Southern Africa File
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Southern Africa File April 2015 — July 2015 Issue 8 In this issue… ANZAC Day 2015 2 NZ Director for Middle East and Africa visits the continent 3 High Commissioner Mann visits Kenya 4 His Excellency Shane Jones presents credentials in 5 Mauritius Elephants cross the Chobe River, Botswana New Zealand & Botswana Beef Training Initiative launched 6 Photo: Richard Mann Clover Fonterra Ingredients celebrates a decade of dairy 7 excellence Second Secretary visits Tanzania and Zambia 8 New Zealand Honorary Consul for Mauritius receives NZ 8 honour Supporting agriculture initiatives in Rwanda and Ethiopia 9 Growing capacity among avocado farmers in Kenya 10 All Blacks take on the Springboks at Ellis Park 11 New Zealand hosts U-20 World Cup 11 English language training for African officials in NZ 12 Overlooking the waterfront in Dar es Salaam Photo: Adam Linnell Staff changes in the High Commission 12 New Zealand High Commission Pretoria | Te Aka Aorere T +27 12 435 9000 F +27 12 435 9002 E [email protected] 125 Middel Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria 0181 www.nzembassy.com/south-africa www.facebook.com/nzhcsouthafrica Inside the core of Ponte City, Johannesburg Photo: Danie Beukman 1 Southern Africa File ANZAC Day 2015: commemorating 100 years On the morning of 25 April 2015, New Zealanders and Australians gathered together across the world in commemoration of ANZAC Day. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps’ landing at Gallipoli, in Turkey, during World War One. Every year, Australians and New Zealanders remember the sacrifice made by the servicemen and women who have served A crowd gathers at Freedom Park in Pretoria for this year’s ANZAC their countries, and lost their lives, in times Day dawn service of war. In Pretoria, several hundred people braved the brisk April morning to mark ANZAC Day with a special Dawn Service at Freedom Park. This was followed by a reception hosted by Australian High Commissioner Adam McCarthy. Similar services were held across the African continent, including in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia, with High Commissioner Richard Mann lays a wreath on behalf of the New Zealand represented by our Honorary New Zealand Government Consuls. These services demonstrate ANZAC Day’s ongoing importance to New Zealanders and Australians, even thousands of kilometres from our own shores. Centenary commemorations in Turkey drew over 9000 New Zealanders and Australians, including the Prime Ministers of both countries, as well as Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Prince Harry, a number of ministers, and senior government representatives. High Commissioner Mann delivers the ANZAC Day eulogy 2 Southern Africa File New Zealand Director for Middle East and Africa visits the continent In June, Jeff Langley, Director for Middle East and Africa at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade travelled to the African continent to carry out official calls across the region. Over the course of the UN Security Council campaign, New Zealand stressed the importance of consulting widely on key issues both with neighbours, and with those Jeff Langley with Mr Manuel Augusto, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, further afield, to ensure our in Luanda, Angola. Photo: Gaspar Dos Santos, ANGPOP contribution was constructive and meaningful. Mr Langley’s visit to Africa represented New Zealand’s effort to deliver on this commitment. In Pretoria, Mr Langley met with counterparts at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to discuss New Zealand’s bilateral relationship with South Africa, as well as a range of issues relating to peace and security in the Africa and the Middle East. In the first six-months of New Zealand’s two-year term on the UN Security Council, Mr Langley has worked closely on the range of issues on the Council’s agenda that are relevant to the African continent. Discussions with South Africa covered the Middle East Peace Process, Yemen, the DRC, Sudan, South Sudan, and Burundi. As well as Pretoria, Mr Langley’s visit took him to Egypt and Angola (accompanied in Luanda by High Commissioner Mann). In both countries, Mr Langley carried out consultations on UNSC matters with Foreign Ministry counterparts. In Cairo, he met with officials from the Arab League, as well as the Multinational Force and Observers (to which New Zealand contributes troops). Mr Langley also spent time in Accra, Ghana, where New Zealand has placed a diplomat for the duration of our term on the UN Security Council to engage on peace and security issues in the West Africa region. For the month of July New Zealand held the Presidency of the UNSC. This provided an opportunity for New Zealand to convene an open debate for all UN member states on the peace and security challenges facing Small Islands Developing States, a large number of which sit in the Pacific region, as well as in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. 3 Southern Africa File High Commissioner Mann visits Kenya High Commissioner Richard Mann was in Kenya in July, where he paid a visit to the Osiligi Rehabilitation Farm on the outskirts of Nairobi. The farm, run by New Zealander Robin Aim, operates a project called “Afri-Lift”. Afri-Lift provides agricultural High Commissioner Mann stands in front of the new tractor with Afri-Lift training and life skills to boys from participants the streets of Nairobi, to enable them to enter employment or to run their own businesses in the agricultural sector. The two- year programme on the farm has a 70% success rate in placing the young men into paid employment on commercial farms. While on the farm, Mann officially opened a new classroom block and handed over a tractor, funded by the New Zealand High Commission Fund and community groups in New Zealand. The Mann hands over a new plough and rotovator to an tractor will improve the agricultural efficiency of Afri-Lift participant. the farm, enable more of the farm to be brought into production, and enable the young trainees to learn tractor use and maintenance—broadening their employment opportunities. While in Nairobi, Mann met with Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed. The two discussed initiatives to develop the New Zealand—Kenya bilateral relationship. They also considered regional security issues that were on the UN Security Council’s agenda, particularly those affecting Kenya’s neighbours in East Africa. Mann with Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed 4 Southern Africa File His Excellency Shane Jones presents credentials in Mauritius New Zealand has a new High Commissioner to Mauritius. His Excellency Shane Jones (former Member of Parliament) was in Mauritius in early April, accompanied by Deputy High Commissioner Danie Beukman, to present his credentials to then- President Kailash Purryag. While in Mauritius, Mr Jones met with the Prime Minister and a range of government ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Ocean Economy. The meetings provided an opportunity to explore High Commissioner Shane Jones with Sir Anerood Jugnauth, possible areas of cooperation between Prime Minister of Mauritius New Zealand and Mauritius, particularly in fisheries and the ocean economy. Mr Jones called on leaders of the Indian Ocean Commission and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. The regional work of these two organisations shares much in common with the goals and objectives of the Pacific Islands Forum, and Mr Jones was able to compare notes on areas of interest such as fisheries, transport linkages, and disaster HE Shane Jones presents his credentials to then-President of preparedness. Mauritius Kailash Purryag No visit by a New Zealand High Commissioner to Mauritius would be complete without calling in to EdenDale Distributors. Run by one of New Zealand’s longest-serving Honorary Consuls, Harold Liu Man Hin, Edendale is responsible for importing and distributing a number of Fonterra dairy products to Mauritius. High Commissioner Jones had a chance to tour the factory and talk with staff. High Commissioner Jones is based in Auckland. For any enquiries about New Zealand’s relationship High Commissioner Jones meets with New Zealand’s with Mauritius, please contact Danie Beukman Honorary Consul to Mauritius , Mr Harold Liu Man Hin ([email protected]). 5 Southern Africa File New Zealand & Botswana Beef Training Initiative launched On 5 May, the Governments of New Zealand and Botswana officially launched the Beef Training Initiative in Botswana. At the signing ceremony in Ramatlabama, Botswana Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Patrick Pule Ralotsia, officially launched the programme, before signing a Memorandum of Understanding with New Zealand High Commissioner Richard Mann. This programme has Minister of Agriculture Honourable Patrick Pule Ralotsia been developed in & New Zealand High Commissioner Richard Mann sign the MOU response to a request from Botswana for New Zealand’s assistance in the beef sector. It aims to improve the delivery of practical, industry-led vocational livestock training and extension services to contribute to increased productivity and incomes in Botswana’s communal beef sector. New Zealand has partnered with tertiary education provider Land Based Training (LBT), based in Whanganui, New Zealand. LBT will implement the multi-year capacity-building training programme for NZ$700,000 over the next three years. Trainee Farmers with High The Beef Training Initiative will train extension staff, communal Commissioner Mann farmers and their herdsmen. This will fill a gap in seasonal practical training that is available locally, and will incorporate new technologies and research from New Zealand. Local agricultural tutors with expertise in a number of specialist topics including animal health, farm management, breeding and nutrition, will train extension workers quarterly on topics relevant to each season. The extension workers will also be mentored to impart this knowledge to their farmers and herdsmen. The course content has been reviewed to ensure it avoided duplication with existing opportunities in Botswana, and Mann tours the training facility will be accredited with the Botswana Qualification Authority.