October 12, 2012
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu says nationalisation supporters wasted their chances.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan wants more action to curb violence in Kenya before the March election.

And, the Road Freight Employers Association says striking truck drivers have agreed on a wage deal.

Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said on Thursday that the people calling for the nationalisation of the country's mines were economically empowered, and that they had wasted the money lent to them to acquire that ownership.

She said that the policy of black participation was formulated not as a handout, but rather a loan by financial institutions for South Africans to buy a stake within the mining industry and grow. Instead, she says most people bought Range Rovers and huge homes when they were supposed to create empowerment.

She acknowledged that there were too few black CEOs in the mining industry and that transformation was needed. However, she said it had to be correctly done.

Shabangu said that instead of hoping to benefit from nationalisation, young people should acquire skills they can use in the mining sector, to play a role in the economy.

The US State Department says it has chosen a veteran diplomat who retired more than a decade ago to serve as its senior envoy in Libya. This follows the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in a September 11 attack in Benghazi.

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that Laurence Pope, a former US ambassador to Chad and senior State Department counter-terrorism official, has arrived in Tripoli to serve as the "charge d'affairs" diplomat who will represent Libya in the absence of an ambassador.

Nuland said that Pope's selection as charge d'affairs emphasizes the commitment of the US to the relationship between the two countries and to the people of Libya as they move forward in their transition to a democratic government.

The Road Freight Employers Association (or RFA) says that South African truck drivers have agreed on a wage deal with employers to end a three-week strike that has hit deliveries of fuel, cash and consumer goods in Africa's biggest economy.

More than 20 000 truck drivers have taken to the streets in often-violent protests since late September, demanding higher wages. At least one person was killed and dozens of trucks were torched by demonstrators.

RFA spokesperson Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht said all-four transport unions were part of the agreement. However, she did not reveal details of the deal.

Also making headlines:

The roll-out of Gauteng e-tolling will be announced soon.

The Rand could strengthen as the labour unrest gets resolved.

And, France President Francois Hollande eyes a new chapter in Franco-African relations.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.