to continue paying KSh206,000 a month to the interns.

The Cabinet endorsed the government directive to set the internship stipend at KSh70,000, saying other interns in public service are paid KSh25,000.

The Cabinet was also briefed on fertiliser distribution. The members were informed that fertiliser has been distributed in 42 counties, with uptake going up by 100 per cent.

So far, 2.9 million bags have been distributed to 538,061 farmers compared to 1.09 million bags to 270,000 farmers in April last year.

Farmers registered on the fertiliser online portal have hit 5.9 million compared to 2.3 million last year. In addition, 9.5 million e-vouchers.

On suppliers of sub-standard fertiliser, President Ruto directed that tough measures be taken against “anyone who adulterates an important national programme”.

Members of Cabinet also approved the terms of a negotiated settlement of the commercial contracts and financing agreements for Itare and Arror dams.

The matters that the contractor, CMC de Ravenna, had taken for arbitration have since been withdrawn. Consequently, the government and CMC de Ravenna will enter into a court settlement.

In the new terms, Itare Dam will be completed, while the construction of Arror Dam will begin.

The Cabinet also approved the purchase of six parcels of totalling 11,000 acres of land in Naivasha, including 6,000 acres for settling squatters and 5,000 acres for industrial purposes.

The Cabinet also discussed and approved the following:

Kenya’s Ratification of the Treaty Establishing IGAD
Kenya’s Ratification of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Hosting of Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Forum on Artificial Intelligence
Provision of an Office for the African Economic Research Consortium
Preparation for the 59th Labour Day Celebrations
Progress on the Implementation of the 15 Billion Tree-Growing Programme

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) swept the stage at the recently concluded Bonds, Loans and ESG Capital Markets Africa Awards 2024 ceremony, taking home six of the awards handed out at the event held in South Africa.

Delivered on the sidelines of the conference on 6 March, the awards recognised Afreximbank’s outstanding achievements in financing, promoting and facilitating trade and for its broadening work to facilitate sustainable economic growth and development in Africa.

Afreximbank was recognised with ‘Financial Institutions Bond Deal of the Year’ for acting as Joint Lead Manager on the debut USD 300 million senior Eurobond issuance by Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), in April 2023, marking the first Investment Grade-rated commercial bank senior bond out of Africa as well as the first international Eurobond out of Mauritius. 

The Bank also won the ‘Infrastructure Finance Deal of the Year’ award for its US$1.76 billion loan to the Government of Tanzania, issued on 30 June 2023.

The award for the Export Credit Agency, Development Finance Institution and International Finance Institution Deal of the Year was presented to the Bank for its US$640-million Samurai loan issued in July 2023 while the Renewable Energy Finance Deal of the Year award went to the Bank for its EUR147-million loan to the Government of Cameroon which was issued on 7 October 2023.

For the Oil and Gas Deal of the Year award, the organisers recognised Afreximbank for its US$1.3-billion loan to Sonangol Finance Limited, issued in August 2023. The final award to the Bank was for being the Financial Institution Debt House of the Year.

Reacting to the awards, Chandi Mwenebungu, Director and Group Treasurer of Afreximbank, said: “These awards represent a recognition of our Bank’s strategic work in Africa’s financial markets and present an opportunity for Afreximbank to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of its clients and partners working to advance the economic development of Africa.”

Mr. Mwenebungu noted that the Bank had been playing a leading debt arranging role across Africa’s main industry sectors and had been instrumental in promoting the inclusion of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in financing structures, thereby furthering their application on the continent and attracting capital.

The Bonds, Loans and ESG Capital Markets Africa Conference is the only pan-African debt event bringing together local and international bonds issuers, investors and financial institutions and financial services providers from across the continent. With participation by more than 1,060 senior borrowers, issuers, regulators, bankers, investors, advisors and government officials from 383 companies and 46 countries, the conference is recognised as the number one business meetings facilitator for Africa’s capital markets and is Africa’s largest corporate and investment banking event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Mr Vincent Musumba
Manager, Communications and Events (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com
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About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance, facilitate and promote intra and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative instruments to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the AfCFTA, Afreximbank has in partnership with the African Union Commission and AFCFTA Secretariat launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement. The AFCFTA Secretariat and the Bank have created a USD 10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$ 37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$ 6.1 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$ 104 billion between 2016 and 2023 through various interventions for the advancement of the continent. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”).

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com

The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Alvin Botes, hosted the State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, Mr Diego Martínez Belío, on 23 April 2024. Deputy Minister Botes and State Secretary Martínez Belío co-chaired the 15th Session of the South Africa-Spain Bilateral Consultations. South Africa’s bilateral relations with Spain are managed through the Bilateral Consultations, which meets annually at the Deputy Minister level.

The Official Visit to South Africa enhanced the already strong relations between South Africa and Spain. This visit highlighted the existing cooperation between the two countries and reviewed the progress and implementation of existing agreements.

The meeting deepened engagement and discussions in the areas of mutual interest to both countries, particularly in trade and investment, education, science and innovation, climate change and renewable energy, as well as human rights, migration and women, peace and security.

Bilateral trade between South Africa and Spain grew by 9.7% from $3.1 billion in 2022 to $3.4 billion in 2023. In 2023, Spain was South Africa’s 18th trading partner globally and fifth largest trading partner in the EU. During the same period, South Africa was Spain’s second largest export destination and seventh largest source of imports on the African continent. South Africa’s exports to Spain grew by 12.8% from $1.41 billion in 2022, to $1.77 billion in 2023.

Over the past ten years, there has been steady investment in South Africa by Spanish companies. The bulk of the investment is in the renewable energy sector. South African companies have also looked to Spain as an investment destination in the Real Estate sector. More than 150 Spanish companies have invested in South Africa creating over 20,000 jobs, largely in the following sectors: Infrastructure Development, Renewable Energy, Financial Services, Tourism, Textiles, IT&Software, Metals, and Mining.

Spain also remains a strategic European tourism market for South Africa. There has been a slight recovery in terms of tourist arrivals from Spain for the periods 2022 and 2023. Tourist arrivals increased by a total of 8 716 between the above-mentioned years, from 23 304 in 2023 to 32 020 in 2024. This is a positive indication of inbound travel slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels as far as this market is concerned.

The recent various high-level engagements between South Africa and Spain symbolise the commitment by both countries to promote a better and more equitable world to benefit the people of both countries.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.