A significant week for international affairs as the U.S. holds elections and various summits take place worldwide. In South Africa, MPs head to their constituencies while Cape Town hosts Prince William of Wales.
MONDAY
South Africa’s Parliament observes constituency week, affording MPs the opportunity to engage with communities on pressing issues.
The Democratic Alliance will visit the abandoned R840 million Eskom residential project in Mpumalanga to highlight the impact of wasteful expenditure on rising electricity prices.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) releases its 2024 Least Developed Countries Report, examining climate change and the digital divide in the world’s 46 least developed nations.
TUESDAY
The 5th November marks Guy Fawkes Day, an annual commemoration of the failed ‘gunpowder plot’ to blow up the British Parliament in 1605.
Across the Atlantic, the US goes to the polls in an election that could shake the foundations of that democracy. Donald Trump and his wife Melania are expected to vote in Palm Beach, Florida, while Kamala Harris has chosen to vote by mail to showcase the different modes of voting.
In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Prince William of Wales, who is visiting Cape Town as the founder of the Earthshot Prize. This awards ceremony was established to highlight and support innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The five winners of the contest will each receive £1 million to expand their projects.
Leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen will receive a memorandum from civil society groups Solidarity and Afriforum at a march against the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committees will review the 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) with briefings from the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Financial and Fiscal Commission.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber will brief the Portfolio Committee on data loss at the Government Printing Works and the One Stop Border Post Bill, followed by a discussion on the Constitutional Court’s rulings on the Refugees Act and Immigration Act.
Africa Energy Week begins in Cape Town where various decision-makers will discuss trends shaping the continent’s energy sector. Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe and Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will be in attendance.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) begins, with OPEC’s Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais and leading energy executives in attendance. A key focus will be the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving the energy transition.
Japan’s “LignoSat,” the world’s first wooden satellite, will be launched. Developed by Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, it will assess wood’s durability and potential for use in long-term space missions.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is set to release its latest report, How’s Life? 2024 – Well-being and Resilience in Times of Crisis.
WEDNESDAY
President Cyril Ramaphosa will convene the bi-weekly Cabinet Meeting in Tuynhuys, Cape Town.
In the UK, newly elected Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is set to participate in her first Prime Minister’s Questions session as Leader of the Opposition. This follows Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget speech last week, which triggered volatility in financial markets.
The U.S. Supreme Court hears the Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica data scandal case, with potential implications for privacy and data protection laws. The case centres around allegations that Facebook improperly shared user data with Cambridge Analytica, which used it to influence voter behavior in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
THURSDAY
The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are both set to announce interest rate decisions.
Vladimir Putin is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia. He is expected to outline Russia’s global strategy and respond to rising geopolitical tensions.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will hold a meeting with the Presidential Ethekwini Working Group at Durban City Hall. The group’s focus is on interruptions to water supply, poorly maintained and damaged infrastructure, a decline in tourism numbers, port efficiency and crime.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile will respond to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces.
FRIDAY
The Food and Agriculture Organization releases its monthly Food Price Index on Friday, providing insights into global food trends amid supply concerns and rising food costs.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will undertake a District Development Model oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal.
SATURDAY
Germany commemorates the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum convenes in Sochi. It will focus on trade and security cooperation between Russia and African nations.
SUNDAY
Mauritius heads to the polls, with Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth seeking another term following his Militant Socialist Movement’s 2019 victory.
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