Minister of Home Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 host her Tanzanian counterpart, Home Affairs Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha for bilateral discussions at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria at 14h00.
Minister Dlamini Zuma will meet Tanzanian Home Affairs Minister Vuai Nahoda within the context of South Africa’s commitment to strengthen relations with countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region with a view to developing a comprehensive approach towards immigration in the region.This will include the implementation of the visa waiver agreement between the two countries which was finalised in 2007.
This must be understood within SADC’s is committed to a common future that will ensure economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the peoples of Southern Africa.A key element in the translation of this from a vision to a reality is the free movement of goods and people within the region.
In this regard, South Africa and Tanzania, have signed the SADC Protocol on the Free Movement on Persons during the SADC Summit in Gaborone, Botswana on
18 August 2005.Free movement of persons refers to the removal of barriers such as visa requirements which restrict the movement of human beings across national borders.The free movement of people across borders is essential if they are to participate fully in the process of building the region into a community.
Accordingly, Minister Dlamini Zuma’s discussions with her Tanzanian counterpart will consider current socio-economic conditions that either promote or impede the free movement of goods and services between the two countries, as members of SADC.
Cooperation between the two countries continue on an ongoing basis, the most recent of which was from 9 to 11 May 2011 when the department hosted a delegation from the Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) of the Tanzanian Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs that looked at best practices on Death and Birth Registration Systems.
South Africa and Tanzania are also signatories to the following bilateral agreements signed on 5 April 2007:
1. Agreement regarding the waiver of visa requirement for holders of Diplomatic, Service and Official Passports
2. Agreement on Cooperation in Areas of Migration Matters – the focal areas of this agreement are: the harmonisation of visa requirements and issuance procedures for ordinary passport holders; exchange of information on legislation, policies and procedures as well as migration control to enhance capacity building and the exchange of information on irregular migration (including smuggling, trafficking and fraudulent documentation).
Minister Nahodha will arrive in South Africa on Tuesday, 17 May and depart on Thursday, 19 May 2011.
Media programme for Minister Dlamini Zuma’s bilateral discussions with Tanzanian counterpart
Venue: Sheraton Hotel, Pretoria
Date: Tuesday 17 May 2011
12h45: Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Nahoda arrive ahead of bilateral discussions
Venue: Sheraton Hotel, corner Wessels and Church Street, Pretoria
(Please RSVP)
(Parking for own cost)
Contact: Manusha Pillai
Cell: 082 389 358
12h50: Photo opportunity ahead of commencement of discussions between Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Nahoda
13h00: Official luncheon hosted by Minister Dlamini Zuma in honour of Tanzanian counterpart
14h00: Commencement of bilateral discussions between Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Nahoda and their respective delegations
Venue: Sheraton Hotel, corner Wessels and Church Street, Pretoria
(Please RSVP)
(Parking for own cost)
Contact: Manusha Pillai on 082 389 3587
15h00: Joint press conference by Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Nahoda
Venue: Sheraton Hotel, Church Street, Pretoria
(Please RSVP)
(Parking for own cost)
Contact: Manusha Pillai on 082 389 3587
For more information contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Manusha Pillai
Cell: 082 389 3587
