Wednesday March 2, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Dimakatso Motau

Making headlines:

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel says that the New Growth Path meant a departure from a consumption to a production-driven economy where growth was not an aim in itself but a means to job-creation. "It is not a conventional growth strategy where you hope that the jobs that come from that growth target would be sufficient. We see growth as vital... but what we put at the centre of our objectives are the employment outcomes. In keeping with recent ruling party statements, Patel stressed that government would not let a long-held concern with decent work get in the way of putting as many people as possible in jobs.
He said the blueprint sought to "address both the quantity of jobs and the quality of employment".

Internet campaigns calling for protests against the 31-year rule of President Robert Mugabe did not lead to any mass gatherings in Zimbabwe, where police have threatened to crush any "Egypt-style" protests. The two campaigns, on Facebook and Twitter, were trying to start popular uprisings similar to ones that toppled the long-serving leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, and which are threatening Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Although there was no unusual security deployment in Harare on Tuesday, private newspaper NewsDay reported that soldiers in armoured troop carriers had been "sighted" on Monday in traditionally restive townships in the capital. The Facebook campaign calling for a million citizen march,and a separate one on Twitter, were aimed at bringing down Mugabe, leader since independence from Britain in 1980.

Gauteng Finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe has set aside R36,1-billion for the implementation of the province’s infrastructure investment programme up to 2014. The largest share of R17-billion was allocated to the building of new infrastructure, with the balance going to big projects such as the Gautrain, as well ans expenses relating to maintenance, repair, upgrading, additions, rehabilitation and refurbishment. Nkomfe said that adequate public sector investment was needed to support businesses in the private sector, which he described as the engine of growth.

Also making headlines:
Three Tunisian Ministers have resigned, leaving the caretaker government which took over power after the President was overthrown, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Despite opposition from many energy-intensive companies in South Africa, power utility Eskom is still recommending that the country’s top 500 consumers sign on to a mandatory Energy Conservation Scheme, which would only be activated during times of crisis.
And, US warships will pass through the Suez Canal on their way to Libya as Western nations put more pressure on Muammar Gaddafi to stop a violent crackdown and step aside.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.