OCKHAM OBSERVER

An eye on the week ahead

Parliament closes but Ministers still busy

While Parliament has closed for the year, it is a busy week for President Ramaphosa who will visit Mpumalanga before hosting counterparts from Angola and Germany. The Lebombo Border Post – also in Mpumalanga – can look forward to two separate ministerial visits this week.

Monday 9 Dec
Members of Parliament head to their constituencies until 13 December before the annual leave period begins on 17 December.

Various organisations have threatened a national shutdown today to protest a perceived relaxation of visa rules for Nigerians, as announced by President Ramaphosa at the SA-Nigeria binational commission last week.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa will lead a road safety inspection and law enforcement at Lebombo Border Post in Mpumalanga.

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube will launch the Safe Schools App in partnership with Vodacom at an event in Pretoria.

The DA will present its annual review of the 2024 parliamentary year, the first time it has undertaken this exercise as a party of national government.

The Western Cape Government will host a graduation ceremony for 133 newly qualified Traffic Officers in Brackenfell, Cape Town.

Today marks International Anti-Corruption Day, a global reminder of the need to combat corruption in all its forms.

Tuesday 10 Dec
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to begin testimony in his ongoing corruption trial, to be held in an underground chamber at the Tel Aviv District Court.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with the Cabinet of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government.

Wednesday 11 Dec
President Cyril Ramaphosa will undertake a Presidential Welisizwe Bridges Handover in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga. The construction of 96 bridges was announced by the President in his State of the Nation Address last year.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber will visit the Lebombo Border Post where he will unveil new technology to boost border security ahead of the upcoming peak period.

The Nobel Prize award ceremony takes place at the Stockholm Concert Hall, Sweden, on 10 December – the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

An extraordinary FIFA congress, to be held online, will confirm future football World Cup hosts. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are due to be confirmed as joint hosts for 2030, while Saudi Arabia are the only bidders for the 2034 tournament.

Thursday 12 Dec
President Cyril Ramaphosa will host President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

The TIME Magazine Person of the Year is  to be announced, with President-elect Donald Trump the favourite according to betting odds. Taylor Swift earned this accolade last year.

It is International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) which is premised on the idea that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality, affordable healthcare.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will release G20 GDP data for Q3 2024.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut its overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

Friday 13 Dec
President Cyril Ramaphosa hosts President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Federal Republic of Germany on a working visit to the Republic of South Africa.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) will release a report on geothermal energy, a versatile renewable energy resource with potential to be used for electricity generation, heating and cooling. 

Saturday 14 Dec
Georgian lawmakers are scheduled to select a new president in a parliamentary vote. It takes place amid a boycott by the opposition, which says the elections held in October were rigged.

Sunday 15 Dec
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) is set to celebrate its first anniversary with a grand rally at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium. It will be headlined by party leader and former President Jacob Zuma.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Corsica today, marking the first papal visit to the French Mediterranean island.

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Ockham Communications relies on a range of sources to compile the Ockham Observer and cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or omissions.