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No vember 14, 2007

Welcome to Creamer Media's Polity. In this podcast, read by Shona Kohler, and compiled with the assistance of Sapa, we bring you a review of the past week's activities on Polity.

In this week's breaking news:

• The International Investment Council tells President Thabo Mbeki that South Africa's critical skills shortage is a reflection of a general scarcity of key skills across the globe.
• Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu calls for a global ban on the death penalty; and
• South Africa's Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya announces that a national data base of orphans and vulnerable children is being compiled.

SKILLS SHORTAGE

A shortage of technical skills in South Africa is a global problem according to the International Investment Council, to which government presented an overview of the South African socio- economic structure and ongoing changes at a three-day meeting over the weekend.


Government's skills programmes, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition received support from the council. Progress in the Jobs for Growth programme and, the need for government to work on measures of drawing large numbers of young people into the labour market, were also noted.

The council, which advises President Thabo Mbeki on economic policy, expressed satisfaction in the unprecedented performance of the South African economy, the continuous improvement in the regulatory environment, and infrastructure development.

DEATH PENALTY BAN

In a comment piece published in The Guardian, Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu said the death penalty was a violation of fundamental human rights and called for it to be abolished around the world.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town, was writing ahead of a vote on a draft resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on executions with the ultimate goal of abolishing the practice later this month.


According to human rights group Amnesty International 133 countries have already abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, while 64 countries and territories retain the use of capital punishment.

DATABASE OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN

In an update of government's plan to assist children made vulnerable by HIV/Aids, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya announced that his department is compiling a national database of orphans and vulnerable children, including those in child-headed households. The database will help government in providing assistance to South Africa's orpaned and vulnerable children.

A census carried out in 2001 put the figure of child-headed households at 248 000, a number which would have increased significantly to date.

The Departments of Social Development, Health, Education and Home Affairs are to work together on the project, while Statistics South Africa is to provide technical assistance and guidance in the compilation of the data. Interventions will improve the orphaned and vulnerable children's access to healthcare, food, skills training and psychosocial support.


That concludes the news portion of this week's podcast.

Also available on the Polity website are a number of recommended reports and documents that provide for interesting reading, including a report compiled by the Democratic Alliance containing a 26 point plan to curb violence in schools.

Also freely downloadable on the site are several new pieces of South African legislation, including the Special Adjustments Appropriation Act and the Childrens Amendment Bill, and a collection of important addresses made by South African government leaders and other leading figures from around the African continent.

That's a roundup of this week's activities on Creamer Media's polity.org.za.

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