Tuesday, September 15, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said yesterday that the country and Africa, as a whole, are unlikely to see a return to the robust growth levels of a few years ago, as global patterns of consumption change. With the global credit crunch hitting the world's poorest continent, international financial institutions have slashed Africa's growth rates from around 7% to below 2%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week that South Africa's economy will likely shrink by 2,1% in 2009, as it battles its first recession in 17 years, after an average of 5% growth in the four years to 2007.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Africa emerging markets forum meeting, Gordhan said that it is unlikely that South Africa will reach record gross domestic product growth rates, as there are many structural changes that will occur. He adds that it is too early to call an economic recovery in South Africa.

Governments should start planning a coordinated exit strategy to eliminate actions and elements that have acted as "sand in the gears of international trade [and] may retard global recovery". This is according to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development secretary general Angel Gurria, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development secretary general Supachai Panitchpakdi, and World Trade Organisation director-general Pascal Lamy, in a joint report for Group of 20 leaders ahead of the meeting in Pittsburgh later this month.
Restrictive trade elements include: tariffs, nontariff barriers, subsidies and burdensome administrative procedures regarding imports that have been applied by many countries in recent months. The report said that international rules for trade and investment agreements are a source of opportunity in times of economic growth, but a restraining influence in times of difficulty.
The leaders welcomed the G20 governments' commitment to maintaining open trade and investment regimes and their ability to withstand domestic protectionist pressures, adding that trade rules and investment agreements have acted as a safety harness preventing the adoption of wide-scale protectionist policies.

Unlike countries such as China and India, South Africa does not have the "luxury" of cheap labour, says Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom. To counter this, the competitive advantage of South Africa's labour force must rest in its quality, efficiency and skill.
Speaking at the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) annual symposium, he said that improved efficiencies and better management of labour might lead to job shedding rather than job creation in the short term, but that this would open paths for new firms and more opportunities in the long term.
The AMTS, a Cabinet approved national strategy that relies on collaboration between industry, academia and science councils, is to support the development of competencies in key technologies to allow the South African manufacturing sector to become more innovative by strengthening its technological base.

Also making headlines:
The United Nations General Assembly votes for a more powerful women's agency.
The Côte d'Ivoire is likely to miss its voter list deadline, thus pushing back its upcoming election.
South African Communist Party general secretary and Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande, says that former President Thabo Mbeki is not missed.
And, a US raid has resulted in the death of a top al Qaeda militant in Somalia.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.