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President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a busy political week as September begins, with engagements ranging from the automotive industry to democracy, while parliament, ministers and government institutions host events focused on youth employment, science, transport and service delivery.Monday is expected to be one of the busiest days of the week.The president will be in the Eastern Cape, where he is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at Volkswagen Group Africa’s 75th anniversary gala dinner at the Volkswagen plant in Kariega, Nelson Mandela Bay.The event will mark 75 years of Volkswagen in South Africa and will reflect on the company’s contribution to the automotive industry, the economy, skills development and local communities.Parliament’s research unit will host a youth colloquium and youth innovation expo at the Dome in parliament under the theme “Youth employment, economic growth, skills and challenges faced by young people in the labour market”.The event will bring together young people, policymakers, educators, industry representatives and civil society to discuss skills gaps, barriers to employment and the need for meaningful youth participation in the digital economy.Science, technology and innovation minister Blade Nzimande will, meanwhile, host finance minister Enoch Godongwana and a National Treasury delegation at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria for a strategic engagement on the role of science, technology and innovation in advancing South Africa’s developmental priorities.Transport will also be in focus in Gauteng, where Santaco Women will host its National Safe Mobility and Empowerment Summit.The programme will begin with a gender-based violence and femicide awareness activation at the Kempton Park taxi rank, followed by the summit at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre.Transport minister Barbara Creecy and Gauteng roads and transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela are expected to address the gathering alongside Santaco president Abnar Tsebe, Santaco Women national chairperson Duduzekile Maphumulo and other stakeholders.Defence and military veterans minister Angie Motshekga will on Tuesday brief the media on South Africa’s readiness to host the 13th Africa Aerospace and Defence Trade Exhibition and Air Show.The biennial event is scheduled to take place at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria from September 16 to 20 under the theme “Africa’s gateway to defence and aerospace collaboration”.Thursday will see Ramaphosa return to the public programme when he delivers the inaugural Nokuthula Simelane Memorial Lecture at the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela.The department of employment and labour will also take government services to communities in the Free State through its taking services to the people campaign.The first outreach event will be held at the Thusong Service Centre in Phuthaditjhaba.The beginning of September also marks Heritage Month, which this year is being commemorated under the theme “Reimagine our heritage institutions for a new era”.The theme places renewed emphasis on the role of heritage institutions and museums in preserving memory and knowledge while responding to social, economic and technological change.The government’s Heritage Month programme is expected to place particular focus on the role of museums and other heritage institutions as spaces of relevance, innovation and community engagement.September is also Tourism Month, bringing a month-long focus on the contribution of tourism to the economy, domestic travel and employment in the sector.The campaign is aligned with the broader objectives of the tourism sector recovery plan, which seeks to protect and rejuvenate tourism supply, reignite demand and strengthen the capacity needed to support the sector.The political week will conclude on Sunday with National Police Commemoration Day, observed on the first Sunday in September in memory of police officers who died in the line of duty during the preceding 12 months.Business Day
