Tuesday, January 19, 2010
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
The leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) will not be drawn into "street fights" over positions, the party's secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said in a briefing on the weekend national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla yesterday. Referring to reports that he was falling out of favour as secretary-general, Mantashe said that the rumours of the ANC Youth League being against him were "neither here nor there". Mantashe also watered down reported tensions within the ruling alliance of the ANC, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions. The ruling party secretary-general added that the NEC had reaffirmed the position of the January 8 statement that the ANC as "the leader of the alliance and strategic centre of power must take responsibility for providing political direction to the alliance."
Senegal and other African nations should offer victims of Haiti's earthquake the chance to "return home" and resettle on the continent, possibly in a newly created State of their own, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade suggested yesterday. Wade said that he would propose to the African Union the creation for Haitians of "their own State on African territory, the land of their ancestors". Senegalese officials were quoted as saying that the country was ready to offer parcels of fertile land to Haitians, many of whom are still waiting for aid after last week's earthquake - believed to have killed as many as 200 000 people. The idea for a new State is reminiscent of the nineteenth century creation of Liberia by freed US slaves. Wade argues that Haitians are the descendants of African slaves and so have the right to repatriation on the African continent. Senegal has also pledged $1-million emergency aid.
Zimbabwe will seek highly indebted poor country (HIPC) status in order to have its $6-billion international debt cancelled to help spur economic growth, said Finance Minister Tendai Biti yesterday. Zimbabwe's unity government, formed last year by foes President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has failed to attract much-needed foreign aid, partly owing to huge debts. Zimbabwe has enlisted the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to draft a debt relief plan that would unlock access to international finance, seen as crucial to reviving the economy after a decade of decline. Biti said that while there were divergent views in Cabinet on a debt clearance strategy, seeking HIPC status - which would require sweeping reforms and setting firm performance targets - was the best option. Visiting AfDB vice-president for operations, Aloysius Ordu said that although Zimbabwe's power-sharing government had made progress, there would be no full cooperation until Zimbabwe resolved its debt crisis.
Also making headlines:
The African National Congress Parliamentary caucus lauds President Jacob Zuma's decision to make his 2010 State of the Nation address to Parliament on the evening of February 11.
Guinea's opposition parties pick activist Jean-Marie Dore as candidate for Prime Minister in a move towards civilian government.
The Democratic Alliance objects to the new Public Service Broadcasting Bill which aims to levy a 1% personal income tax on working South Africans to fund the SABC.
And, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation expects global tourism to grow by between 3% and 4% in 2010.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.