Friday, August 7, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
Outgoing South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni believes that the institution should remain independent and free of political interference.
Speaking at the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg, Mboweni said that if the Central Bank became politicised, then the interest rate would be driven by election considerations, and not long-term stability. He is not convinced by views that the bank should be nationalised. The bank should have people in charge who do not have elections in mind, and are not interested in politics and trade unions, he said.
Mboweni explained that the primary function of the Reserve Bank is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of economic growth and development, and to ensure that the buying power of the currency is maintained.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick will travel to three African countries next week to see for himself the damage inflicted on the region by the global financial crisis. His visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda will focus on encouraging businesses and donors to invest in Africa, as the global crisis seems to be easing in industrialised economies, but is still being felt in most of the developing world.
The US-led recession has disrupted more than a decade of rising economic growth in Africa and there is concern that the damage could be permanent if investors withdraw and donors cut their aid budgets.
But, a collapse in global trade as the US and European economies contracted, has punctured demand for African goods, while capital flows have fallen sharply and prices of key commodities have dropped, impacting on government revenues.

President Jacob Zuma has vowed to be a hands-on Head of State who engages with the people of the country. "We will always be a government of the people, by the people and for the people," he told a National Press Club briefing in Pretoria yesterday.
Referring to his recent visit to the Balfour township in Mpumalanga province, Zuma said that he had directed the relevant Ministers to prioritise areas affected by the service delivery protests, but that he "was not passing the buck".
Zuma reminded media that, in his State of the Nation Address, he said that the government will be interactive and effective.

Also making headlines:
African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema questions the lack of black Ministers in the economic sector of Cabinet.
Jeff Radebe says that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee is not in crisis.
President Jacob Zuma says that education is the government's number one priority.
And, foreign aid groups pledge $60-million for Zimbabwean farmers.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.