May 18, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines: 

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says government will keep a controlling stake in Eskom. 

An Egyptian court seeks the death penalty for ex-president Mohamed Mursi.

And, the Congress of the People is up in arms about the alleged NPA golden handshake. 

 

South Africa's government will retain a controlling stake in struggling state utility Eskom, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Monday, adding that power shortages were the biggest risk facing Africa's most developed economy.

Nene said the key to resolving the crisis at Eskom was intervening to contain costs.

Eskom's funding gap to 2018 is estimated at R200-billion, while it expects to receive R23-billion from the government this year as it battles to keep the lights on.  

The Treasury said last week it was asked by a government-appointed commission to consider a proposal to partially privatise Eskom or sell some of its assets in order to secure further funding to expand generating capacity.

 

An Egyptian court on Saturday sought the death penalty for former president Mohamed Mursi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.

Mursi and his fellow defendants, including top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, were convicted for killing and kidnapping policemen, attacking police facilities and breaking out of jail during the uprising, against then-president Hosni Mubarak.

The court's request drew condemnations from Amnesty International and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

A final ruling is expected on June 2, but Mursi can appeal the verdict. He has said the court is not legitimate, describing legal proceedings against him as part of a coup by former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013.

 

The Congress of the People (or Cope) has claimed President Jacob Zuma was "wasting millions in golden handshakes", after a news agency reported that embattled National Prosecuting Authority (or NPA) head Mxolisi Nxasana wanted R6-million before he would consider leaving office.

Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem said the Presidency and Nxasana are discussing the quantum.

Bloem said under the Zuma administration, it was no longer the rule of law that had priority but money. He said the truth, in the circumstances, was a constant loser under the ruling party.

Meanwhile, a news agency also reported that Nxasana wanted his deputy, Nomgcobo Jiba, and the head of the specialised commercial crimes unit, Lawrence Mrwebi, to be redeployed.

 

Also making headlines:

The army of Democratic Republic of the Congo has been making progress in an offensive against Rwandan rebels in the country's conflict-torn east, despite the withdrawal of United Nations support for the operation.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against reprisals and revenge in Burundi after security forces arrested the leader of a failed coup and President Pierre Nkurunziza returned to the capital.

The World Health Organization said an outbreak of meningitis with "unprecedented features" was spreading rapidly in Niger, with a tripling of cases in the past two weeks.

Mali's Tuareg-led separatist rebels boycotted the signing of a peace deal with the government and its allied armed groups in the capital Bamako after signalling approval at talks in Algeria a day earlier.

And, at least as many migrants may be dying of hunger and thirst in the Sahara as are drowning in the Mediterranean during this year's huge surge of human trafficking from Libya to Europe.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.