April 8, 2014
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

The Western Cape High Court is cordoned off ahead of alleged ‘honeymoon killer’ Shrien Dewani’s arrival.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela says NDP infrastructure plans bring opportunity but also risks.

And, export strategy given greater weight in South Africa’s new Industrial Policy Action Plan as trade deficit persists.

 

The Western Cape High Court entrance was on Tuesday morning cordoned off with yellow tape ahead of the arrival of honeymoon murder-accused Shrien Dewani.

Around 13 police vehicles were parked near the court and a throng of police officers stood at a side entrance where prisoners usually arrive. Dewani was expected to enter the court through this gate.

The millionaire businessman was expected to touch down on British Airways flight BA059 direct out of London's Heathrow Airport.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on Monday said Dewani was being accompanied on the flight by a medical doctor, a nurse and members of the South African Police Service. When he appears in court, he is expected to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder and defeating the ends of justice.

While the National Development Plan (or NDP) and its emphasis on infrastructure development provides significant opportunities for engineers, that opportunity comes with great risk, Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela said on Monday at the 2014 Civilution Congress held in Kempton Park.

She noted that, in his 2014 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that government would be investing R847-billion in infrastructure projects over the next three years.

“However, with that opportunity comes great risks in terms of work not being done according to specification, not being done on time and sometimes not being done at all,” she said.

She further pointed out that government didn’t deliver its own projects, but rather professionals implemented government’s plans and, therefore, ethical behaviour wasn’t only required from government but also from the engineering industry.

The South African government’s latest Industrial Policy Action Plan (or Ipap) places greater emphasis than was the case in the past on raising the country’s export competitiveness, as part of what the Department of Trade and Industry is now calling a ‘Smart Reindustrialisation’ strategy.

Speaking at the release of the sixth Ipap in Johannesburg on Monday, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said government would increasingly demand that those benefitting from industrial incentives become active exporters, particularly into growing African markets.

The export strategy, which was conceived against a backdrop of South Africa’s persistent trade-account deficit, would seek to reward export-orientated firms with conditional incentives, increased industrial financing and export-promotion assistance.

Davies saw export growth as central to raising the overall competitiveness of industry, noting that there were strong arguments to suggest that Asian industrial policies didn’t so much pick winners as “weed out losers”, with losers identified through their lack of export penetration.
 

Also making headlines:
 

The Independent Electoral Commission says its employees are barred from embarking on a mooted strike as their services are declared an essential service.
 

South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Rob Davies, welcomed Nigeria’s rise to Africa’s largest economy saying GDP comparisons were not akin to competitive sport.
 

Ghana's President John Mahama says West Africa needs to lower tariffs, enable freer movement of goods and services, and deepen integration of its 15 countries to promote growth.
 

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.