November 28, 2012.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Nomvelo Buthelezi.
Making headlines:

The Pretoria High Court hears that a public’s outcry over the GFIP is about tariffs and not tolls.

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo say they will withdraw from the city of Goma.

And, the ANC adopts the final draft of the Protection of State Information Bill.

The High Court in Pretoria heard on Tuesday that the public outcry against the tolling of Gauteng's highways was related to the tariffs and not the actual tolls.

Senior council for the Transport Department said that it should be made clear that the public outcry isn’t because of tolls but rather the tariffs. Senior council Vincent Maleka was responding to submissions by Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance lawyer Mike Maritz, who had argued that the implementation of tolls was unlawful and that Sanral's initial notice to toll roads in Gauteng was "sterile" and "misleading".

Maleka added that the transport minister consulted the public and considered the cost of e-tolling when he approved the upgrade to Gauteng's highways.

Sanral’s lawyer David Unterhalter argued that all relevant civil society organisations representing Gauteng motorists knew about e-tolling and the user-pay principle when the project started in 2008, but did nothing until the tariffs were announced in 2011.

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (or DRC) said on Tuesday that they would pull out of the eastern city of Goma in an apparent stalling of their drive to "liberate" the whole country.

The eight-month insurgency has threatened to develop into an all-out war in a region dogged by nearly two decades of conflict that has killed more than five million people and is fuelled by competition over mineral resources.

The Ugandan military, which has coordinated talks with the M23 rebels, said earlier that M23 leader Colonel Sultani Makenga had agreed to a plan drawn up by regional heads of state for the rebels to leave Goma within 48 hours, with no conditions.

However, the political head of M23, Jean-Marie Runiga, later told journalists in Goma they would withdraw from the city only if President Joseph Kabila agreed to their demands. The Congolese government dismissed the chances of this happening.

The African National Congress majority on Tuesday drove the final draft of the Protection of State Information Bill through the parliamentary committee process, after opposition parties walked out in protest.

National Council of Provinces Committee chairperson Raseriti Tau lamented the walk-out and pre-emptively rubbished remaining criticism of the bill as grand-standing, given the number of amendments made to it, which he put at 800.

A report on the amended bill was adopted by unanimous vote by the ruling party and will now be debated in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday, in one of the last steps before it becomes law.

Also making headlines:

Sudan says it will resume security talks with South Sudan next week.

A sharp contraction in the mining sector drags down South Africa’s third-quarter growth.

And, the head of the National Economic Development and Labour Council Alistair Smith says 2013 offers a chance for South Africa to forge a new five-year social contract.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.