Thursday, April 2, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Dennis Ndaba.
Making headlines:
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has denied a report alleging that South Africa will soon need to borrow more funds from the international markets.Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has denied a report alleging that South Africa will soon need to borrow more funds from international markets
He said that the government will evaluate when it is appropriate to borrow. There is a need to finance deficit, Manuel explained, but the government will look at the domestic and international markets to decide on the appropriate time.
"We cannot be reckless," said Manuel, as he blamed the wire service that reported on the issue for a "lack of knowledge".

In world news, Egypt's Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said yesterday that people in the world's poorest countries will die if rich nations push them aside in the scramble to escape the global economic crisis.
Developed countries are borrowing heavily from international markets to fire up their economies, which means that poorer countries are increasingly unable to apply for stimulus funding.
Boutros-Ghali said that this contradiction needs to be resolved.
In emerging countries, an economic slowdown means that people are going to die, he said.
Development aid from the world's biggest donors rose to a record level in 2008, but donors will need to make substantial efforts to hit targets for 2010 because of the economic crisis.

Back home, archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu said yesterday that he is not looking forward to a Jacob Zuma Presidency.
While the African National Congress leader is a warm and friendly man, Tutu said that he is not the ideal President.
The archbishop said that he hopes the National Prosecuting Authority will decide to continue with Zuma's fraud and corruption prosecution. If Zuma is innocent, as he claims to be, then it should be a court of law that pronounces it.
Tutu stated that South Africa is in a "bad place right now".
He said he is disappointed that the idealism and altruism associated with the fight against apartheid, seem to have been forgotten in the new South Africa.

Also making headlines:
A human rights group wants 'conflict mineral' tracing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Western Cape judge president John Hlophe's fate might end up in the hands of Members of Parliament.
Developing nations urge rich countries to make deeper carbon dioxide cuts.
And, the African National Congress is conspicuously absent from a Wits University election debate.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.