Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE ANNUAL CONSULTATIONS ON OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND SWITZERLAND
The Third Annual Consultations on official development assistance between South Africa and Switzerland took place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 22 September 1997.
The consultations were chaired by Mr Shaheed Rajie, Director, International Development Cooperation, Department of Finance. The South African delegation included representatives from the Departments of Education, Justice, Foreign Affairs and the Central Statistical Service, as well as the Eastern Cape Department of Education, the City Engineers Department of Port Elizabeth and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Swiss delegation was led by the Swiss Ambassador to South Africa, Mr Robert Mayor, and included members of the Swiss Embassy and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in South Africa (SDC). The SDC is responsible for the administration of development cooperation with South Africa and has an office in Johannesburg.
Various development cooperation projects were discussed, such as Swiss assistance with housing projects in the Port Elizabeth region of the Eastern Cape, to which Switzerland has contributed around CHF 8 million (R 25 million), education assistance within the framework of the emergency Student Loan Fund and the National Financial Student Aid Scheme (Swiss funding amounts to CHF 2 million ) R 6.25 million) and the President's Education Initiative (primary school development) assistance to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission through a financial contribution of CHF 500 00 (R 1,56 million) and the secondment of two investigators to the TRC Investigative Unit. Other forms of assistance which were discussed included bilateral cooperation through international organisations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Labour Organisation (Switzerland has provided US $ 3 million for the creation of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration through the ILO), as well as cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations such as the Land and Agriculture Policy Centre and the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa.
Following on the recent highly successful visit to Switzerland by Presidend Mandela, the consultations served to reaffirm the importance South Africa attaches to her relations with Switzerland, in particular against the background of Switzerland's valued and continued support for the development process in South Africa.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 22 SEPTEMBER 1997