Friday, April 17, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
South Africans should vote for parties that uphold the Constitution when they go to the polls next week, says former President FW de Klerk. He declined to be more specific, saying only that those votes should not go to the African National Congress.
The electorate must seriously consider what parties they can trust with the Constitution, he said. De Klerk, who played a pivotal role in South Africa's transition to democracy, added that he feels a "residual responsibility" to contribute to upholding the historic pact South Africans concluded in 1994.
The country had, in recent times, seen "a sorry descent from the rule of law" owing to the ANC's politicisation of all institutions of State. De Klerk said he felt that the National Prosecuting Authority's decision last week to drop the charges against Jacob Zuma, will be identified in the future, as the point at which South Africa began to stray from the rule of law.

In regional news, the World Bank has announced that it is willing to help Zimbabwe recover from a devastating economic crisis, on condition that the country's institutions restore democracy and human rights.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick reported that Zimbabwe's new Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, will attend meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund next week.
The formation early this year of a new unity government in Zimbabwe has raised cautious hope of a change in the collapsed economy's fortunes.
Zoellick said that any initiatives to help Zimbabwe depend on the success of the new unity government.

Back home, acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Moketedi Mpshe could have made no other decision than to drop charges against African National Congress president Jacob Zuma, said former judge Willem Heath.
If the prosecution had proceeded, said Heath, the court would have ruled that it was an illegality and it would have come to an end. Mpshe disclosed that there was an ulterior purpose behind the decision to indict Zuma. Heath explained that if it is done with ulterior purpose, it is an illegality and not a technicality.
Public discontent with the National Prosecuting Authority's decision not to prosecute Zuma is hypocrisy. Sipho Seepe of the Institute of Race Relations cited Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille as an example of this. He claimed it was just because she did not like the NPA's decision that Zille said the Constitution was under threat.

Also making headlines:
The United Nations will tackle racism at a politically charged summit next week.
Research shows that climate change could worsen African 'megadroughts'.
The US seeks to bolster the Somali government and its security forces.
And, ANC breakaway party, the Congress of the People, struggles to win support ahead of the general elections.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.