According to a 2003 World Bank report, Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction, strengthening poor people’s land rights and easing barriers to land transactions can set in motion a wide range of social and economic benefits including improved governance, empowerment of women and other marginalized people, increased private investment, and more rapid economic growth and poverty reduction. Debate on land reform in South Africa is influenced far more by beliefs about the country’s history. South Africa is one of the largest countries in Africa, with a surface area of 1.22 million sq km. The population is approximately 46.9 million.

When the word land reform is mentioned to most South Africans, they immediately think rural, agriculture, and transferring the ownership of farmland from whites to blacks. Current land ownership and land development patterns strongly reflect the political and economic conditions of the apartheid era. Racially-based land policies were a cause of insecurity, landlessness, and poverty amongst black people, and a cause of inefficient land administration and land use. Land policy must deal with the following in both urban and rural environments:

The project will be a boost for South African and Basotho construction and materials supply companies, and is expected to create thousands of jobs. It will also provide South Africa with much-needed water security, which is one of the challenges highlighted in South Africa’s National Development Plan.

The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs says South Africa would bear the full R12bn cost for the project, which is higher than the initial R9bn that was estimated. The additional water supply from Lesotho is earmarked for two major nodal developments planned for Lephalale near Vryburg, where new mines are being established.

South Africa receives 24.6m³ of water per second from the LHWP, while an additional 45.5m³ per second would flow as a result of the expansion. In addition, the project would also generate 1,000MW of electricity for Lesotho.

Lesotho’s concerns – which related to energy supply for Lesotho, governance and the configuration of the project itself – have been addressed. The project involves the construction by South Africa of the Polihali Dam and connecting tunnels, while Lesotho would build another new dam near Polihali – both dams would feed the existing Katse Dam, which would also supply South Africa. In addition hydropower would also be generated for Lesotho from the three dams.

The IRP2010 places specific emphasis on broadening electricity supply technologies to include gas, imports, nuclear, biomass, renewable; wind, solar and hydro, in response to both the country’s future electricity needs as well as reduce its Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. A study, commissioned by the National Planning Commission (NPC) and compiled by University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Energy Research Centre, reported that the country’s energy blueprint is outdated and went on to say among other things that the growth in electricity demand had been much lower than had been forecast.

The reason for the IRP coming into being before the IEP is a result of the 2008 energy shortage that was caused by a lack of long term planning. In March 2012, the department held a consultative conference on the development of the IEP with work on the plan being completed in March 2013. The completion and implementation of the IEP will enable the department to go ahead with the review of the IRP 2010.

The building is expected to be completed in 2014. It will have 7095m2 of warehousing, ablutions, and change rooms on its ground floor and 1765m2 of office space, including a staff lounge and recreational area in a sophisticated triple-storey office complex. The offices will be fully automated with an intelligent boardroom, built-in WiFi and fibre optic cabling throughout.

Great emphasis has been placed on power saving and the reduction of power usage throughout the complex. The developers have enlisted the help of heating experts to plan the installation of PV panels, which will be placed on a north-facing sector of the roof and will supply a bank of batteries with enough power for the entire building.

Further power savings will also be achieved by the use of Low-E double glazing with heat resistant argon gas between the glass panels, thereby reducing heat penetration by up to 100%. Power consumption will also be reduced by not motorising the entrance gates, and by not using electric battery forklifts, and through the use of an automated switch-on, switch-off system.

Minister of Public Enterprise, Malusi Gigaba, says this will not replace the power alerts that have been ongoing but will serve to assist on giving report backs on the state of the power usage. Gigaba says the country is currently experiencing major power constraints and thus it is important to change behavior in order to reduce the demand on electricity.

The initiative aims to create a country where people will be responsible in the manner they use electricity. Power bulletin will play on radio stations and TV during peak hours and will run until December 2013.

Such leases encourage landlords and tenants to agree to work together to make a home greener. The property owner commits to managing the rental in a sustainable way while the tenant pledges to reduce energy consumption and to recycle whenever possible.

A green lease entails:

• A commitment on the part of the landlord to maintain the central services of the building to standards of greenhouse rating.
• An obligation on both parties to consider whether an improved rating can be achieved during the term of the lease
• Both parties to commit to an energy management plan to operate the building in accordance with prevailing government policy on energy conservation.

There are increasingly stringent building regulations requiring developers to build more energy efficient buildings and green leases being used as a device to attract tenants who are green conscious. In all these are positive developments that should see the country moving successfully into a green future.

“In our continued struggle for economic freedom, the South African government will continue to encourage intra-Africa trade through undertaking outward business missions to different parts of Africa in order to implement infrastructure development that Africa is in need of,” she says.

Thabethe challenged South African and Algerian companies not to compete but to seek complementariness and to collaborate in their business dealings or joint ventures to explore respective markets for mutual benefits. The purpose of the mission is to create market access of South African value added products and services into new markets and to promote South Africa as a trade and investment destination.

Algeria has been the leading export destination in North Africa for South African products from 2008 to 2012. Over that period, trade has been favourable to South Africa with total exports amounting to R8.1 billion while imports amounted to R672 million. The trade volume between the countries for the period of 2008 to 2012 was R14.4 million. The trade balance amounted to R7.4 billion in favour of South Africa.

The headquarters – which will be home to the team managing the construction, design, and scientific output of the telescope – are located at Jodrell Bank Observatory near the city of Manchester. They will be the central control hub for a global team who will be building the SKA over the next few years. The telescope is set to be one of the world’s most exciting international science projects, shedding light on new and unparalleled insights into the universe.

The building is worth R46 million, and is funded by the University of Manchester. It will eventually accommodate around 60 members of staff, which will include visiting scientists and engineers, and will use environmentally friendly engineering solutions for minimal environmental impact.

Research organisations and industrial partners around the world were recently invited to collaborate and submit proposals on the research and development and design of the telescopes and instrumentation that will become the heart of the SKA. The first round of proposals is expected to be evaluated and assessed at the new offices in July 2013.

Pikitup manages over 80 percent of Johannesburg’s waste. It says over 1.3 million tonnes of waste is disposed at landfills every year. The company says the summit is the perfect opportunity to explore new ways of waste disposal, take the pressure off landfill sites, and for the city to join the rest of the world through global best practice, ensuring that its future is both green and clean. According to Pikitup by 2020 the landfills will be filled to capacity, a reality that has prompted the company to change its thinking around waste disposal, with a new emphasis placed on recycling through alternative waste treatment technologies.

In putting sustainability at the centre of its strategy, Pikitup has adopted a new theme: “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Rethink, Renew and Regenerate”. The 1^st day of the summit will focus on recycling. Issues to be tackled will be the building of a recycling economy, diverting waste away from landfills, the value of waste, conserving the environment and Pikitup’s Separation at Source initiative. On the last day, delegates will look at alternative waste technology.  Delegates will present and discuss more sustainable waste management solutions, waste technology, and the conversion of waste into energy, and effective waste disposal.

Government says the transformation of human settlements and spatial development, to create the conditions for more humane and environmentally sustainable living and working environments, is a key component of the National Development Plan (NDP) – its plan to improve gross domestic product growth, create jobs and eradicate poverty is captured in the NDP, of which the transformation of human settlements is a key element.

The 2011 Census shows that 78.4% of South Africa’s 14.5 million households live in formal housing. The government-subsidised housing programme has provided housing opportunities to over 20% of the population, with the home ownership rate being 53%. The census also confirmed that the lowest home ownership rates are among households who have no income and households with a monthly income of between R3 200 and R6 300 per month.