Pretoria: Brand South Africa has urged all South Africans, business leaders, trade union movements, political parties and civil society to heed government’s call for calm and support the security cluster by abiding with the laws of the land.
Brand South Africa also welcomed government’s decision to put in place measures to assure South African citizens of their rights to security from acts of intimidation, threats and violence resulting from the recent protests that have engulfed the mining communities in the country.
“Our country has come a long way from a brutal and painful past. We emerged with a dream of a rainbow nation in a democratic country that promises all its citizens safety and security,” said Brand South Africa spokesperson Nomsa Chabeli Mazibuko.
“The Marikana tragedy may have reminded us of old wounds; as a people we need to follow in the footsteps of our Tata Nelson Mandela and vow that never again will we let differences drive a wedge between the people to the point of bloodshed and living in fear.
“We all have a collective responsibility to work towards building a South Africa that is secure and remains attractive to local and foreign investors; visitors and businesses, whose contribution to tackling the challenges of poverty and inequality are crucial for economic growth,” Mazibuko said.
She said Brand South Africa hoped that the outstanding issues in the on-going negotiations would be speedily resolved in order to return this very important sector of the economy to productivity and stability. ers condolences to SA
Pretoria: The US Ambassador to South Africa Donald H. Gips has offered condolences to the families of the South Africans who were killed in an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“As we mourn the death of colleagues at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, we offer our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the South Africans who lost their lives in Kabul today,” said Gips in a statement.
“As [US Secretary of State, Hillary] Clinton has said, there is never any justification for violent acts of this kind,” said Gips.
The Department of International Relations earlier confirmed that eight South African nationals were amongst the people who died when a suicide bomber reportedly rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a minibus carrying foreign staff of a local company on Tuesday morning.
Three passers-by were also killed and two security officials were injured by the bombing that took place along the main road, leading to the airport in Kabul’s sub-district 15.
The department said it was in contact with the aviation company that had employed the deceased.
“The department is also in possession of the list of names of the deceased. Efforts to confirm their identities and to contact their next-of-kin are currently underway,” said the department, which also expressed its sincere condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased.
The necessary consular assistance will be rendered to the families.