Monday, May 10, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

Newly elected Gauteng African National Congress (ANC) chairperson Paul Mashatile made it clear on Saturday that the ANC was the only centre of power in the province. "Our position is, that there is only one centre... the ANC," he said at a media briefing on the final day of the province's eleventh elective conference at the Tshwane Events Centre. Mashatile was pitted against Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane to lead the ANC in the province. He out stripped Mokonyane with 513 votes to her 356. His comments come amid reports that his winning the position of chairperson in the province would render Mokonyane powerless in her position as premier. "Government is not a centre, government is a place where people are deployed to do ANC work. He added that the provincial leadership of the ruling party had to support the government, "because it is our government". The government's responsibility was to implement the decisions and the policies of the ANC. He warned that if this did not happen "there will be consequences". "Those deployed must report, they must account," he said.

An International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into crimes against humanity in postelection violence in Kenya in 2007/8 should serve as a warning to other African States, the ICC chief prosecutor said on Saturday. Luis Moreno-Ocampo is in Kenya to speak to victims of the ethnic clashes which erupted following a disputed Presidential election, starting a process which could see influential politicians and business people from Kenya going to The Hague. ICC judges have authorised Moreno-Ocampo to investigate the masterminds of the 2007/8 unrest in which authorities have said more than 1 200 people were killed, several hundreds raped and more than 350 000 forcibly displaced. "I think it's important to investigate these crimes to ensure Kenya has a peaceful election in 2012. I would say that in the next year and a half, there may be 15 elections in Africa and we have to be sure these elections are peaceful," he said.

The Congress of the People (Cope) needed to reconnect with its people, the party's deputy president, Mbhazima Shilowa said on Sunday during the launch of his Presidential campaign.
"We have let our people down. Over the past year, we took our eyes off the ball and disappeared from important national political debates," he told Cope followers at a campaign rally at North Crest in Mthatha. "We were so consumed in the internal battles that characterised our party and lost the voter along the way." Shilowa told the crowd that Cope members had let their "political past" catch up with them and called for a new leadership that respects the party's agenda. "The new leadership must concentrate on building unity and embrace all members of Cope," he said.

Also making headlines

The Young Communist League suspends African National Congress Youth League spokesperson Floyd Shivambu.
The Ethiopian government says that two people were killed, and another 14 injured in a grenade attack on a political meeting prior to upcoming elections.
Somali pirates have seized a German-operated chemical tanker.
And, a Sudanese editor is put on trial for "false news".

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.