Tuesday, December 8, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Brad Dubbelman.
Making headlines:
Governments should avoid the risk of unfairly placing the burden of the economic downturn on the poor and vulnerable, who did nothing to cause the crisis in the first place, said South African Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies yesterday.
Speaking at the thirteenth General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation in Vienna, Davies added that, while countercyclical stimulus packages are needed, developed countries should avoid the temptation of supporting their own industrial activities at the expense of those in the developing world.
The focus should be on coordinated programmes aimed at strengthening the capacity of both developed and developing countries to continue to expand industrial capacity and create jobs. Davies added that governments need to intervene to arrest declining demand through adopting appropriate macroeconomic and monetary policies capable of supporting firms to avoid, or minimise, massive job losses.

Rich nations at the Copenhagen climate summit should commit $40-billion a year in new money to help Africa tackle the consequences of global warming, said African Development Bank (AfDB) president Donald Kaberuka yesterday. Climate change is costing Africa almost 3% of gross domestic product a year, which translates into around $40-billion a year.
Kaberuka stated that Africa needs an agreement in Copenhagen as the continent is already experiencing the effects of climate change. African leaders say that their continent has been hit particularly hard by climate change because of the fragility of many African economies.
The AfDB president said that $40-billion a year would be required to help countries adapt to climate change. This would be spent on energy sources that are low on harmful emissions and on preserving forests to help absorb excess carbon dioxide.

Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow by between 5,5% and 6% in 2010 as the continent recovers from the global downturn.
In an interview at the African Development Bank's (AfDB's) headquarters in Tunisia, Donald Kaberuka said that he was upbeat about the economic outlook for Africa after a year when the continent was hit hard by a drop in demand for commodities and scarcity of finance. He said that the bank had revised upwards its GDP growth forecast for 2009 to around 4% from the previous 3,5%, and that it expected to reduce lending in 2010 and would wind down some of its crisis-response instruments.
Kaberuka explained that Africa's economic recovery would be driven by reviving demand for commodity exports and a pick-up in investment flows. South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria would play a key role in driving growth in their regions.

Also making headlines:
African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema calls for gold and platinum mines to be nationalised first because they are the most profitable.
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande calls for the promotion of Further Education and Training colleges.
National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele tells police to use deadly force against criminals.
And, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos says that 60% of the country's people live in poverty.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.