On the eve of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in August, Chinese President Xi Jinping met his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa. After the pomp and ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the two leaders and their ministers announced a raft of bilateral agreements across many fields.  One of the agreements, signed by South African Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, allowed South African farmers…

Ambitions for political office do not drive former President Jacob Zuma, but the strategic toppling of ANC leaders he believes sent him to jail without trial, said insiders.  According to sources close to Zuma, the former ANC leader’s decision to vote for the newly formed party, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), in the 2024 general elections, and distance himself from “the ANC of Ramaphosa”, is part of a broader strategy to weaken and eventually remove the current leadership, led by President Cyril…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated South Africa’s tough stance against Israel over the Gaza war, calling upon the United Nations (UN) to send soldiers to the Middle East with the aim of ensuring a peaceful dialogue between the state of Tel Aviv and Hamas. Ramaphosa was speaking during the extraordinary joint meeting of BRICS leaders to discuss the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday, November 21. Leaders and delegates of the recently invited members of BRICS, such as Argentina,…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that creating a single payment system using the national currencies of the BRICS countries will be on the agenda of the 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia. The head of state remarked while addressing the National Council of Provinces (upper house of parliament) on October `13.  “The BRICS group intends to further expand the use of member states’ national currencies in international trade. Finance ministers and Central Bank governors are now working on the…

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has vowed to collaborate with the international community to stop Israeli “genocide” against Palestinian people. He has also called on Israel to end the siege on Gaza and allow a humanitarian corridor in the Strip.  Addressing the African National Congress (ANC) post-national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, Ramaphosa said the governing party is angered by the Zionist state’s indiscriminate shelling and blockade of the Gaza Strip.  He said the ANC will push for a…

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — South Africa on Thursday unveiled the Border Management Authority (BMA) in its northernmost province of Limpopo in a bid to combat cross-border crime. Established in response to a number of serious challenges, the BMA was designed to address security, migration, safety, congestion, and long transit problems at the borders, said President Cyril Ramaphosa at the launch of the authority. “A more secure border is important for curbing illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking. It will…

Condolences have been pouring in since the announcement of the passing of the long-serving Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu Nation and Inkosi of the Buthelezi Clan, Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, a parliamentarian and founding leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement announcing the veteran politician’s death, sparking a series of condolatory messages from all corners of South Africa. Buthelezi, who had been hospitalized several times in the past month, passed on…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed an independent report that dismissed claims that his government provided Russia with weapons, saying it vindicated his country’s non-alignment policy.  In May, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, accused South Africa of “loading” weapons and ammunition onto a Russian vessel anchored at Simon’s Town, Western Cape, in December to help it fight its Eastern European neighbour Ukraine.  Last night, during his address to the nation on the outcomes of last week’s…

BRICS leaders have invited six new members to join the powerful economic alliance of developing nations, marking the rise of the Global South in geopolitics and the world’s new political and financial architecture.  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Argentina officially join BRICS in January next year – in a paradigm shift that would rearrange international politics, dent the petro-dollar system and expedite the demise of the United States of America’s (U.S) empire.   The move…

BRICS leaders presented a united front at the Johannesburg summit, promising to deliberate on the bloc’s expansion, push for a common currency and reform global governance systems in favour of the Global South. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian leader Lula da Silva vowed to tackle global challenges together without forcing members to choose between BRICS and Western political and economic blocs such as the Group…