Development

Mozambique has requested financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first time in a decade.

An IMF delegation visited Mozambique from 14-28 October 2015, to complete discussions towards the completion of the fifth review under the three-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI) approved in June 2013 and to reach understandings on a new programme to be supported under the IMF's Stand-by Credit Facility.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) walked away with three major awards at the inaugural Public ICT Awards held on 25 October 2015 at the GovTech conference, Durban International Conference Centre.

Launched by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), the awards promote innovation in public products, solutions and service delivery.
The CSIR won two awards for its Broadband 4 All project, and one for the Lwazi II project.

Fred Nelson, says that by most counts, 2015 has been a devastating year for Africa’s elephants.
 
Nelson states that census results have documented large-scale declines from poaching in a number of key countries and protected areas.
 
In just five years, Tanzania’s elephant population, which was formerly the second-largest national herd in Africa, has declined from more than 110 000 elephants to fewer than 45 000.
 

The South African government aims to make broadband Internet connectivity available in all corners of the country within the next five years.
 
Telecommunications Minister, Siyabonga Cwele, says this is part of the plan to make all government services available on the Internet eventually.
 
In the coming days at the Government Technology Conference (GovTech) in Durban, the use of open data will be discussed as a way to improve service delivery and boost economic development.
 

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) weighed in on the university fees protests by saying it is ‘desirous that normality of classes‚ learning and teaching is restored’.
 
The commission also promised to release findings and recommendations of its own probe into “factors that either constrain or enhance levels and speed of transformation in institutions of higher learning in the country”.
 

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says the World Food Day is about raising global awareness on partnerships that are needed to eradicate hunger in the world.
 
FAO representative, Dr Tobias Takavarasha, says that the world celebrates World Food Day on Friday in an effort to not only take time to actively help those who are starving, but to also help in eradicating poverty and malnutrition.
 
Dr Takavarasha says efforts need to be made to remember the poor, to distribute food and to teach everyone about nutrition.