ECIAfrica News
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ECIAfrica News
■18 Apr 2011: Tourism and Infrastructure Investment Summit and Awards, 21-22 February 2011, African Investor (Ai)
Chaired by Geoffrey Lipman, former Under Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and current board member of African Investor (Ai), ECIAfrica’s Ercilia Mata and Annika Vieira attended a two-day conference held in the Kruger National Park’s Conference Center which focused on tourism investment opportunities in South Africa and the region. The conference was an opportunity to profile specific tourism projects requiring additional or start up financing, introduce various government and private sector financing vehicles, and connect business owners and tourism stakeholders.
The conference highlighted the importance of socially conscious investments, touching on the value of anchor tourism products with wider development benefits, and the importance of capacity building for the development of quality tourism products. Additionally ‘green’ or environmentally sound design in tourism projects was stressed during the conference, in particular, how projects designed to minimize their impact on carbon emissions could lead to future climate change related financial assistance.
(Picture: ECIAfrica’s Ercilia Mata with Mr. Fernando Sumbana, Minister of Tourism of Mozambique)
Highlights from the conference included:
- ■ ECIAfrica’s MABEDI project was one of five projects up for the Tourism Investment Programme of the Year award;
- ■ Design, planning and implementation, and successful launch of the Gautrain, South Africa’s mass rail transport system, by Dr Barbara Jenson;
- ■ Record breaking statistics related to visitors to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, by Gillian Saunders;
- ■ The importance of enabling and supporting regional tourism initiatives within SADC, by Rui Monteiro of TurConsult; and
- ■ Mozambique’s preparation for the 2011 All Africa Games by Mohamed Harun, Advisor to the Mozambican Minister of Tourism.
The Ai Tourism Investment Awards were well attended and honoured the regional tourism leaders by presenting:
- ■ The Statesman of the Year Award to the Minister of Tourism of South Africa, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk;
- ■ The African Tourism Minister of the Year to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality of Zimbabwe, Mr. Walter Mzembi; and
- ■ The Tourism Investor City of the Year to the City of Maputo and Minister of Tourism of Mozambique, Mr. Fernando Sumbana.
■21 Feb 2010: Three new projects for ECIAfrica
ECIAfrica is proud to announce it has been awarded three new projects, with funding from three different donors. These new projects mark exciting additions to the ECIAfrica portfolio for 2011.
The National Treasury of South Africa is addressing under-spending on infrastructure and seeking to alleviate a chronic backlog in the rollout of health care facilities, classrooms, and other government buildings. Under a three-year, $750,000 contract with the country’s Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme, ECIAfrica will work with the Department of Education in Free State province to establish structures to plan, manage, and monitor infrastructure delivery. This process includes promoting a culture of cooperation within the relevant provincial government departments to support the delivery of infrastructure.
Under a subcontract to RTI, and with funding from USAID/PEPFAR, ECIAfrica has also begun a seven-month, $199,000 project to support South Africa’s Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs), which provide care, treatment, and legal services to victims of sexual assault.The ECIAfrica team will develop a self-assessment tool to be applied at 25 TCCs, and then facilitate the self-assessments with a goal of building the centres' capacities to comply with the TCC blueprint, site-specific protocols, and National Department of Health standards.
The Partnership for African Fisheries (PAF) advises the Southern African Development Community on disseminating information on fishing and fisheries, one of the region’s most important but under-developed and under-regulated sectors. ECIAfrica has won a two-month, $70,000 contract with the U.K. Department for International Development to help transform the PAF into a self-sustainable and independent trust. The PAF is currently under the custody of the African Union’s development arm (New Partnership for Africa’s Development, or NEPAD). ECIAfrica will review options for establishing a trust or institution and prepare an action plan for the PAF transformation.
■03 Feb 2011: ECIAfrica Supports Kids Haven with a Donation
ECIAfrica recently donated office furniture to Kids Haven in Benoni, a centre for abandoned, abused and street children. In providing these children with shelter and security, Kids Haven is in need of (used) clothing for children and adults, shoes, books, toys, crockery and cutlery, school supplies, curtains and bedding.
Please contact Kids Haven if you can support them in any way.
■10 Jan 2011: The First 40 Years: A History of DAI - online book
DAI was founded in 1970. In 2010, we have marked this anniversary by commissioning The First 40: A History of DAI.
