THE first batch of South African soldiers doing protection duty in Burundi will be relieved before the end of the month, the SA National Defence Force said on Tuesday. Joint operations chief Lieutenant Godfrey Ngwenya said the new group would be deployed in Burundi by March 22, Ngwenya said in a statement in Pretoria. About 700 SANDF members have been serving in the strife-torn central African country since November 1 last year. Their brief was to protect exiled Burundian leaders returning home to take part in that country’s transitional government. Two SANDF members had so far died on the mission in Burundi. In January this year, a financial clerk, Elvis Makhado (42) was apparently strangled to death in the capital of Bujumbura. Last month, Corporal Mynette Enoch Nguyuza (25) died in a shooting incident at the SANDF base in Bujumbura. -Sapa
Sunday March 10, 2002
ITALIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT SA
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is to pay a state visit to South Africa this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
The visit is at the invitation of President Thabo Mbeki.
”The Italian President will meet President Mbeki on Wednesday at Tuynhuys to discuss international issues of mutual interest,” a statement from the department read. ”It is expected that this meeting will concentrate on regional issues, poverty eradication and economic development. NEPAD, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the establishment of the African Union in July 2002 will also feature prominently in their discussions.”
Mbeki will also confer the Order of Good Hope, Class One, Gold, on Ciampi. The Italian head of state will in return confer the highest order of the Italian Republic on Mbeki.
The Italian President will attend a ceremony at the Zonderwater Memorial Cemetery, where many Italian Second World War prisoners of war are buried.
He will also visit an Italian project at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and meet the local Italian community before his departure. -Sapa Friday March 8, 2002