November 6, 2012.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.

Making headlines:

Analysts say Telkom CEO Nombulelo Moholi’s resignation highlights a strained relationship with Government.

Malawi suspends its anti-gay laws.

And, South Africa’s renewable-energy model receives strong support as the first deals are concluded.

Speculation is intensifying over the direction of government’s control in the struggling telecommunications group Telkom. This follows its moves to replace the vacant director positions and its soon-to-be-vacant CEO position.

Industry analysts have said the latest flood of exits by the JSE-listed group’s directors and CEO Nombulelo Moholi could indicate a clash between Telkom management and its largest shareholder on the direction needed to fulfil its mandate.

Africa Analysis director and analyst Dobek Pater said the events at Telkom’s annual general meeting two weeks ago could be another manifestation of the two parties' disagreement on what would bring the beleaguered group back onto the path of profitability. He added that the differences in view added stumbling blocks and delays in Telkom’s ability to turnaround, particularly as it stifled Moholi’s ability to effectively undertake her job.

Telkom, which currently doesn’t have a prospective candidate in mind to replace Moholi, said that the remaining four directors would convene to make the necessary appointments by the end of November.

Malawi has suspended laws against same-sex relationships and ordered police not to arrest gays pending a decision on whether to reverse the legislation. The legislation has been a source of friction with the impoverished southern African nation's donors.

Homosexuality is banned in Malawi – as it is in 36 other African states – and it carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. However, Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara said he wanted a debate on the issue before parliament decided whether to keep the laws or not.

A recent report presented to the President of Malawi Joyce Banda, recommended the decriminalisation of same-sex marriages as a way of helping the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The South African government, Eskom and independent power producers signed the power purchase, implementation and direct agreements for projects on Monday. This collectively represents an investment value of around R47-billion and wind and solar capacity of around 1 415 MW.

The agreements are necessary to facilitate the entry of the first large-scale renewable-energy projects into South Africa, some of which should begin producing during 2014.

The agreements which were struck at exchange rates of R8.77 to the US dollar, R11.25 to the euro and R14.06 to the British pound, open the way for the developers to reach financial closure over the coming few weeks.  This will facilitate the necessary financial drawdowns required for construction to start.

Some developers have already started with limited site preparation. Many others plan to now finalise their procurement and construction arrangements. This should result in large-scale construction beginning only after the builders’ holiday in January 2013.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.