August 2, 2012
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Samantha Moolman.
Making headlines:

Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel says media coverage on the Protection of State Information Bill is unfair.

Newly elected African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says African solutions are needed.

And, Egypt’s Prime Minister Hisham Kandil draws on technocrats and Islamists in the new government.

Minister in the Presidency responsible for National Planning Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday that there has been unfair reporting on the Protection of State Information Bill. This follows the media becoming embedded in a position on the issue.

Manuel said the Bill of Rights in the Constitution enshrines the right to access to information, with a clause dealing with the limitation of this right, and that the Protection of Access to Information Act was incorporated in 2000 alongside the Protected Disclosures Act, which deals with whistle-blowers.

He added that the bill could as a result be traced to the values embedded in the Constitution.

Newly elected African Union commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Wednesday that Africa needs to find its own solutions to counter its problems.

Flanked by chairperson of the forum of past leaders and former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, and forum member Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Dlamini-Zuma said she was worried about armed conflict on the continent. However, she said that there were processes in place to end armed conflict on the continent.

Ministers from Southern Africa on Monday opened talks, which have been dominated by the crisis in Madagascar and violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Egypt's Prime Minister has drawn on bureaucrats and Islamists for the country's first Muslim Brotherhood-led administration. This has disappointed those who wanted a more inclusive government able to carry forward the revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Prime Minister-designate Hisham Kandil's appointment of at least two Brotherhood politicians, including one as Education Minister, marks a major break with the past. However, the Cabinet's heavy reliance on civil servants also smacked of the Mubarak era, when technocrats ran the government.

The new Cabinet should help President Mohamed Mursi assert more authority in a State where the army still has a powerful say. The choice of defence minister was one of the few portfolios not announced on Wednesday.

Also making headlines:

South Africa’s further education and training colleges receive a 2.5-billion rand boost.

Democratic Alliance Leader Helen Zille lays charges against the ANC Youth League.

And, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Africa must live up to its democratic promise.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today