Friday, November 20, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
Government will get tough on companies not complying with affirmative action and broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) laws, said Labour DG Jimmy Manyi yesterday.
Speaking at a branch meeting of the Sandton African National Congress Youth League, Manyi said that the Labour Department is planning to introduce a clause into the BEE act, which would allow government to terminate or refuse contracts of companies that do not comply with the law by June next year. He added that companies which do not comply with the laws will be singled out and "named and shamed".
Manyi, who is also president of the Black Management Forum, was careful to explain that employment equity and affirmative action is not an "antiwhite" policy.

As the World Trade Organisation's (WTO's) Doha Round stumbles into its ninth year with no end in sight, a group of 22 developing countries is poised to clinch its own deal to cut tariffs and boost trade among themselves.
The deal to expand the General System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) could be announced during the WTO's own three-day ministerial conference starting November 30, when trade ministers from most of its 153 members will be in Geneva. The 22-member GSTP includes heavyweights such as Brazil, India and South Korea, as well as some of the poorest countries including North Korea and Zimbabwe. China and South Africa are not involved.
Trade officials and diplomats say that the likely deal would involve countries cutting their actual, or "applied", tariffs by 20% or more, on 70% of goods.

The South African Reserve Bank warned yesterday that the country will continue to exceed the upper level of its inflation target range in the next two years if Eskom is granted its request for annual electricity price increases of 45%.
Deputy Reserve Bank governor Brian Kahn told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Finance that the bank's central projection, made in its twice yearly Monetary Policy Review released this week, would see inflation dipping below the 6% mark next year to 5,8% and remain relatively stable at 5,9% in 2011. However, this was based on a projection of electricity price increases of 25% a year.

Also making headlines:
Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile says there is no guarantee that athlete Caster Semenya's gender testing results will be kept secret.
Zimbabwean opposition official Roy Bennett says that weapons being used as evidence in the terrorism case against him are a public relations stunt.
Judgment is reserved in a South African Police Service employment equity case.
And, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai heads to North Africa to discuss his country's political crisis with African Union chairperson Muammar Gaddafi.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.