Friday, May 22, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
The period of deregulation in global markets has come to an end, said former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in a speech to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The newly appointed Minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission said that the world can no longer rely on "enlightened self-interest" to regulate global markets.
This does not mean, however, a shift to the other extreme where companies are tied up in so much regulation that they can barely function.
He told the SAICA that the present global economic meltdown reaffirms the need for professional auditors.
Manuel added that South Africa has missed the worst of the financial crisis, owing, in no small measure, to the efforts of organisations such as the SAICA.

In regional news, the Southern African Development Community reports that the number of hungry people in the region has risen over the past year, largely owing to the crisis in Zimbabwe, despite a lower regional cereal defici
SADC forecast that expected good rains and availability of seed and fertiliser would lead to larger maize harvests by most of its members this season.
Zimbabwe has consistently recorded a decline in maize output owing to shortages of seed and fertiliser and has been forced to rely on imports and food aid since 2002.
The country's agriculture output has plunged since 2000 when President Robert Mugabe targeted white-owned commercial farms for seizure, hitting Zimbabwe's farm-based economy.
In spite of the expected improvement in cereal production, regional food insecurity and malnutrition among the vulnerable groups remains high. This increase is attributed to a rise in the number of food insecure people in Zimbabwe.

In South African news, the African National Congress says that has denied the Democratic Alliance the chair of any of the Parliamentary committees as punishment for party leader Helen Zille's insults of President Jacob Zuma.Announcing the party nominations for the positions, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said that appointments are a question of relations being serviced. There must be mutual respect between the parties, he said. The DA had taken a hostile position against the ANC.The DA responded in a statement, saying that the ANC was scared to have the opposition as chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts as it would "leave no stone unturned" in exposing corruption and poor performance.Mantashe said that the Congress of the People was not given an opportunity to name one of the party chairs either "because it is a new animal".

Also making headlines:
Malawi's incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika wins the Presidential election, but the opposition cries foul.
Nigeria's army vows to continue with its campaign in the country's oil delta, targeting fighters loyal to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.
And, Zimbabwe's unity government remains in deadlock over the appointment of the Central Bank governor and the attorney general.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.