September 17, 2013.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:
 

The Health Department claims that reports of an unaccounted R12-billion in its budget are incorrect.

Kenya’s ICC cases stir up an African backlash against the International Criminal Court.

And, Egypt’s Islamist Nour party walks out of Egypt's constitutional talks.

The Gauteng health department said on Monday that claims that the it cannot account for more than R12-billion of its budget for the 2012/2013 financial year were incorrect.

Department spokesperson Simon Zwane said in a statement that the amount consists of unauthorised expenditure, irregular expenditure as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure that has accumulated over a period of seven years.

The amount of  R12-billion emerged when Auditor General Terence Nombembe tabled the outcomes of his audit of the department for the 2012/2013 financial year, according to the report. The findings were presented to the provincial standing committee on public accounts last week.

Nombembe found that the then department accounting officer Ndoda Biyela failed to effectively prevent irregular spending of more than R5.7-billion and wasteful spending of more than R408-million.

Kenya is canvassing support for a possible walk-out by African states from the International Criminal Court, whose prosecution of elected Kenyan leaders has revived accusations on the continent that the court unfairly targets Africans.

The start last week of the trial for crimes against humanity of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, with President Uhuru Kenyatta's trial due in November, has stirred a growing backlash against the Hague-based court from some African governments, which see it as a biased tool of Western powers.

Uganda's junior foreign affairs minister Asuman Kiyingi told Reuters his country was unhappy about the way the ICC was "used by big powers to pursue certain selfish interests against African leaders". He said Uganda could consider withdrawing.

The walk-out proposal could come even sooner, possibly at an extraordinary AU summit before the year end, following expected criticism of the ICC at the UN General Assembly this month.

Egypt's second biggest Islamist party walked out of a committee amending the constitution on Monday, to protest against moves to curb the influence of Islam in state affairs.

The Salafist al-Nour party, which backed the army's overthrow of the more moderate Islamist Mohamed Mursi from the presidency in July, said it wasn’t quitting the committee but wanted to show its anger.

Amending the constitution pushed through by Mursi last year is part of the plan to return Egypt to elections after the army ousted the government on July 3, installing an interim administration.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, once Egypt's biggest Islamist group, is now the target of a sweeping security crackdown and has no representative on the constitutional committee. The government said it had declined an offer to join.

Also making headlines:
 

Mali’s national reconciliation minister Cheick Oumar Diarrah says Mali’s reconciliation is on track despite protests.

The World Bank ties its strategy to realize its poverty-fighting goals.

And, President Jacob Zuma is expected to reopen the Grootvlei power station in Balfour, Mpumalanga, on Friday.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.