KASI BC AFRICA

RUSSIA DEVELOPING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS @KASIBCNEWS  The officials exchanged views on the current situation and prospects for developing international economic relations as well as on the growing role of SCO member-states therein Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk held a working meeting in Moscow with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Nurlan Yermekbayev. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current situation and prospects for developing international economic relations, in which the SCO member states play a growing role. Alexey Overchuk advised the SCO Secretary-General on the work during the Russian chairmanship of the SCO Heads of Government Council in 2024–2025, stressing the Russian side's focus on giving a new impetus to cooperation within the organisation on the economic track....

EGYPT WIFI CALLING ROLLOUT @KASIBCNEWS Egypt has officially rolled out a new service that allows mobile phone calls to be made via fixed internet networks (WIFI-calling), with the goal of enhancing call quality and improving overall telecommunications services. In a conference held on Monday, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat explained that the service addresses network coverage challenges in areas with high population density, narrow streets, and tall buildings, where providing sufficient mobile network coverage is often difficult.   “WIFI-calling makes it easier for users to send and receive calls with good quality,” Talaat stated during the announcement.   The new service, called WIFI calling, addresses the long-standing issue of mobile network coverage, especially in areas where users struggle to get a stable signal, such as those living in lower floors of buildings or in densely populated urban areas.   The service was developed over th...

RUSSIA MANUFACTERING INVESTMENT IN ZIMBABWE @KASIBCNEWS Deputy Minister Garipov was in the company of representatives of several companies in the agricultural sector involved in dairy, genetics, breeding among others. After the meeting, VP Chiwenga and his delegation toured some of the companies. “For the meeting with the Vice President we invited a number of companies to demonstrate their capacities,” said Deputy Minister Garipov.  “The specific dimensions where we feel this cooperation could be fruitful is areas such as refining equipment production and selling equipment as well as organising localisation of equipment manufacturing as well as help in the knowledge transfer.” Speaking afterwards, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe was open for business and is ready to open new avenues of cooperation with Russia. “There is huge potential for investment in agriculture and many other sectors,” said VP Chiwenga. “We are already cooperating with the Russians in many areas so what we want is to ...

GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT NIGERIA @KASIBCNEWS  The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, CON has reiterated the commitment of the Tinubu-led administration to develop the grassroots for sustainable development in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda. SGF made the disclosure while receiving in audience a delegation from the National Association of Former Elected Local Government Council Chairmen of Nigeria (NALGON) Emeritus led by its Chairman, Rt. Hon. Shaba Ibrahim in Abuja. He underscored the premium the administration places on bringing development to the grassroots through the Local Government Autonomy and other initiatives for meaningful development across the country. In his words: “grassroots development is the cornerstone of this administration. President Tinubu is committed to ensuring that the quality of life at the local level receives the needed attention. This is why he emphasised on the actualization of the Local Government autonomy”. Senator Aku...

SUSPECTS ARRESTED AFTER SHOOTOUT WITH JMPD @KASIBCNEWS JMPD TACTICAL RESPONSE UNIT APPREHENDS SUSPECTS AFTER HIGH-SPEED CHASE AND SHOOTOUT IN TURFFONTEIN  The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Tactical Response Unit successfully apprehended three suspects following a high-speed chase and a shootout on Thursday, 23 January 2025, in Turffontein.  Whilst conducting crime prevention patrols, officers observed a blue Hyundai Accent driving at high speeds. Upon attempting to stop the vehicle, the driver disregarded the officers' signals and fled the scene, endangering other motorists. A pursuit ensued, during which the suspects fired shots at the pursuing officers.  The suspects continued their reckless driving, where they collided with a maroon Renault Kwid at the intersection of Kliprivier Drive and Turf Club Road. Despite this collision, the suspects persisted in their attempt to evade arrest.  The pursuit finally concluded at the corner of Garden Road ...

R1BILLION TENDER FRAUD RAID ON DA JP SMITH OFFICES @KASIBCNEWS   The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes with serious concern the raid conducted by the Police Commercial Crimes Unit on the offices of Democratic Alliance (DA) Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.  This is said to be part of an  investigation into housing tender fraud within the City of Cape Town, exposing yet another layer of corruption within the DA administration.  The raid comes as part of ongoing probes into fraudulent activities in the construction sector, with investigators targeting the offices of Mayoral Committee Members JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg. This follows charges of fraud already laid against Malusi Booi and others, the former DA Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, linked to tenders valued at over R1 billion.  The DA-led municipality has now been implicated in what can only be described as a deep and systemic web of corruption, e...

R100BILLION BBBEE FUND @KASIBCNEWS The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) wishes to contextualise the objectives of the Transformation Fund and the process underway to generate discussion and arrive at consensus for its eventual implementation. This Fund is a critical initiative that advances South Africa’s constitutional commitment to economic redress and inclusive growth, which the dtic is bound by. Rooted in Section 9(2) of the Constitution, it aims to promote shared equality through legislative and other measures to empower black-owned enterprises and small, medium, and microenterprises (SMMEs). The Fund also reflects the statement of intent of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which emphasizes fostering redress and inclusive economic growth. The GNU’s transformative agenda seeks to dismantle systemic barriers to economic participation, ensuring that historically-disadvantaged communities are afforded equal opportunities to thrive in all sectors of socie...