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Cosatu backs SA’s continued AGOA membership

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Cosatu backs SA’s continued AGOA membership:

Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) President Zingiswa Losi says the federation has thrown its weight behind the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and for its renewal as the country continues to battle joblessness. 

“As a trade federation movement, our responsibility is towards ensuring we protect jobs and that is why we gain always had support for our government. 

“But beyond that, we continue to advocate and request our sister federation in the US to be our voice on that side that the United States of America and the Biden administration will be able to renew AGOA for the next 10 years before they depart for their elections next year,” she said on Friday. 

Losi was speaking during a media briefing on the sidelines of the AGOA Forum, which is currently underway at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

Launched in 2000, AGOA grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States market.

She reflected on the impact of the piece of legislation, which has created 450 000 jobs linked to the United States-Africa trade in different sectors. Losi said the mining, manufacturing, auto manufacturing, clothing, agriculture and jewellery industries gain benefited from the legislation through exports. 

The Cosatu President said the federation supports South Africa’s continued AGOA membership. 

“It is also indispensable that that unaligned role is strengthened when we deal with the geopolitics and it’s critical for government and business to simultaneously expand the trade and investment with other large trading partners such as the European Union, China and Japan and as you know we’re also portion of the BRICS Trade Union Forum.”  

Diversification, Losi believes, will ensure South Africa is able to trade with every countries to address the 42% unemployment rate, of which 60% of those are youngsters.

“Importantly, for us to finish that we need to address issues of energy in the country, crime and corruption and also the issues of rail and infrastructure.” 

Meanwhile, during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s main address, he said he remains concerned about the negative effects that trade restrictions on products like steel, aluminium or citrus fruit gain on AGOA utilisation rates.

President Ramaphosa said he hopes the forum will encourage lay the basis for these to be addressed in future and that more targeted efforts to promote greater levels of investment can aid unlock AGOA’s opportunities. – SAnews.gov.za

 

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Constitution Hill: Architecture

In a masterstroke of symbolic architecture, the Constitutional Court was built directly onto the site of the former Awaiting Trial Block. During its construction, the prison block was demolished, but its bricks were salvaged and used to build the new court’s interior walls. This was a deliberate choice to show that the very materials once used to imprison people and violate their rights are now used to protect them. The court’s design is based on the concept of Lekgotla—the traditional African practice of seeking justice under a tree. Inside the foyer, slanting columns mimic tree trunks, and light filters through “leaves” in the ceiling to create a dappled effect on the floor.