Expanding Social Welfare

Ghana

Ghana has expanded its School Feeding Program, one of its social protection programs, to cover all its 170 district assemblies to reduce hunger and malnutrition among schoolchildren, according to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The program has culminated in the increase of beneficiary schools from 10 in 2005 to 4,209 in 2011/2012 across the country. Meanwhile, Ghana had also expanded coverage of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty with a total of 71,456 school children profiting from the cash transfers of the social protection program. Ghana is the first country in Africa to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal 1.

 Positive Investment

Africa

China is an important source of investment and finance, and African countries need the positive investment to develop their natural resources and infrastructure, said Keith Jefferis, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Botswana recently. He said it is quite normal for Chinese companies to seek chances of investment abroad as they grow together with the booming economy. "I don't agree that China's investment in Africa has something to do with 'new colonialism' or 'pillage of natural resources.' It is more economic rather than political," Jefferis said.

 Key Tourism Source Market

South Africa

Chinese tourist arrivals so far this year have grown by 73 percent when compared to the same period in 2011, building a solid foundation for future growth, according to Bradley Brouwer, Regional Manager of South Africa Tourism (SAT) for Asia and the Pacific recently. China has been identified as a key emerging source market for international tourist arrivals to South Africa, showing characteristics of a mature travel market. He said flourishing bilateral ties in the coming years would inject more vigor into local tourism, which took a favorable turn in 2009 when South Africa was granted approved destination status by China.

 UN Security Council Seat

Rwanda

Rwanda is to become one of five new non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The decision to grant a two-year position in the 15-member council was taken at a meeting in New York on October 18.

The other countries are Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea. The vote was not without controversy as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda's neighbor, opposed the decision, claiming Rwanda supports an ongoing rebellion again the DRC. Rwanda will take the seat currently filled by South Africa on January 1, 2013.