News
"The South-South Framework for Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the South and Tropical Atlantic and the Southern Oceans constitutes a bilaterally agreed plan for scientific cooperation in marine and oceanic research between South Africa and Brazil. The Framework outlines the importance of collaborative scientific exploration of these Southern oceans to the science of global environmental and climate change, to understanding and enhancing the oceans’ relationship to national and regional socio-economic development, to technological development and innovation, and to the formulation of policy for the region and the role of science diplomacy."
The National Treasury has issued a press release on the Government’s inclusive growth action plan. "Government has been deeply engaged with the issue of low economic growth and the recession, analysing its impact on social welfare, and considering an appropriate response. There have since been several engagements in Cabinet and amongst the Economic Cluster Ministers to craft an appropriate government response. The President hosted a meeting of several ministers on the 28th of June 2017. At the meeting, the President stressed the urgency of a coordinated response, and to this end an agreement was reached on implementation timelines for key structural reforms related to the nine point plan. These would support both business and consumer confidence thereby laying the foundation for an economic recovery. These interventions are the beginning of a response programme that will be unpacked in the MTBPS and the 2018 Budget."
The Government of South Africa notes the outcome of the International Monetary Fund's South Africa 2017 Article IV consultation report released on the 6 July following consultation with South Africa from 3- 16 May 2017. "The report notes that sound macroeconomic policies and robust economic growth were mutually reinforcing post-1994, however, the rates of economic growth and poverty reduction have stalled in the recent years."
The South African Law Reform Commission has called for comments on the Research proposal paper, Maternity and paternity benefits for self-employed workers. "The aim of this Research Proposal Paper is to serve as a basis for the South African Law Reform Commission‟s (hereinafter “SALRC”) deliberations on the subject of State maternity and paternity benefits for self-employed workers. A gap currently exists in the State‟s social security system, in that self-employed workers are excluded from receiving maternity and paternity benefits when the mother enters confinement. This situation exacerbates the socioeconomic problems of poverty and inequality between women and men in South Africa, prevents women‟s full economic participation, and impacts on their reproductive choices."