Friday, May 8, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
The 54 permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces were sworn in by Chief Justice Pius Langa yesterday. Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu was elected as the chairperson of the NCOP.
Fifty-four of the 90 NCOP delegates are permanent members - six for each of South Africa's nine provinces. The remaining 36 are sent by the provinces to attend NCOP sessions when necessary and do not have voting rights.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was booed as she criticised members for chanting "ANC" when Mahlangu was elected. This behaviour showed that the separation of party from the State was not entirely clear, she said.

In legal news, corporate merger thresholds, which were recently increased and gazetted by the Minister of Trade and Industry, will not be applied with retrospective effect. This is according to Webber Wentzel partner Candice Meyer.
The position is clear, she explained. Merger notification and approval processes notified under the old thresholds must be completed with all the appropriate fees, cooperation and investigations.
If a merger was notified under the old thresholds and the merger does not exceed the new threshold for a small merger (meaning that the notification may no longer be compulsory), that merger must nevertheless be approved by the Competition Authority prior to implementation.
Merger thresholds were increased in March, and although it was the first increase since 2001, it has been described as a "quantum leap".

Business Unity South Africa states that an increase in business and investor confidence shows the sector is "warming up" to the leadership of President-elect Jacob Zuma. This is also evidenced in the positive response of the markets since Zuma's election.
Comments by Zuma have "struck a positive note" with business, and the sector is optimistic that he will assemble a Cabinet team that will further strengthen business confidence.
Busa welcomes Zuma's public statements on strengthening social dialogue through the National Economic Development and Labour Council , and his commitment to helping government weather the effects of the global financial storm.

Also making headlines:
Cape Judge President John Hlophe files court papers over the Judicial Service Commission matter.
The World Health Organisation says that H1N1 flu could have a bigger impact in Africa owing to poor health systems.
The African Union says that African nations should manufacture their own HIV/Aids drugs if they are to effectively fight the pandemic.
And, African banks have given Zimbabwe $428-million in credit lines.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.