USA consulate pro-Jihadi protest march "in support of Palestine"-
-- ALSO: US ambassador warns against investing in South Africa: "climate not conducive to foreign investments'.
-- ALSO: USA citizens warned against visiting Pretoria zoo because of recent violent attacks.
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12 Sept 2014 - SANDTON While police were on stand-by outside the US Consulate in Sandton: the SANCO memorandum was handed over and the protestors dispersed.
The SANCo provincial charman Aubrey Nqumumalo said they would fight for the rights of the people in west Africa, Palestine and African Americans.
"When there is fighting, education is disrupted and that SANCO wanted peace so that education in these countries could progress."
Pan African Business Forum chariman Iadislas Prosper Agbesi said,
“We are in partnership with SANCO in solidarity for our black American brothers and for the Palestinian people. We believe that everyone deserves freedom.”
By 11.30am, the whole of Sandton Drive was blocked off in anticipation of the marchers and Metro police was on-scene to oversee the march. The marchers made their way onto Sandton Drive at 11.40am.
Regional secretary of the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Atwell Kamani said, “The march that we have organised will be going to the US Consulate in support of Palestine. There has been a recent ceasefire but to us, it is enough. The people of Palestine deserve what every other country has, which is freedom and democracy.”
Protester Thabo Sadiki said, “The Americans must sanction Israel until justice for the Palestinian people has been reached.”
http://sandtoncentral.co.za/news/traffic-alert-for-sandton-drive-and-surrounds-friday-12-september-2014
http://sandtonchronicle.co.za/101965/civic-organisation-marches-for-peace-in-gaza/
Security message for US Citizens: Protest March to US consulate-general Johannesburg
US citizens urged to enrol in "Smart Traveler Enrollment Progra at travel.state.gov...
12 September 2014 Friday - "The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) has announced a protest march to the U.S. Consulate General in Johannesburg beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2014.
Approximately 1,400 marchers are expected to begin the march from George Lea Park, situated at the corner of William Nicol and Sandton Drive in Parkmore, one mile (1.6 km) from the Consulate.
The march is scheduled to proceed from George Lea Park along Sandton Drive to the U.S. Consulate and then return back to the park along the same route.
The march is scheduled to end by 1:00 p.m, but that is uncertain. Major traffic disruptions can be expected along William Nicol Drive, Sandton Drive, and Rivonia Road during and after the protest.
You should plan your travel and routes accordingly.
You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. Review your personal security plans; remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates. Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.
We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in South Africa enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at travel.state.gov. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Regularly monitor the State Department's website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for South Africa. For additional information, refer to the “Traveler’s Checklist” on the State Department’s website.
Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to have travel information at your fingertips.
The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and U.S. Consulates General in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban are located at the addresses below. The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria does not have a consular section and does not provide consular services to U.S. citizens. If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance, outside of business hours, contact the nearest U.S. Consulate General at the emergency after-hours number listed below.
U.S. Consulate General, Johannesburg
(Covering Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, and Free State provinces)
1 Sandton Drive (corner of Rivonia and Sandton Drive)
Sandhurst, Johannesburg
ACSJohannesburg@state.gov
Tel: 011-290-3000 (outside South Africa: +27-11-290-3000)After-hours emergencies: 079-111-1684 (outside South Africa: +27-79-111-1684)
U.S. Consulate General, Cape Town
(Covering Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape provinces)
2 Reddam Avenue
Westlake, Cape Town
ConsularCapeTown@state.gov
Tel: 021-702-7300 (outside South Africa: +27 21-702-7300)
After-hours emergencies: 079-111-0391 (outside South Africa: +27-79-111-0391)
U.S. Consulate General, Durban
(Covering KwaZulu-Natal Province)
Old Mutual Building, 31st floor
303 Dr. Pixley Kaseme Street
ConsularDurban@state.gov
Tel: 031-305-7600 (outside South Africa +27-31-305-7600)
After-hours emergencies: 079-111-1445 (outside South Africa +27-79-111-1445)
U.S. Embassy to the Republic of South Africa
(Note: The Embassy does not provide consular services)
877 Pretorius Street
Arcadia, Pretoria
Tel: 012-431-4000 (outside South Africa: +27-12-431-4000)
http://southafrica.usembassy.gov
#USA: ambassador Patrick Gaspard warns: "#SouthAfrica's climate not conducive to foreign investment:"
Embassy spokesperson: Jack Hillmeyer Email: Pretoriapress@state.gov
Originally published in The Star Early Edition
US car maker Ford forced to close its plant in Silverton due to excessively long strike:
US AMBASSADOR to South Africa Patrick Gaspard has warned that economic policies and chronic strikes are discouraging American investors and traders and could jeopardise South Africa’s participation in the lucrative African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA) preferential trade programme. He was speaking on the eve of US President Barack Obama’s US-Africa summit, which President Jacob Zuma and 49 other African leaders are due to attend in Washington next week.
Creating th right climate for investment in Africa will be high on the summit’s agenda and there will be a separate forum on Agoa which gives duty-free access to the US market for most products of most African countries. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies will take part in the forum. Agoa has helped South Africa to substantially boost exports to the US including considerable volumes of manufactured goods, notably about 60 000 cars a year. But some US legislators and businesses are increasingly demanding that South Africa amend trade and investment policies if it wants to remain part of Agoa when – or if – it is renewed next year.
In a tough letter to South Africa’s ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool last month, Senator Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican on the powerful finance committee, said though he supported renewal of Agoa, “South Africa’s recent move away from participation in the global economy and violation of its international trade commitments severely complicates that task”.
He cited the Private Security Industry Regulations Amendment Bill – which restricts foreigners to minority ownership of security companies;
South Africa’s recent termination of several bilateral investment treaties with European states and problems with aspects of the general 2013 Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill that
will replace the treaties; the draft Intellectual Property Policy which he said would not protect innovative pharmaceuticals adequately; and the stance by African governments as a group that the
World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement should not be implemented until the Doha international trade negotiations had been completed.
Hatch asked the government to revise the measures. Charles Rangel, a veteran Democrat in the House of Representatives, also wrote to Rasool proposing that the government remove the restrictions on foreign investment in the private security industry bill. In an interview last week, Gaspard said Hatch’s letter “just amplifies the concerns that we have consistently raised for some time”. He said US agribusinesses had also written to Congress, raising concerns about the renewal of Agoa “based on the lack of market access for beef, poultry and pork to South African markets for reasons that we deem to be completely unscientific”. Asked if he believed South Africa’s participation in Agoa was in jeopardy, Gaspard said that Hatch was “a serious member of the US leadership” and that he and agribusiness leaders should be taken seriously.
He said Obama had pledged the administration’s support for the renewal of Agoa as a whole and also for South Africa’s continued participation but that it was Congress, and not the administration, that would decide. Gaspard said part of the problem was that South Africa’s free trade agreement with the EU was giving the EU “pronounced advantages” in market access over US companies. “And given the tens of millions of dollars of duty-free access of South African products entering the United States market, (through Agoa) it seems altogether reasonable that we would ask for some consideration.
“You know that Agoa has been chiefly responsible for the success in the manufacturing sector in the last decade in South Africa. Particularly in Port Elizabeth where you’ve got factories that are employing thousands of South Africans that are churning out, last year alone, 60 000 automobiles which made it into US markets.
“There’s thousands of direct jobs from Agoa. And then there’s all kinds of peripheral economic benefits for the surrounding communities because those workers have disposable income that goes right back into the South African economy.
“We think this is really central in the bilateral relationship. And so we hope we’ll all find the right kind of condition for renewal and continue the success and investment there.”
Gaspard said he also often raised concerns about the South African investment climate more generally, especially the protracted strikes. Gaspard, who was once a trade unionist in the US, said he was “profoundly sympathetic” to the demands of workers struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid. “But one would hope that there would be responsible leadership in organised labour, in industry and in government who would have the ability to communicate in a transparent forthright way around these issues and would be working diligently to resolve them at the bargaining table in advance of the employment of the ultimate tool, which is a strike.
“We all know what just happened in Rustenburg with thousands of workers out of work for five months… and the calamitous impact that has had on industry and that ultimately threatened the sustainability of the very jobs that are the real economic engines in rural parts of the country in particular. So it’s right that everyone ought to be concerned about the long-term impacts of some of these protracted strikes. It’s clear that the labour situation in South Africa is already having an impact on the investment decisions of major US companies.
“For example, the US auto-maker Ford has had to close its plant in Silverton during this Numsa (National Union of Metalworkers of SA) strike.
That’s over 2 000 Ford Rangers that have been lost so far to this strike. This labour volatility may have a negative impact on Ford’s decision to expand production of their Everest SUV here in South Africa.”
He suggested that the problem around these issues had been made worse by a lack of transparency in making policy and a lack of access to the right people in the government to discuss them.
But he had been encouraged by recent meetings he had with Davies (*Note: one of the leaders in the SA Communist Party) on the Private Security Industry Bill and other concerns.
“There’s been a recognition that the concerns raised in the States are not superfluous and there’s an understanding that we need to get to resolutions on some of these matters.
“We’ve heard a little bit more flexibility in the conversations that we’ve had around market access for our agribusinesses. So, that’s given us some real encouragement.”
Though Gaspard would not elaborate, Davies told Independent Newspapers a few months ago that his government was ready to address the US grievances about lack of access to the South African market
if that was what it would take to save South Africa’s participation in Agoa.
http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/newsarchive/a-climate-not-conducive-to-foreign-investment.html
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#USA citizens warned to avoid #dangerous Pretoria Zoo, #SouthAfrica
12 September 2014 SAPA (South African Press Association)
The Star (SAPA report): | US citizens touring or living in South Africa who planned to visit the Pretoria Zoo were advised by their government not to do so.
The United States' of America's diplomatic mission cautioned citizens to be on the alert while touring the country. ( Embassy spokesperson: Jack Hillmeyer Pretoriapress@state.gov )
"There's been a number of armed robberies committed recently against visitors to the Pretoria Zoo.
“Due to these events the... mission to South Africa advises US citizens to avoid visiting the Pretoria Zoo until the security situation at the zoo improves,” the embassy said.
Americans were further urged to remain vigilant in protecting themselves from violent crimes while in South Africa as assaults, armed robberies and other crimes were prevalent around hotels, tourist attractions and public transportation centres in major cities.
“Review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security.”
The SA Police Service and the Pretoria Zoo were not immediately available for comment. Sapa
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/us-warns-citizens-to-avoid-pretoria-zoo-1.1750342
http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/press-releases-latest.html
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