Monday, May 18, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
A South African court yesterday threw out a bid by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to block the listing of mobile phone company Vodacom. Pretoria High Court Judge John Murphey said he would not issue an interdict to Cosatu, and dismissed the application.
The decision will allow British mobile phone giant Vodafone to increase its stake in Vodacom to 65%. Cosatu and the South African Communist Party, allies of the ruling African National Congress, both expressed disappointment at the result. They have urged consumers to boycott Vodacom.
Halting the deal would have dealt a huge blow to South Africa's credentials as an investor-friendly emerging market, and intensified fears of resurgent union and left wing power under President Jacob Zuma.
The ruling leaves major question marks over the autonomy of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. The opposition Democratic Alliance attacked Icasa's about-turn as a "direct assault on any attempt to encourage foreign investment in South Africa."

In African news, the World Bank says that leaders of the Group of 20 rich and industrialised nations must help Africa recover from the global economic crisis. Shanta Devarajan, chief economist for Africa, said that offers of help for the poorest continent at the last G20 summit in London in April fell short because the richest States were focused on rescuing their own damaged economies.
The World Bank economist says that the next G20 summit in September should be labelled the 'development summit'.
The London G20 summit communique last month recognised that the downturn will have a disproportionate effect on the poorest States, and pledged to give extra money to those nations.
However, Devarajan said that the promise of a $1,1-trillion package to restore growth and trust in the financial system will do little for Africa and other emerging markets. Most of this money is going to middle income countries, he said.
While economic shocks in North America and Europe will hit jobs, the effects in Africa will be far more serious.

Back home, Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa says that the army could be brought in to help the police fight crime.
The army could escort cash-in-transit vans and patrol the country's borders. Mthethwa explained that trained soldiers in the reserve force would serve this purpose.
Mthethwa said there is a "standing order" to recruit at least 10 000 police officers a year, and added that improving crime intelligence is key.
Mthethwa called new moves for the improvement of crime intelligence and forensics "the beginning of the value chain of the criminal justice system".

Also making headlines:
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change asks the African Union and the Southern African Development Community to intervene in the deadlock between the country's unity government partners.
US President Barack Obama is to make his first African visit in July.
And, the first Darfur rebel accused of war crimes is to appear before the International Criminal Court today.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.