South Africa

PRETORIA - A programme designed to assist South Africa's vulnerable has been launched with the financial support of the European Union (EU). Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe says that, through the Strengthening of civil society programme, government and the EU aim to improve access to justice institutions for vulnerable and marginalized groups and to enhance participatory democracy. He says that, while government has increased social spending to uplift the poor, the newly launched programme will reach many more South Africans. The funding will be dispensed to various rights-based institutions. The targeted communities and beneficiaries include women and children, rural and urban poor communities, farm workers, child-headed households, and refugees and asylum seekers. "The commitment to supporting civil society, thus, finds concrete expression in this programme." The initiative is directly aimed at building civil society's capacity in the areas of access to justice, creating greater awareness of Constitutional rights and promoting participatory democracy, Radebe says. It will address the prevalence of racism and xenophobia as well as increase access to justice for the poor. "Many are vulnerable because they lack access to information and to education. Poverty, unemployment and inequality are all potential threats to South Africa's fledgling democracy, impacting negatively on the challenge of ensuring that poor people know and understand how to access various human rights services."

JOHANNESBURG - It was crucial to reshuffle the Cabinet to ensure effective service delivery, the African National Congress (ANC) says. "Having done serious introspection through continuous monitoring and evaluation of performance of all ANC cadres deployed to Cabinet, the need to reshuffle Cabinet to ensure effective service delivery became crucial," spokesperson Jackson Mthembu says. He congratulates the newly appointed Ministers. "We would also like to pay tribute to the outgoing Ministers, who have served the ANC-led government well, [and are] confident that they will continue to make a meaningful contribution in areas where they will be redeployed." The ANC says that the way government worked had to change to improve service delivery. "The reshuffle is also in line with the recent ANC National General Council [aims] to put the interests of the people first, [and the ANC is] confident that the changes at Cabinet level will go a long way to making government stronger." The reshuffle sees seven Ministers being axed and 14 deputy ministers being appointed. Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance has welcomed the reshuffle, saying that it is a positive indication of "renewed focus on accountability". DA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip says: "We particularly welcome the development in light of the fact that, under former President Thabo Mbeki, no significant changes were made to the composition of the executive." The opposition party as applauded President Jacob Zuma for removing Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda, Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, and Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana. "These Ministers did not perform and President Zuma made the right decision to remove them from their positions," Trollip adds.
JOHANNESBURG - Legal action may be taken against the civil society leaders who questioned the moral integrity of African National Congress (ANC) leaders and named them, the ANC says. "We have advised our leaders named in today's civil society press conference to seek legal recourse," says ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu in a statement. "The ANC will give all support to these leaders as they take these legal steps because it is our firm belief that the attacks on their persons is unjustified and borders on defaming their good names." The ruling party was reacting to comments made during a media briefing by civil society groups, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Section27. A war of words has erupted between the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and civil society after the party's national working committee voiced its displeasure over a conference held last week. The conference was cohosted by Cosatu, the TAC and Section27 and the ANC is upset that it was not invited. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe raises caution against attempting to affect regime change. Mantashe says the ANC-government should have been invited to attend as it was criticised "in absentia" and not given the space to defend itself. Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi describes the ANC's reaction as "paranoid". At a briefing, Section27 and the TAC say they will not apologise for failing to invite the ANC. Nor will the organisations need a "stamp of approval" from the ANC to organise a conference.

JOHANNESBURG - It is possible to fix the proposed Protection of Information Bill in a way that will ensure that all rights are recognised as stated in the constitution, says South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) council member Nic Dawes. "My view, that of the Sanef and the campaign Right2Know (R2K), is that this bill can be narrowed in a way that it protects State security matters, but does not criminalise disclosure of information that is in the public interest," Dawes says during a debate on freedom of expression in the Gauteng legislature, in Johannesburg. The accountability of the media needs to be strengthened. "The risks are too high if this bill is implemented as it is now; I wouldn't want to be part of the media that turns away from its democratic role," he says. He adds that the media needs to be more accountable, although, it is currently accountable to the Press Ombudsman, courts, Human Rights Commission and the readers' needs. Dawes says that transformation is another critical issue within the media industry. He says it is impossible to produce quality material, whether it is in a newspaper or at a broadcasting station, with an untransformed newsroom

Africa & the world

SHANGHAI - A new report from the Worldwatch Institute shows that China's growth in the renewable-energy industry, after the global financial crisis, has been greater than that of most developed and developing nations. The emerging economy, which is now more dominant in the clean energy sector, is able to do this by "using a combination of technological advances, aggressive policies, and a strong financial position", say the authors of the report. "China is succeeding precisely where the US is failing - in implementing the ambitious policies and making the sustained investment that is needed to spur growth in clean energy. If China [maintains] its current pace, it will be the undisputed global leader in clean energy within the next two years," emphasises Worldwatch president Christopher Flavin. The report highlights that China's energy consumption has doubled since 2000, although per capita energy use remains well below the world average. The report also states that China's vehicle fleet is estimated to increase by one-million every month. Coal consumption in China has doubled over the past nine years, and consumption of oil has tripled.

MONROVIA - Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has dismissed her Cabinet in a move that will provide her a "fresh slate" for the next phase of her administration, her office says. No other reason was given for the move, but it comes in the midst of a crackdown on corruption in the West African State that has led to investigations of some public officials a year ahead of presidential elections. "President Johnson-Sirleaf told the ministers that the reason for demanding their mass administrative leave is that this administration is entering a critical stretch and this will afford her the opportunity to start with a fresh slate going forward," according to a statement." The President further announces that a Cabinet restructuring will be made in the shortest possible time and that several ministers could be reappointed." Deputies will take over the ministers' responsibilities until replacements are nominated, according to the release, which adds that only the Minister for Presidential Affairs has been asked to stay in his post. Sources told Reuters earlier that Sirleaf had asked her Cabinet to resign. An analyst says that the move may be part of her strategy to improve her chances in next year's election. "Patience with her government is wearing thin over the issue of corruption," says Joseph Lake of the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. "She faces a strong challenge in the 2011 Presidential election from local hero George Weah and this may be an effort to freshen up a weary Cabinet."

ABIDJAN - News that Côte d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo and his veteran rival Alassane Ouattara will face each other in a runoff will ease tensions in the short term, but paves the way for a hotly contested vote later this month. According to provisional results announced on Thursday, Gbagbo took 38,3% of the vote. With no absolute majority, he will take on Ouattara, who came second with 32,08%. Third-placed Henri Konan Bedie challenged the results before they were even announced, and demanded a recount of a poll meant to draw a line under a crisis sparked by a 2002/3 civil war. With Gbagbo through to the second round, the chances of widespread street violence are drastically lowered. Security analysts say that Gbagbo will have been unlikely to accept losing, either in the event of him coming third or of someone else winning outright. This would have been a humiliation; the opposition has accused him of delaying the poll for years in fear of losing. Gbagbo's core supporters are widely regarded as among the country's most militant activists and have often staged street protests that turned violent. His 'Young Patriots' - mostly angry, unemployed youths - are feared throughout Abidjan. Gbagbo now has no motivation to mobilise his supporters onto the streets - at least until the second round. All eyes will now turn to how far Bedie, who scored 25,2% in the poll and cried foul, will contest the result. A concerted challenge will be tough, given that both the United Nations (UN) mission and observers have largely praised the poll. All three candidates are under a huge amount of international pressure to accept the results for the sake of peace.