November 14, 2012.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Gia Costella.

Making headlines:

The ANC agrees to some of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele’s Info Bill changes.

The African Union backs a plan to recapture north Mali. 

And, the Free Market Foundation calls for electricity reforms.

The African National Congress has agreed to some of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele's hawkish proposals on the Protection of State Information Bill.

Cwele has notably persuaded the ruling party to re-introduce a maximum five-year prison sentence for the disclosure of classified information, and to re-introduce a clause that would have the new law trump any other legislation dealing with such information.

Without explicitly naming the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the new official Secrets Act would therefore trump it. Commentators have cautioned that the Act could render the bill unconstitutional.

The opposition, rights groups and the ANC's alliance partner, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, have all argued in vain for a public interest principle to be written into the bill as a legal defence for those charged with revealing state secrets.

The African Union has backed a plan on Tuesday to send troops to push rebels and al Qaeda-linked militants out of northern Mali. This will clear a hurdle for the strategy that now needs United Nations approval.

West Africa's regional bloc, the Economic Community Of West African States, agreed on Sunday the details of the proposal to send 3 300 troops to help Mali's government regain control. Most of the soldiers will come from Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.

However, support for the military push is not universal – regional powerhouse Algeria says it prefers a negotiated solution.

The bloc's Peace and Security Council Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said that countries from other parts of Africa would now be able to send troops and logistical support.

Free Market Foundation director Eustace Davie says that there is a “dire need” for electricity sector reform in South Africa.  The current power deficit stands at over 5 000 MW.

He says that this is a serious situation, and many businesses will have to close their doors on account of not being able to pay for the electricity increases. This calls for potential alternative sources of energy, he says.

Davie noted that opening up the transmission grid for wheeling from independent power producers to customers and making the transmission grid independently owned and managed would be effective reforms.

He also noted that electricity price increases of 16% a year over the coming five years could be reduced by cutting back on expenses such as the integrated demand management programme, which would be about R13-billion.

Also making headlines:

Guinea-Bissau's caretaker President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo aims to restore ties with the European Union.

Gauteng's future mobility hinges on better coordination and integration.

And, the Engineering Council of South Africa and the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency sign a memorandum of understanding for technical capacity development.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.