BREAKING NEWS – Premier Mathabatha to welcome 1 150 delegates from 160 countries in Waterberg

Premier Stan Mathabatha is expected to welcome 1 150 delegates to the 2019 edition of International Fellowship Evangelical Students (IFES) World Assembly on Sunday.
Delegates from 160 countries are expected to attend the assembly set to commence on Monday and run until 11 July in the Waterberg region.
IFES is a global movement of affiliated national fellowships working in over 160 countries worldwide. The assembly takes place every four years, gathering IFES students, faculty, staff and board members from all over the globe.
According to IFES, World Assembly is a unique time to hear from God together. This is taken as the most important time to share and encourage one another, but also the time to pray and worship as a global family.
Spokesperson for Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) Mike Tauatsoala who agency has partnered with organisers of the event said the idea to bring this conference to Limpopo was born out of engagements at Meetings Africa 2018, confirming the importance of this marketing platform. Again, the province stands to benefit significantly from this gathering. “This will be an opportunity to showcase the province’s offerings as a business tourism and conferencing destination. The conference will also contribute to the economy of the province as well as create a number of temporary jobs. This is in line with LTA’s vision of positioning Limpopo as a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa.”
Chief Executive Officer of LTA, Nomasonto Ndlovu was quoted to have said: “We are very excited to be the host destination for this important conference at a crucial time as the country is facing so many challenges. We remain focused on supporting the business events industry in order to ensure that many of these conferences come to Limpopo as we implement our destination marketing strategy. This will fortify Limpopo’s business events positioning and further demonstrate that this destination has capacity and capability to host events of this magnitude. This is in line with our vision to position Limpopo as a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa”.
The Waterberg region, where the assembly will be held, is home to a myriad of attractions that the province is boasting, such as Nylsvley Nature Reserve, a Ramsar Site with over 400 bird species, Waterberg Biosphere, Makapans Valley, Marakele National Park , golf and many private game reserves, to name but a few.
“We are confident that post this conference, Limpopo and Waterberg region will inspire conference delegates to come back to the province for holidays with their friends and families The province will also benefit from this assembly in line with the vision of IFES World Assembly, which is to see students built into communities of disciples, transformed by the gospel and impacting the university, the church and society for the glory of Christ,” Ndlovu concluded.
Spokesperson for the Premier, Kenny Mathivha confirmed that Mathabatha will open the Assembly on Sunday alongside MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Thabo Mokone.

Story: Herbert Rachuene
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