Friday January 22, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

If electricity utility Eskom gets its proposed tariff hike of 35% each year for three years, about 500 000 jobs will be lost, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said in Midrand on Thursday. Spokesperson Peggy Drodskie told a public hearing of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa on the proposed hike that inflation would increase by about 0,3%. "This would then put inflation outside the South African Reserve Bank's target range of between three and six per cent," she said. Drodskie said that both personal disposable income and household consumption would be reduced as a result of the proposed hike. "Sacci estimates that the overall loss to Gross Domestic Product would be about R200-million on the most conservative basis." She went on to recommend that provisions in the National Energy Policy be implemented with the introduction of private participation in generation being fast-tracked.

The African Union (AU)'s top diplomat, Jean Ping, opened talks seeking an end to Madagascar's year-long political crisis on Thursday with a call to its feuding leaders to respect last year's power-sharing deals. An AU document containing compromise proposals, urged the formation of a consensus government and said that the institutions set out in last year's accords "must be established and made operational without delay". The consensus Prime Minister, Eugene Mangalaza, who was dismissed by President Andry Rajoelina last month, should be reappointed, it said, adding that Legislative and Presidential elections should be held by October. Two of the four main political movements confirmed that they had received the document from Ping. It was not immediately clear whether this was a final compromise or the starting point for negotiations. Rajoelina, Africa's youngest leader, has in recent weeks torn up a series of internationally brokered power-sharing deals, appointed a military Prime Minister and is intent on unilaterally organising Legislative elections in March.

South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs on Thursday expressed a "firm intent" to complete the country's national climate change policy white paper by the end of 2010.
Environmental Affairs DDG Joanne Yawitch explained that the department hoped to have a ‘green paper' completed by midyear, which would be followed by a public consultation process before the finalisation of the policy. "There is a whole process that we, from our department, will be leading, where we are hoping that we can bring in and collect the views of as many people as possible, and arrive at something, which reflects a broad South African perspective based on the science," she told participants gathered at a ‘Copenhagen Unpacked' briefing hosted by Investec. It was accepted that climate change had the potential to affect just about every sector in South Africa, including: energy and industry, trade, agriculture, water, transportation, healthcare, finance, and infrastructural development.

Also making headlines:According to Belgian scientists, nearly 80% of the 300 000 conflict-related deaths in Darfur were owing to diseases like diarrhoea, not violence.
Zimbabwe has suspended moves to draw up a new constitution owing to political bickering over funding. And, Nigerian Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan assures the nation that the Jos crisis is under control. That's a roundup of news making headlines today.