South Africa

PRETORIA - South Africa has started dismissing soldiers who marched illegally over wages, says the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans. During the protests, police fired rubber bullets and teargas at the soldiers after the action was ruled illegal by a court. The soldiers union is demanding a 30% pay rise. A union adviser says that 460 soldiers have received dismissal letters. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) condemns the protest and calls for urgent action to be taken against those who defied the court ruling. "Members of the South African National Defence Force are the custodians of the Constitution and the actions of South
African National Defence Union members undermined the country's national security, says the ANC's National Working Committee.

PRETORIA - Two pieces of legislation that dramatically increase smoking fines and crack down on tobacco companies have been signed into law. The Acts, which were gazetted by Parliament in 2007 and 2008, make it illegal for adults to smoke in a car where there is a child under 12, and pave the way for picture warnings, such as diseased lungs on cigarette packs. According to Dr Yussuf Saloojee, Director of the National Council against Smoking, the legislation will have important and far-ranging effects on public health as well as on the marketing activities of the tobacco industry. Saloojee says the fines for smoking or allowing smoking in a nonsmoking area will increase with immediate effect. The fine for the owner of a restaurant, pub, bar or workplace who breaches the smoking laws is now a maximum of R50 000, and for the individual smoker, R500. Smoking is now illegal in ‘partially enclosed' public places, such as covered patios, verandas, balconies, walkways and parking areas.

PRETORIA - The Films and Publications Amendment Bill, described by critics as deeply flawed and unconstitutional, has been signed into law. When introduced in 2006, the media industry protested that it paved the way for prepublication censorship and criminalised free expression. Although a version of the Act was approved by Parliament, then President Kgalema Motlanthe, in January this year, decided not to sign it into law, and referred it back to the Legislature. Raymond Louw, deputy chair of the South African chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, says that Parliament has not made any substantive changes to that version and detested the Bill, saying that it will be problematic for the media, in general.

RUSTENBURG - According to Deputy Health Minister Dr Molefi Sefularo, implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system is one of the department's main priorities between 2009 and 2014. He says that, since December 2007, matters of health have been broadly discussed and have subsequently been made government priorities. Through consultations, research and popular campaigns, critical challenges to both the public and private health sectors have been identified. Among the other priorities is the provision of strategic leadership, reviewing the drug policy, strengthening research and development, improving the quality of health services and human resources, and planning.

Africa & the world

HARARE - During a two-day visit to Zimbabwe aimed at keeping the power-sharing deal on track, South African President Jacob Zuma urges Zimbabwe's rival parties to solve their differences to win vital foreign aid for its battered economy, but also calls on Western powers to repeal sanctions on the country. Zuma, on his first State visit to Zimbabwe, says President Robert Mugabe, rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the leader of a small party in a coalition formed to try to end the crisis should fully implement their February unity agreement. He adds that, although some countries are offering Zimbabwe humanitarian assistance, they have set conditions for the provision of large-scale economic aid.

WASHINGTON - The Group of 20 (G20) nations meeting in Pittsburgh should recommit to providing stimulus to ensure the world economy recovers in 2010, while also starting to plan stimulus exit strategies, says International Monetary Fund (IMF) first deputy MD John Lipsky. The IMF's forecast, that the world economy will expand 2,5% next year after shrinking 1,4% this year, assumes that the G20 economies will continue to implement the stimulus measures they promised.