Johannesburg - Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has said that the changing world is worsening the development trajectory of developing countries, particularly in Africa and South Africa, to be specific.
Ntshavheni said this in Russia at the 11th International Meeting of High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters.
"The world we live in is changing at a very fast pace, bringing with it both challenges and opportunities for humanity as individuals, countries, regions, and the global society in general," said Ntshavheni.
She said that climate change, unprecedented levels of migration as a result of conflicts and wars, the pursuit of economic opportunities, and the adoption of ICTs, among others, were creating both new opportunities for development and threats against nation states.
“These changes are worsening the development trajectory of developing countries, particularly in Africa and South Africa, to be specific.
"The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed to the government and people of South Africa and the African continent that if the global community were committed to the eradication of disease in Africa, concerted efforts would have been made to develop affordable vaccines for diseases such as malaria, ebola, typhoid, and others that continue to plague our continent and people,“ Ntshavheni said.
Ntshavheni added that despite Africa being the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the global community was non-committal to pleas to finance, in reasonable and affordable terms, the economic recovery and reconstruction programmes in Africa through participation in the investment initiatives of African governments, including South Africa.
She said South Africa’s economy was at 2016 levels, with severe implications for employment and the fight against poverty because of the pandemic.
“South Africa has, in the last three years, annually suffered severe floods that devastated public and economic infrastructure in three provinces and reversed the strides made with regard to improving food security, eradicating poverty and unemployment, and creating an equal society,” she said.
The minister said at the meeting that the floods were not limited to South Africa but affected other countries in southern Africa, and that their impact on soil structure was forcing the design of the spatial plans.
She said that although South Africa was able to use space technology for accurate weather prediction over a longer period of time, due to the need to redesign spatial plans and the extent of the mass displacements of families, the resettlement programme could not be completed in a short time.
The Star