Flash Briefing: SA must send army to fight Isis in Mozambique – DA, ActionSA; SA pariah state for tourists; J&J vaccines

by

  • Opposition parties the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA are urging the South African govt to take action against Islamic insurgents in Mozambique and warn that the violence looks certain to become a refugee and security crisis in South Africa. Deployments to our border regions must also be increased, says Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA. “With South Africa’s porous borders and failures to manage our borders effectively, we cannot be assured that we will be able to keep ISIS out of South Africa and that training camps do not exist in the north of our country,” it says. “The Mozambican government cannot handle this matter on its own and cannot protect its own citizens as well as South Africans in that country. The security crisis in Mozambique has already cost over 2,000 civilian lives and resulted in the displacement of countless more citizens who have fled in fear of their safety.” The UN estimates that over one million Mozambicans need humanitarian assistance. South Africa has a duty to respond decisively to such a threat on our border but also to assist our neighbours in protecting their citizens, says Mashaba’s organisation. “We cannot fail Mozambique in the same way that we failed Zimbabwe. We cannot afford another failed state on our borders.” Martin Ewi of the think tank the ISS, told BizNews earlier today that SADC involvement in bringing the Isis reign of terror to an end is critical for stability in South Africa. He also said that Islamic cells in South Africa are involved in funding militants in Mozambique. For more in-depth analysis on the Mozambique crisis, listen to the BizNews Radio interview with Martin Ewi.
  • A recovery in the world’s second-largest economy may lend support to emerging markets following a rocky week that saw equities wipe out almost all of their annual gains and the Turkish lira tumble anew, reports Bloomberg. Data from China due Wednesday is forecast to show a rebound in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, supporting the broader backdrop of improving global growth. Meantime, the developing world’s improving corporate outlook may lure investors to buy the dip.
  • South Africa has 121 ‘major restrictions’ and 97 ‘moderate restrictions’ from other countries in place because of the 501Y.V2 Covid-19 variant which is widespread in the country, reports MyBroadband.co.za. This was revealed by travel website Skyscanner which has developed a mapping tool that shows Covid-19 travel restrictions around the world. SA is among the “worst red-flagged countries in terms of international travel,” says the website. Travel and tourism contributed 7% to South Africa’s economy in pre-pandemic times and accounted for 1.5 million jobs, reports Bloomberg.
  • Johnson & Johnson agreed to supply as many as 400 million Covid-19 vaccines to the African Union – but much of this delivery will only come next year, says Bloomberg. The US drugmaker can make available as many as 220 million doses of its single-shot candidate to the AU’s 55 member states starting in the third quarter of 2021, according to a statement on Monday. A further 180 million could then be delivered the following year. The pact follows agreements with AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc. and the makers of Russia’s Sputnik v vaccine. “No one is safe until everyone is safe, and we have been committed to equitable, global access to new Covid-19 vaccines,” J&J Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky said in the statement. While the J&J vaccine has started to receive approval in some countries around the world, the delivery commitment to the AU will depend on regulatory backing from member nations. The dose’s requirement for just a single shot is seen as beneficial for Africa, where distribution is likely to present a major challenge. South Africa has already started administering the vaccine to health workers as part of a medical trial, and J&J agreed last year that Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. can manufacture doses in the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday in a televised address that Aspen would provide 30m doses to South Africa, but he didn’t specify how quickly roll out would commence. The South African government has been criticised for delays in mass vaccination delivery, with just over 200,000 health workers vaccinated. The government sold its AstraZeneca doses that it had secured for distribution early this year to other African countries after a question mark was raised over the vaccine’s efficacy in protecting against the South Africa variant.
  • The vast container ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal for six days has been freed and is moving north to an anchor point, the Suez Canal Authority said, paving the way to open the critical waterway and end days of global supply delays, reports BizNews Premium partner The Wall Street Journal.

Listen on iTunes 

Read also:

Visited 2,385 times, 1 visit(s) today

BizNews