December 7, 2012.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs gears up to roll out the new ID smart cards.

Chad’s President Idriss Deby says the World Bank is treating his country unfairly.

And, South African Council of Churches chairperson Bishop Jo Seoka says that BEE is stealing from the poor.

The Department of Home Affairs (or DHA) won’t be going ahead with its plans to issue ID smart cards to first-time applicants by this month, but has averred it will start doing so early in the new year. This will be the first wave of the transition from the current green ID book to the ID smart cards.

Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor noted that the ID smart card required a thorough process of designing functional and technical specifications, which took longer than expected.

Home Affairs Deputy Minister Fatima Chohan said that the smart card would first be launched as a pilot, where senior management of the DHA would use the cards for one year to establish how practical, functional and durable they are.

The DHA is currently in the first phase of the pilot project, during which IT systems would be tested, including the hardware and software to be used in the production of the ID smart cards. It also said that it is in the process of finalising the roll-out plan, which will need approval from relevant structure. As a result information will be made available to the public once approval has been granted.

Chad's President Idriss Deby slammed the World Bank on Thursday, saying it was treating the central African nation unfairly by not providing it with the support other impoverished nations were receiving.

Deby said that the World Bank was punishing his country because it didn’t approve of the way he was handling its development.

The World Bank withdrew from a loan accord in 2008 backing the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, one of its biggest investments in Africa, also billed as a test of how the continent's oil wealth could benefit the poor if spent properly. It said that Deby's government had failed to comply with agreed commitments to set aside a chunk of its oil revenues for local communities, health and education.

African Council of Churches chairperson Bishop Jo Seoka said at the launch on Thursday night of a book on the Marikana tragedy that Black economic empowerment (or BEE) was actually stealing from the poor.

He said that only a handful of people were benefiting from BEE and that the Marikana killings had taken place after attempts by workers to get management to address them on the issue of receiving higher pay had failed.

University of Johannesburg sociology professor Peter Alexander said that that readers of the book could get an understanding of what it was like to be on the hillock on the day of August 16, and why the people had gathered there and why they had traditional weapons.

The book recognised the continuities of apartheid, the way in which the behaviour of the police reflected the behaviour of the police under apartheid, the way in which the migrant labour system was a carry over from apartheid and the way in which the profit system has continued from apartheid.

Also making headlines:

The South African Reconciliation Barometer survey indicates that South Africans doubt local government’s capacity to deliver.

Cabinet approves the Infrastructure Development Bill.

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that Business confidence in South Africa remained depressed in November.

And, the Right2Know campaign has been voted as Johannesburg Press Club’ 2012 newsmaker of the year.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.