SOUTH AFRICANS TO PAY MORE FOR SCHENGEN VISA
South Africans will as from next month pay a fee of €80 instead of €60 when applying for a Schengen Visa from South Africa.
The increase also affects children, who will now have to pay €40 instead of €35, as it is currently.
South Africans will also be subjected to several changes in terms of visa application procedures, rules and benefits, starting from February 2020.
Due to the implementation of the Updated Schengen Visa Code, adopted by the European Union (EU) Council in June 2019, all representative missions of the Schengen countries located abroad are obliged to apply the new rules, including the ones in South Africa.
The Schengen Visa is one of the most famous visas in the world, and one of the best to have.
The French Embassy in Pretoria confirmed the price increase to SAnews. “This decision has been taken by the EU for all the Schengen countries,” said French Embassy Head of the Press, Yana Brugier.
Granting to its holder the possibility of travelling to 26 European countries, 22 of them part of the EU, the number of Schengen visa applicants has been steadily increasing every year.
Currently, travellers from 104 countries and entities need to obtain a visa to enter the EU for stays up to three months within the Schengen Zone.
“Since Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) is binding in its entirety, and is directly applicable in all EU Member States in accordance with the Treaties, all Schengen countries, including Lithuania, will apply it from 2 February 2020,” an official from the Information Monitoring and Media Division of Lithuania explained to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
The new rules also permit South Africans to submit an application up to six months in advance of their trip, instead of three as it is now, and foresee a harmonised approach to the issuing of multiple entry visas with lengthier validity to regular travellers with a positive visa history.
According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, member states that are not represented in South Africa in terms of visa admission, are now obliged to cooperate with external service providers, in order to facilitate visa applications for travellers.
The external service providers are allowed to charge a service fee, which cannot be higher than the visa fee. This means South Africans applying at an external visa service provider may have to pay up to €160 per visa application, if the external service providers set the maximum service fee permitted, which is €80.
In addition, the updated Visa Code introduces a mechanism that assesses whether the visa fees should change, every three years. Another mechanism that will use visa processing as leverage will be introduced, in a bid to improve cooperation with third countries on readmission.
According to Gent Ukëhajdaraj from SchengenVisaInfo.com, due to this mechanism, the fees may increase even to €160, if the EU authorities see it necessary.
“A visa fee of €120 or €160 will apply to non-cooperative third-countries, in cases when the EU Commission considers that action is needed in order to improve the level of cooperation of the third country concerned and the Union's overall relations with that third country,” Ukëhajdaraj explains, adding that this provision shall not apply to children under 12 years old.
The mechanism may also shorten visa validity, and introduce prolonged visa processing periods.
Statistics by SchengenVisaInfo.com show that in 2018, Schengen embassies and consulates in South Africa processed 221 790 visa applications, of which 5 403 were rejected.
Italy was the top favourite country for visa submission, as 44 298 of the applications submitted in South Africa were for Schengen visas to Italy, followed by France with 37 042 and Germany with 32 167 applications.
In terms of expenditures, in 2018, South Africans spent €13 307 400 on visa applications to Europe, and €324 180 was spent by applicants who had their visas rejected.
– Source: SAnews.gov.za
SPRINGBOKS NOMINATED FOR TOP LAUREUS AWARD
The news was confirmed recently as the lists of final nominations were revealed by Laureus.
The Springboks have been nominated in the Team of the Year Category at the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards to be held in Berlin next month.
The Boks, who won the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, will be up against tough competition from Jürgen Klopp’s Champions League-winning Liverpool side, the US women's football team who won the women’s World Cup, six-time Formula One world champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the first Canadian team to win the NBA Championship, the Toronto Raptors, and two-time FIBA World Cup winners, Spain's men’s basketball team.
The Springboks won the category at the 2008 Laureus Awards having triumphed at the 2007 World Cup the year prior.
"You have to remember when we went into the 2019 Rugby World Cup, we were only ranked fifth or sixth, but as the competition proceeded we really got together as a team and we realised how we could unite the country. It became a bigger cause than just winning a competition. To be nominated for this award is unbelievable," hooker Schalk Brits said of the honour.
Team of the Year
Laureus Academy chairperson and All Blacks legend, Sean Fitzpatrick, also had kind word for the Boks.
"One could not have predicted the immense impact that South Africa’s win of the Rugby World Cup had around the world. With their victory inspiring the hearts of so many, uniting a multitude of communities, we see once again the exceptionally unique power of sport to unite," he said.
"It seems only fitting that the Laureus theme for the 2020 awards ceremony is 'Sport Unites Us'.
"If I wanted to identify a figure that symbolises the unity that sport has brought about in 2019, Siya Kolisi comes straight to mind.
"I greatly admire the way Kolisi led his team and how he has transcended his leadership role within rugby to become a leader and a role model for his entire country. I am not alone in applauding the whole team for the passion, determination and commitment they have shown. They are truly deserving of this nomination for the Laureus Team of the Year Award."
– Source: www.news24.com
PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA’S 2020 NEW YEAR MESSAGE
Fellow South Africans,
As the 25th year of our democracy draws to a close, we look back on a year that has been filled with both highs and lows, a year in which we measured great progress, but also encountered several setbacks.
In May millions of South Africans went to cast their votes, peacefully and enthusiastically, this once again demonstrated for all the world to see that we are a robust and vibrant democracy.
We recommitted ourselves build a new society founded on the will of the people, in which all South Africans – black and white – truly belong.
And yet, for many South Africans, the hardships endure.
While our economy created jobs, these have not been nearly enough to stop the rise in unemployment or the deepening of poverty.
Many South Africans’ lives have changed for the better, but many others are yet to feel the benefits of the economic reforms and new investment.
This has also been a year in which we have had to confront the darkest forces of our nature.
As a nation, we have witnessed the brutality perpetrated by men against women and against children.
We have seen lives, both young and old, ended with brutal violence.
We have seen fear in our homes, schools and streets.
Yet, as a nation, we have stood as one in our determination to end the crimes perpetrated by those men who have no respect for the lives, the rights or the dignity of women and children.
An outpouring of grief and anger has incited the nation to action, to undertake an emergency response plan that will turn the tide on this national shame.
Despite the difficulties of this past year, day-by-day, we draw closer to our ambition of a better life for all South Africans.
Day-by-day, we are drawing closer to our goal of providing quality health care to all South Africans, and redistributing land to all those who work it and all those who need it.
We are making progress towards our aim to provide free higher education to all students from poor and middle-class families, and to ensure all children benefit from early childhood development.
Each day, we draw closer to our target of R1.2 trillion in new investment in the factories, mines, refineries, shops that will drive our economic renewal.
Steadily, we are rebuilding the public institutions that are so vital to our democracy, restoring our law enforcement agencies, and taking forward the fight against state capture and corruption.
And so, we enter this New Year and this new decade, encouraged by the progress we have made under difficult conditions, knowing that we still have many mountains to climb, and many treacherous rivers to cross.
From January, South Africa takes up its position as chair of the African Union. We will seek to work with our sister countries to realise an Africa Free Trade Area that stretches from Cape Town to Cairo, and from Dakar to Mombasa.
We know only too well the enormity of the challenges that confront us, but we are united in the knowledge that we have the means and the determination to overcome them.
Just as the strongest steel is forged in fire, just as diamonds are forged deep inside the earth’s crust under the most extreme pressure, let us turn adversity into opportunity.
In doing so, let us each play our part: for upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.
By working together towards the South Africa that we all want, sparing neither strength nor courage, we will progress and we will succeed.
I wish you and yours a successful and peaceful 2020.
Happy New Year to you all.
Issue by: The Presidency, 31 December 2019
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Dear Fellow South African,
A few weeks ago we celebrated the start of a new year and a new decade. This gave us an opportunity to reflect on our plans for the year ahead but also to think deeply about the challenges that confront us. Of these challenges, and perhaps the most pressing, is the need to build a capable state. This is a task that does not capture the imagination of most people, yet it is essential to everything we want to achieve.
Walking through the streets of Kimberley and other towns in the Northern Cape a fortnight ago drove home the point that if we are to better the lives of South Africans, especially the poor, we need to significantly improve the capacity of the government that is meant to as improve their lives.
It was disheartening to see that, despite progress in many areas, there were several glaring instances of service delivery failures. Many of the places we visited struggle to provide social infrastructure and services simply because they have such a small revenue base. But, in some cases, elected officials and public servants have neglected their responsibilities. A common feature in most of these towns, which is evident throughout all spheres of government, is that the state often lacks the necessary capacity to adequately meet people’s needs.
As public representatives and civil servants we derive our legitimacy from our ability to act professionally as we serve the public and manage state resources to the benefit of the public. We also need to ensure that we embody the Batho Pele principles. Putting people first. It is through such an approach that we can have a state that places people and their needs at the centre.
Yet, the achievement of such a state is undermined by weak implementation. Poor coordination and alignment between departments and lack of effective oversight has meant that policies and programmes have not had the necessary impact on people’s lives.
That is why this administration has prioritized the task of building a capable state.
Much of this work happens behind the scenes, ensuring that policies are aligned, processes are streamlined, technology is effectively deployed, budgets are adhered to and programmes are properly monitored and evaluated.
A capable state starts with the people who work in it. Officials and managers must possess the right financial and technical skills and other expertise. We are committed to end the practice of poorly qualified individuals being parachuted into positions of authority through political patronage. There should be consequences for all those in the public service who do not do their work.
Through the ongoing and focused training of civil servants, the National School of Government will be playing a greater role in providing guidance for career development.
A capable state also means that state owned enterprises need to fulfil their mandates effectively and add value to the economy. State companies that cannot deliver services – such as Eskom during load-shedding – or that require continual bailouts – such as SAA – diminish the capacity of the state. That is why a major focus of our work this year is to restore our SOEs to health. We will do this by appointing experienced and qualified boards and managers. We will be clarifying their mandates, and give them scope to execute those mandates.
One of the most important innovations of this administration is the introduction of the district-based delivery model. This way of working is a departure from the top-down approach to the provision of services and will ensure that no district in our country is left behind. It is a break from the ‘silo’ approach, where different parts of government operate separately from each other.
This aims to produce a single, integrated district plan in line with the vision of: ‘One District, One Plan, One Budget, One Approach’. It will give us a clearer line of sight of what needs to be done, where, how and with what resources. By pooling resources, by focusing on projects that directly respond to community needs, and by setting delivery targets on a district-by-district basis, we will be able to better meet our people’s needs.
Through the proper execution of the district development model, we will be able to know which police station needs vehicles, which rural clinic has run out of medicine, which businesses are struggling to obtain water use licenses, and respond in a targeted manner. District-based development is the basis for growing and sustaining a competitive economy.
Although we face great challenges, we do not have a dysfunctional state.
None of this will happen overnight. Much of the work will not be immediately apparent. But as we make progress, people will notice that government does things faster. Already, for example, we have drastically reduced the time it takes to get a passport or receive a water licence. As we continue to improve, people will notice less interruption of services, more roads are being built, infrastructure is better maintained, more businesses are opening up and more jobs are being created. Those who follow such things, will notice that government audit outcomes are improving, money is being better used and properly accounted for.
For this work to be successful, citizens need to get involved. We must all participate in school governing bodies, ward committees and community policing forums. It is on citizens that government will rely to advise us on the standards of public services in communities. It is on you that we depend to hold those who are failing you to account.
Where government needs help, we should be prepared to draw on the skills, expertise and resources of the private sector and civil society. If we all work together to build a more capable and developmental state, we will be that much closer to realising the South Africa that we all want.
Best wishes,
Cyril RAMAPHOSA
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Monday 16 December 2019
Dear Fellow South African,
Today, I will travel to Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal to observe our national Day of Reconciliation. It says much about our country that this day, 16 December, marks two events in our history that are enduring symbols of conflict and resistance.
We commemorate the epic battle of 1838 on the banks of the Ncome River, and the founding of Umkhonto we Sizwe on the same day over a century later. These two historical events are of deep significance; and now symbolic of our ability to transcend a bitter legacy and forge a new path.
As we take stock of how far we have come in healing the divisions of the past and building a united nation, we have much to be proud of.
One need only observe the outpouring of joy when the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in Japan and when our Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe. South Africans of all races took to the streets in an outpouring of national pride.
We see it elsewhere every day. In our sport that is now desegregated, in our Parliament, in our transformed places of higher learning and our schools, and on our television screens where programming reflects the diversity of our nation and its languages and cultures.
Racism and bigotry no longer define our nation. Where they do occur, they are isolated. Where there have been manifestations of intolerance, we have been able to unite behind the values of tolerance and respect for diversity that define our Bill of Rights.
Yet, we still have much further to go.
The SA Reconciliation Barometer Survey 2019, which is published by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, reports that a vast majority of South Africans agree that our country still needs reconciliation. At the same time, just over a half of respondents believe that South Africa has made progress with reconciliation since 1994.
According to the survey, most respondents agree that reconciliation is impossible as long as corruption continues, political parties sow division, those who were affected by apartheid continue to be poor, gender-based violence remains, we continue to use racial categories to measure transformation, and racism in our society remains unaddressed.
This confirms that true reconciliation is not only about social cohesion. It is also about political and economic transformation.
Since we attained our democracy our people have demonstrated time and again their immense capacity to look beyond superficial differences in the quest to achieve true nationhood, and with it, embrace a fuller humanity.
This is not to diminish the impact of the past. The South Africa of today still suffers from the effects of centuries of discrimination, dispossession and unequal development.
As the author William Faulkner famously wrote of the American South: “The past is not dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.”
We must address the unfinished business of our democratic transition. We must close the festering wound of inequality that exists between our people. We must forge ahead with land reform and social development. We must continue to transform our workplaces and restructure our economy so it benefits all.
In this sense, reconciliation is a very practical undertaking. It is about the work that needs to be done to unlock investment in our economy, to reduce the cost of doing business and to promote growth. It is about the urgent measures we need to take to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses. It is about ensuring that our scarce water resources are preserved and equally available to all.
Reconciliation means that we should continue to use the capability of the state to improve the lives of the poor, to have a tax regime that is progressive and public finances that are responsibly managed.
Reconciliation also requires that we reduce the massive inequalities in access to quality health care through, among other things, the introduction of a National Health Insurance. We need to improve the quality of education in township and rural schools in particular and ensure that there is universal attendance in early childhood development centre.
We will continue to seek out and forge durable social compacts to attain our vision of a South Africa that has been fundamentally transformed. We must all play our part if we are to bequeath to our children a society that has truly reconciled.
As the Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire has said: “It is time to put aside egos, individual and collective, for the sake of the youth.”
Let us make a concerted effort to move forward together, focusing on what unites us instead of what divides.
Let us reach out to each other on this day, during this Reconciliation Month, and throughout the year.
I wish you all well over the festive season and all the best for the new year.
Best wishes,
President Cyril Ramaphosa